Sierra Pacific Industries Hopes Ruling Will Deter California Regulators
A top resource official for timber giant Sierra Pacific Industries says he hopes a judge’s scathing ruling in the company’s favor will deter overzealous state regulators.
Retired Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols found the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection guilty of “egregious and reprehensible” actions while investigating the 2007 Moonlight Fire and ordered the agency to pay more than $30 million in penalties and legal fees, The Associated Press reported.
Nichols, who was appointed to the case by the state Supreme Court, said Feb. 4 that Cal Fire’s efforts to blame SPI and other landowners were corrupt and tainted, according to the wire service.
Dan Tomascheski, SPI’s vice president in charge of resources, said the company’s relations with the state’s firefighting agency have been positive.
“There are a lot of good, professional and ethical people working at Cal Fire,” Tomascheski said in an interview at the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference here on Feb. 6. “They’re one of the world’s best firefighting agencies and we need their support. This was about I think a few individuals who, in pursuing financial gain, let their vision get clouded by the prospect of extracting a large settlement from us,” he said. “I think their investigations going forward are going to be carefully done and be meticulous. There won’t be a rush to judgment. They’ll do their job.”
From Capital Press: capitalpress.com.
RELATED ARTICLES
Sierra Pacific Buys Oregon’s Seneca
Sierra Pacific Foundation Grants Scholarships
Latest News
West Fraser To Acquire Spray Lake Sawmills
West Fraser has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Spray Lake Sawmills located in Cochrane, Alberta subject to certain post-closing adjustments. Spray Lake Sawmills produces treated wood products, dimensional lumber and a variety of residuals and biproducts, with an annual lumber capacity of 155 MMBF and…
PTF BPI Announces 2023 Dates
The 7th biennial international Processing Technologies for the Forest and Bio-based Products Industries (PTF BPI) 2023 Conference will be held October 30 to Nov. 1, 2023 in St. Simons Island, Ga. at the King & Prince Resort…
GP Donates $100,000 To Volunteer Fire Department In Corrigan, Texas
The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department, which has close to 25 active volunteers and answered more than 150 emergency calls in 2022, has kicked off a capital campaign to build a new fire station, which will cost $400,000. In support of this campaign, and in recognition of the three major facilities Georgia-Pacific operates (and the 1,000 people employed) in Polk County, Texas, the company has donated $100,000 to the effort…
Nashville Sets Perfect Stage For Lumber Conference
Lumber producers who made the trek to Room 205 and the 2023 Productivity & Efficiency Conference produced by Timber Processing and sponsored by Southern Forest Products Assn. (SFPA) were not disappointed as the event featured a wide range of speakers who delivered insights on different facets of mill operations…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Timber Processing Industry Newsletter reaches over 4,000 mill owners and supervisors.
Subscribe/Renew
Timber Processing is delivered 10 times per year to subscribers who represent sawmill ownership, management and supervisory personnel and corporate executives. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.