CLOSED
Illegally Dumping Sewage
By Daniel Yi and
DANA POINT-A South County water district has agreed to shut down
its Capistrano Beach sewage treatment plant as part of a settlement
with the district attorney's office over criminal charges that
the agency illegally dumped waste water into an open field next
to San Juan Creek. The deal, which caps the first major environmental
investigation of an Orange County public agency, also calls for
the Capistrano Beach Water District to pay $75,000 in penalties
and costs.
The San Juan Creek flows to Doheny State Beach, where swimmers
and surfers have complained of skin rashes and infections. But
in announcing the settlement Wednesday (Oct 21), prosecutors said
they "found no evidence that the discharged waste entered
the creek." Still, dumping sewage within "a stone's
throw of the creek" presented an unreasonable risk, said
Deputy District Atty. Michelle Lyman of the environmental crimes
unit.
In filing charges in May, 1997, prosecutors accused the district
of engaging in an illegal practice "that became policy"
of ordering its truck drivers to collect sewage sludge and then
let it seep into the ground outside its Victoria Sewage Treatment
Plant. The district attorney's office charged that the dumping
occurred because the treatment plant could not handle the waste.
Lyman said the settlement was the best outcome possible for the
public. Even if the criminal case was proved in court, prosecutors
would have lacked the authority to close the plant, which has
a long history of environmental problems, she said.
"This place should not be operating," Lyman said. "The
public, I think, should be happy that they will not be in the
business of treating sewage anymore." Paul S. Meyer, an
attorney representing the district, said sanitation operations
will not suffer with the plant closure. Under a recently completed
consolidation with surrounding water agencies, the Capistrano
Beach Water District will be allowed to treat its sewage waste
through nearby plants. "The agency is still operating [and]
will continue providing water to its customers," Meyer said.
Officials plan to eventually construct a sewage flow station that
will divert waste from the Capistrano Beach Water District into
the nearby Southeast Regional Reclamation Authority. Initially,
prosecutors had charged chief plant operator Steven Cory Sanchez
with 18 felony counts and two misdemeanor counts. They also charged
the district and its general manager, Dennis Emerson McClain,
with criminal "imputed liability," meaning that while
they may not have known about the dumping, they should have been
aware of it.
Under the settlement, Sanchez pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to a misdemeanor
charge of directing district employees to dump sewage material.
He has been placed on three years' probation and must perform
200 hours of community service. All charges against McClain and
the district were dropped. (The very least the DA should
have sought for was the dismissal of the two men charged with
crimes. It is not very consoling to know that someone who ordered
illegal dumping of sewage, and the supervisor who should have
known about it, will continue to work for the water and sewage
district. DP Online) The district admitted to
no wrongdoing under the deal.
Prosecutors and the Orange County Health Care Agency investigated
the Victoria Sewage Treatment Plant for a month in 1996. Investigators
saw district employees dumping sludge on the nearby field. Examination
of the soil showed high levels of fecal coliform, which indicates
the presence of human waste. They found no evidence that district
officials or McClain had personal knowledge of the practice, Lyman
said. (In the real world, that is what is called "plausible
deniability." DP Online)
SOURCE: Excerpted from the 22 October, 1998, issue of the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Edition. Reprinted in the public interest. |
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