United States v. Trident Seafoods Corporation, and Tom Stakkeland James Hinton

Opinion by Judge Skopil; Dissent by Judge Ferguson.

SKOPIL, Senior Circuit Judge:

Trident Seafoods Corporation (“Trident”) appeals a civil penalty imposed for violating the Clean Air Act. The issue presented is whether Trident’s failure to notify officials of its intent to remove asbestos constitutes a “one-time” violation or a “continuous” violation for purposes of determining a lawful penalty. The district court concluded that Trident’s violation was continuous. We conclude that the regulation governing the notice requirement is not sufficiently clear to permit imposing a penalty greater than…