$6 million up in smoke

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California Attorney General Jerry Brown has settled with MCM Construction, fining the company $6 million here’s a press release for operating diesel cranes, pile drivers and other portable diesel equipment without required permits from local air pollution districts. Brown’s staff said MCM operated dozens of diesel engines day and night for hundreds of days without permits. Diesel exhaust contains carcinogens, soot and a main ingredient of sumermtime smog.

MCM had been cited by local air district officials for not having necessary permits at dozens of construction projects up and down the state, particularly at bridges. Brown’s office also charged that the company damaged critical salmon spawning habitat by dumping debris, silt and other pollutants into the Van Duzen River in Humboldt County.

-- Janet Wilson

Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press