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12/26/2024
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@watertoday.ca
December 26, 2024 1026 am PST
CWA CrimeBox
Environmental Crimes Historic Conviction: Fiscal Year 2011; Case ID# CR_2162(California)
Metal plater order to cease operations continues to discharge heavy metals to the public WWTP
One of 72 Clean Water Act Criminal Prosecutions in the State of California (from 1989-2023)
The defendant in this case is the owner-operator of a metal plating business based in San Diego County. The defendant appeared in federal district court in California facing multiple criminal charges under the Clean Water Act. According to the EPA Criminal Investigation Unit, the defendant had a history of non-compliance with discharges, and was known to the environmental authorities for prior mishandling of hazardous waste.
In the summer of 2008, the defendant's operations were ordered closed by the local fire department. The defendant had been operating without a permit from the city, with chemicals and hazardous waste stored on the property in what the local Fire Department deemed "dangerous conditions". Following the cease business order, the San Diego Industrial Wastewater Control Program quietly collected samples in the sewer line running past the defendant's property, finding chromium, copper, nickel and zinc in excess of the discharge permit. A month later, samples were again taken and analyzed, with the same effect, a cocktail of heavy metals discharged from the defendant's property in violation of the pre-treatment terms and in violation of the Clean Water Act.
The defendant was indicted on nine violations of the CWA and one violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The defendant plead guilty to all, and was sentenced to a term of home confinement, a special assessment fee and restitution for damage. California Air Resources Board received restitution of $4,628; San Diego County Department of Environmental Health Services $15,804.70, and City of San Diego Metropolitan Industrial Waste Program, $9,283.
Home confinement: 2 months; Restitution: $29,715.70; Special Assessment Fee: $100;
CWA CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
See last week's CrimeBox here, "Wire manufacturer out $1.5 million to cover damage to the public wastewater infrastructure"
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