Mall Owners to Pay $31,620 in Clean Air Act Case

DOVER, Del. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced
that two companies have agreed to pay a $31,620 penalty to settle air
pollution violations at the Dover Mall in Dover, Del.
In its June 1998 administrative complaint, EPA cited the Toronto-based
Cadillac Fairview Shopping Center Properties (Del.) Inc., which owned the
mall from 1986 through October 1996, and Dover-based CF Dover Mall L.P.,
the mall's current owner, for violating federal regulations on
ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
According to the complaint, the mall's owners violated EPA's regulations
by "failing to employ a certified technician" to service air conditioners
with CFC-containing refrigerants, "buying at least 2,290 pounds of
CFC-containing refrigerant on eight occasions when they did not have a
certified technician"; "failing to keep required service records"; and
violating regulations requiring the use of "certified CFC recovery and
recycling equipment."
In agreeing to pay the penalty, the two companies did not admit liability
under the Clean Air Act, and neither admitted nor denied the factual
allegations alleged in the complaint.
The companies were cited under Clean Air Act regulations designed to
prevent CFCs from escaping into the atmosphere during equipment repairs.
Scientists worldwide believe that CFCs contribute to the destruction of
the earth's stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the planet from
harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ozone loss in the atmosphere is likely to
lead to an increase in skin cancer in humans and damage to plant and
animal life.
The regulations require that only certified technicians service
CFC-containing equipment because they know how to minimize release of
refrigerant to the environment. EPA has authorized more than 100
organizations nationwide to certify technicians.