Stud Mill Penalized For Air Quality Violations

A St. Maries company has agreed to pay a $6,500 penalty for air quality violations. Regulus Stud Mills Inc. signed a consent order with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality on Monday, according to state officials.

A representative from Regulus was not available for comment late Friday.

The penalty stems from violations associated with the amount of smoke the mill releases, problems with smokestack testing and problems with tracking the amount of wood products the mill generates, according to Dave Pisarski, DEQ’s compliance and enforcement program manager in Boise.

The mill generates particulates that can irritate respiratory problems, and some carbon monoxide.

But Pisarski described the penalty as “not a major violation.”

“Typically, we’ve had penalties on the order of $100,000 to $200,000 lately,” he said.

The company agreed to the consent order, which waives a $10,000 penalty in exchange for pollution tests this year and in 2001.

The state does not always require such testing, officials said.

Regulus has had a history of compliance problems ranging from minor glitches to problems significant enough to merit enforcement action, according to DEQ records. Historic violations culminated in a 1986 settlement with the state and a $25,000 penalty. Until now, despite numerous minor compliance problems, the mill was not penalized.