Regional Plumbing Company Fined For Installing Uncertified Water Heaters

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – An Oakley plumbing firm will pay $310,000 to settle a complaint by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Contra Costa County District Attorney that it installed uncertified water heaters in hundreds of Bay Area homes, air district officials announced Thursday.

Value Plumbing Co., Inc. will pay $100,000 in civil penalties, $100,000 to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office and $110,000 that will pay for clean air projects.

The uncertified water heaters installed by Value Plumbing Co. violated unfair competition laws and air quality regulations, according to air district officials.

• Related: Grants Available For Residents To Replace Wood-Burning Heating Devices

The uncertified heaters do not meet the air district's stringent nitrous oxide limits. Nitrous oxide, which combined with sun and heat, converts to air pollution or smog, air district officials said.

Although the heaters are uncertified, they do not pose a risk to homeowners who own them.

Air district regulations require plumbers to install low nitrous oxide heaters, which is one of many regulations aimed at reducing smog in the Bay Area, according to air district officials.

Gary Mullins is identified as the President of the company, according to the website for the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California Better Business Bureau. The company has an A+ rating.

• Also see: Contra Costa City Considered For Family-Friendly Indoor Water Park, Resort

--Bay City News/Patch file photo