Mendocino Officials Dispute Six-Figure Fine over Air Quality Violations

Officials in Mendocino County are upset over a $123,000 fine levied by the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District. County CEO Carmel Angelo is arguing that the county was never given prior notice before it was charged the six-figure fine and that officials were also not provided the opportunity to correct any violations before such a penalty was handed down.

An Air Pollution Control Officer reportedly sent a letter to the county stating it had failed to test for asbestos and did not inform the district about renovations to a county building. These violations were then reported to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In response to the fine, County CEO Carmel Angelo commented, “Clearly, he has no legal obligation to talk to me (about it), because he did not. But I would think in the spirit of cooperation, and as professionals, if the Air Quality Management director believes county staff were doing something inconsistent with policy, regulations or directives, he would contact the CEO to say ... stop or there will be further action. […] It would have been great if he had contacted me to say, there's an issue with the county staff at General Services, and could I meet with you. But he just put it in writing and threatened to fine us, and I don't consider that in the spirit of cooperation […] I do believe county staff followed all of the proper protocols."

Clearly a great level of miscommunication and misinformation has led to the dispute. County officials point to contradictory information on the AQMD’s website and that a request for a meeting to understand the rules was met with resistance. 

With regard to the fine, an AQMD official noted “The purpose of the fine wasn't to collect revenue, it was to ensure there was not a monetary advantage to breaking the rules. If you are required to do something by law and you don't do it, you saved money."

Reportedly the county did not accept an offer to sit down and reach a settlement on the amount of the fee.