By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – A Birmingham-based company has pleaded guilty to two felonies and has agreed to pay a $4.5 million fine. Tyler Pipe admitted concealing information from regulators when rebuilding a pollution-emitting furnace in Texas. Company officials say they also did not seek permits for the furnace. Tyler Pipe received a five-year probationary term that includes a compliance agreement requiring state-of-the-art pollution controls. It is the first company to be criminally prosecuted under a 1977 provision of the U.S. Clean Air Act that requires modern pollution controls at factories. Company attorney Buck Files says Tyler Pipe has turned the corner of environmental compliance and is working to become a model for others. President David Green also says the company accepts responsibility for the past and looks forward to being an industry leader in environmental protection.