Renewable diesel producer settles with Air Resources Board over Low Carbon Fuel Standard violations
Contacts
SACRAMENTO — The California Air Resources Board today announced a settlement with AltAir-Paramount, LLC addressing reporting violations under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/low-carbon-fuel-standard) (LCFS). The settlement is valued at $132,500.
“The Low Carbon Fuel Standard is a critical part of California’s effort to attack climate change by displacing fossil fuels,” said CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey. “Accurate reporting is basic to its success and filing inaccurate information threatens the integrity of the program.”
AltAir produces renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel from tallow at its facility in Paramount, CA.
CARB staff determined that Altair made unauthorized changes to quarterly and annual reports, reclassifying certain fuel volumes and adding previously unreported gasoline sales.
AltAir admits the violations, cooperated with CARB’s investigation and is now in full compliance with the LCFS regulation.
AltAir paid a penalty amounting to $132,500, calculated in keeping with CARB’s enforcement policy. Of that total, $66,500 goes into California’s Air Pollution Control Fund. The additional $66,000 will fund a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) developed by Tree Fresno to evaluate the effectiveness of using vegetative barriers to reduce near-road pollution exposure.
The LCFS encourages the production and use of cleaner, low-carbon transportation fuels in California to reduce GHG emissions and decrease petroleum dependence in the transportation sector. The program provides more clean fuel choices for Californians and drives innovation for further clean fuel development.