EPA settles with Rhode Island company for Clean Air Act Violations

Cherenzia Excavation Inc., which operates a stone-crushing and gravel processioning facilities in Westerly, Rhode Island, recently agreed to a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

The violations related to four diesel engines/generators operated at the company’s plants at 64 Old Hopkinson Rd. and 109 White Rock Rd. Diesel engines and generators are regulated under the Clean Air Act and are required to meet certain standards for hazardous air pollutants, like formaldehyde, and emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. These contaminants can impact the health of nearby community members, especially children and seniors with asthma. Additionally, the company was cited for airborne dust escaping from the plants’ processing machinery, which were violating the EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for Nonmetallic Mineral Processing Plants.

The plants have since come into compliance with both regulations. Cherenzia Excavation has replaced one diesel engine and installed pollution control equipment on the remaining three, reducing emissions from all of them to acceptable levels. It has also begun performing visual tests for dust from the plants’ equipment.

Under the settlement agreement, Cherenzia Excavation will also pay a civil penalty of $84,070.