Concrete Company & Director Fined $160,000 for Excessive Noise

A concrete company was located in a mixed residential and light industrial area. In response to complaints about dust, the MOE issued an Environmental Compliance Approval. A company director was aware of the requirements set out in the ECA and attended meetings with ministry staff on the need for compliance with the ECA and residents’ concerns about dust and noise emissions. The company installed several noise mitigation measures to comply with the ECA and address these complaints. But an independent acoustic audit indicated that sound was in excess of the noise standard. As a result, the company was convicted of five violations of the EPA and fined $130,000. The director was convicted of one EPA violation and fined $30,000 [ML Ready Mix Concrete and Renato Silva, Gov’t. News Release, Match 17, 2016].