The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has penalized a Massachusetts company $109,120 for violating state anti-idling regulations, according to the eTrucker Web site on August 26. The agency filed a complaint this month against Material Installations Inc., a distributor of pre-manufactured office furniture in North Andover. The EPA charges that between August 2003 and March 2004, furniture delivery trucks idled their engines on-site for nearly 1,000 minutes. That includes two instances where trucks idled for more than an hour, according to an Aug. 25 agency statement. In June, the agency issued a notice to the company for allegedly breaking the same violations. The company did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment. Massachusetts law prohibits any motor vehicle from idling its engine more than five minutes while stopped, unless for maintenance or operating auxiliary equipment, such as delivery lifts. The EPA can enforce this state law because it is part of Massachusetts’ efforts to meet federal air quality standards. A phone call seeking information on how the fine is assessed was not immediately returned. The agency has handled more than a dozen anti-idling enforcement cases in recent years in New England. It has taken an active enforcement role in Massachusetts, where in recent years it has cited bus operators at Logan Airport and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority in Boston for excessive idling.
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