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Cemex and the state went back and forth on the revisions well into March 2003. But by March 26, 2003, when state <br />inspector Paul Carr made his first unannounced visit to the plant, the dust-control plan was no longer Cemex's biggest <br />problem. <br />Donuts in the front office <br />When the state of Colorado takes action against a company for alleged violations of pollution laws, there is a set process <br />to follow. First, inspectors note any violations and report them to their superiors. The company is notified, and confidential <br />negotiations between the state and the company begin. <br />During negotiations, some allegations might be dropped-perhaps because they were found to be invalid when all the facts <br />were examined-and other problems might come to light. The alleged violator is given a chance to voice their point of view <br />and to divulge, without penalty, problems they might be having, as well as steps they are taking to resolve the situation. <br />Eventually, the discussion comes down to fines. in some cases, companies are given the option of participating in <br />Supplemental Environmental Programs, or SEPs, which are designed to improve the environment in some way. In other <br />cases, companies are simply fined, with that money going into the state's general fund. Often the original amount of the <br />fihe is reduced during negotiations. <br />From a cynical point of view, the process looks an awful lot like Let's Make a Deal, with polluters getting state cooperation <br />and taxpayers waiting in the dark. <br />"We take these kinds of issues seriously and our objective is to find solutions that work," says Margie Perkins, director of <br />the state health department's Air Pollution Control Division. <br />Unlike criminal cases involving citizens, who must plead guilty before receiving reduced penalties, civil cases against <br />polluters do not involve an admission of guilt. <br />"There is no requirement under the law... to make an admission of guilt," says Perkins. '"fo be pertectly frank, an <br />admission is not something 1 would be seeking as much as their agreement to take corrective action:' <br />The government can also take criminal action against a polluter, and sometimes both civil and criminal cases are <br />combined in one enforcement action, Perkins says. <br />While the end product of a criminal case is a verdict and sentence or a plea bargain, a civil action against a polluter ends <br />with a Compliance Order on Consent, which outlines both the remaining allegations against the company and a <br />breakdown of any fines or SEPs the company is required to pay. <br />As this edition of Boulder Weekly goes to press, Cemex representatives and officials are about to meet to discuss the <br />latest version of the Compliance Order on Consent for alleged violations found by inspector Paul Carr during his March <br />26, 2003, inspection and subsequent visits. <br />