Business in brief: Recycler to pay pollution fine
One of the nation’s largest aluminum recyclers has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve air pollution fines and upgrade emission controls at 14 of its plants, including IMCO Recycling of Post Falls.
Aleris International Inc. violated national standards for emissions of dioxins, furans and hydrogen chloride, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company will spend $4.2 million to upgrade its pollution control equipment. Aleris will also pay $4.6 million in civil penalties for Clean Air Act violations.
The settlement is expected to reduce annual particulate emissions by 24,000 pounds per year; hydrogen chloride emissions by up to 870,000 pounds per year, and dioxin and furan emissions by up to one pound per year.
Cancer-causing dioxins and furans are toxic at extremely low levels, EPA officials said.
The settlement is subject to a 30-day comment period. It was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and is also subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
Becky Kramer
Spokane firm takes over Palouse hospice
Ownership of the Gritman Medical Center Home Health and Hospice Services has been transferred to Family Home Care & Hospice of Spokane.
Family Home owner Mike Nowling said a small amount was paid to Moscow, Ida.-based Gritman for the Health and Hospice patient list and other assets.
The Gritman operation has about 20 patients, most in need of home care, he said.
Although Family Home will have a small office in Moscow, most of the care will be managed out of an existing Pullman office that will be renamed the Palouse Branch, where about eight employees will be added, Nowling said.
About 50 Whitman County patients were cared for from the Pullman office, he said.
The Gritman board of directors approved the takeover in May. Health and Hospice Services was losing $50,000 a month – about $2.5 million over the last five years.
“We could not subsidize those services anymore,” said hospital spokeswoman Kelly O’Neill.
Some employees were hired by Family Home, some took other positions at Gritman, and a few are looking for new jobs, she said.
Bert Caldwell
Mountain West earnings down
Mountain West Bank has reported lower earnings for the second quarter and first half of 2009, but assets, loans and deposits increased compared with the 2008 period.
For the quarter, the bank earned $1 million, compared with $3.1 million a year ago. Six-month earnings declined to $2.2 million from $5.9 million.
Assets at June 30 increased 14 percent, to $1.3 billion, from a year earlier. Loans were up 10 percent to $989 million, and deposits grew 4 percent to $712 million.
Chief Executive Officer Jon Hippler said eroding real estate values in Boise and North Idaho continue to squeeze Mountain West results. Loan loss reserves have been raised to $7 million, or 2.06 percent of loans.
The bank lost $1.4 million on the sale or revaluation of real estate owned, he added, and a special Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. assessment of $559,000 also hurt.
Mountain West, a subsidiary of Glacier Bancorp Holding Co., has 24 branches in Idaho, Washington and Utah.
Bert Caldwell