SACRAMENTO – The California Air Resources Board (ARB) today announced four settlements have reached involving companies that violated California's air quality regulations.  The specifics of each case are as follows:

COMPANY:   Insurance Auto Auctions, Illinois.
VIOLATION:   Sold a motor vehicle that was not legally authorized for sale in California.
WHEN:   August 1996
SETTLEMENT:   $1,500.00

COMPANY:   Hertz Inc., Park Ridge, New Jersey.
VIOLATION:   Attempted to register an out of state vehicle that did not meet California emission requirements.
WHEN:  October 1997
SETTLEMENT:   $2,000.00

COMPANY: Sterling Teal, Inc., Placentia, California.
VIOLATION:   Sold, distributed, and/or offered for sale "Venchi" Air Freshener products that exceeded California's volatile organic compound limit of 18%.  The violation also involved the sale of approximately 280,000 units of air freshener that violated the state's date coding requirements.
WHEN:   January and March 1997
SETTLEMENT:   $6,000.00

COMPANY:   Ten Seconds/Hickory Brands Inc., Hickory, North Carolina.
VIOLATION:   Sold, distributed, and/or offered for sale "Rain and Stain Protector" that exceeded the volatile organic compound limit for protectants of 75%.
WHEN:   January and March 1997
SETTLEMENTS:   $5,000.00