DeWine
AKRON, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday that an Akron gas station has been ordered to pay civil penalties and attorneys fees for alleged noncompliance with air pollution laws.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Paul Gallagher entered a judgment by default ordering Gas Express and operators Wafa Kahook, Nasser Kahook and Ali Kahook to pay a civil penalty of $39,680 and attorneys fees of $4,236 for alleged violations of Ohio's air pollution laws.
Gallagher alleged that the gas-dispensing facility operated without passing required testing, failed to keep required records, operated without a permit and failed to properly maintain the facility's vapor control system.
"It is very important that individual gas station owners take responsibility to properly maintain their systems," Scott Nally, Ohio's EPA director, said. "Ohio EPA is available to provide assistance to help gas station owners achieve compliance, but we will take action when owners continually fail to comply."
The state was represented by Chris Kim and Sarah Bloom Anderson, assistant attorney generals of DeWine's Environmental Enforcement Section. The witnesses included experts from the Akron Regional Air Quality Management District and the Ohio EPA.
"The attorney general's office works with Ohio EPA in our joint roles of enforcing our laws to protect the environment and Ohio families," DeWine said. "This judgment shows that repeated failure to follow Ohio's air pollution laws will not be tolerated."