SACRAMENTO - The Air Resources Board has fined JR Custom Harvesting Company Inc., and its associates New Venture Trucking LLC, and Zion Harvest Company Inc., a total of $140,925 for a variety of air quality violations relating to the company’s diesel vehicle fleet.

An investigation by the ARB showed that the Salinas-based company failed to:

• Properly self-inspect its diesel trucks to insure they met state smoke emission standards;
• Meet the requirements of the Truck and Bus Regulation’s Engine Model Year Compliance schedule, and
• Register its Transport Refrigeration Units in ARB’s TRU tracking system.

In addition, the company was cited for having non-compliant TRUs and for failing to properly label them as required.

“All businesses operating in the state must do their part to protect public health,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden.  “We are hopeful that this company will learn from this experience that in the long run, it doesn’t pay to circumvent the rules.”

JR Custom Harvesting provides growers with farm labor for harvesting produce and trucking services to get produce from the field to processing facilities throughout California and Arizona.  This is the first time the company has been found in violation of ARB regulations.

As outlined in the settlement agreement, the company paid $105,694.00 to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which provides funding for projects and research to improve California's air quality, and $35,231.00 to the Peralta Colleges Foundation to fund diesel education classes conducted by participating California community colleges.

Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and more than 40 other known cancer-causing compounds. In 1998, California identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death and other health problems.