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FLORIDA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATION

Release Date: 04/26/2000
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FOR RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2000

FLORIDA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATION

Ronald M. Masucci, owner and operator of Pan Coatings of Florida Inc., in Jacksonville, pleaded guilty on April 18, to two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. Pan Coatings is in the business of cleaning baking pans and coating them with silicone so that food does not stick to them. The company building burned down in April 1994, and the defendant applied to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for a permit to rebuild the facility. When applying for the construction permit, Masucci agreed to install a thermal oxidizer to reduce air emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), to apply for an operating permit once construction was finished and to submit annual air emissions reports. In his plea, Masucci admitted that he failed to inform FDEP that the plant had returned to operating status without installing the thermal oxidizer. He also admitted that he did not file an annual emissions report. The construction permit limited VOC emissions to no more than 8.65 tons per year, however, the emissions rate at Pan Coatings was approximately 35 tons per year from approximately February 1995 to January 1997. The maximum sentence faced by the defendant on each count is two years imprisonment and/or a fine up to $250,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, FDEP and the State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville. The case was prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville.

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