County Sues for $1.6 Million in Chemical Spill

In its first case filed under a recent amendment to state hazardous waste laws, the Orange County district attorney’s office has sued an Anaheim pesticide manufacturer, seeking $1.6 million in damages for a chemical spill 16 months ago.

The firm, Larry Fricker Co., is accused of handling and disposing of toxic materials illegally on its property in Tustin, in violation of the state Hazardous Waste Control Law, in the civil suit filed Tuesday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Diane Stavenhagen Kadletz said the suit was filed after negotiations for a settlement with the company broke down earlier this month.

New Philosophy

Kadletz said the Fricker case is the first presented to the district attorney’s office by the county health department. Although the state law cited in the lawsuit is at least a year old, the suit represents the Board of Supervisors’ new philosophy, adopted last summer, to more vigorously enforce laws governing hazardous waste disposal, she said.

In the past, she said, the health department’s attitude had been that “once it’s cleaned up, don’t ding ‘em (violators) for the crimes.”

Kadletz said Fricker officials left behind 50 barrels of chemical material, including hazardous organo-phosphates, when they moved business offices from Tustin to Anaheim. The barrels sat there for 11 months and, over time, the containers deteriorated and leaked chemicals into the soil, Kadletz said. Some of the chemicals mixed and sent up noxious fumes that were smelled by nearby residents, she said.

The barrels were removed and the topsoil excavated by a private firm hired by the county health department, Kadletz said.

Larry Fricker Co. later agreed to pay for the $29,000 cleanup, plus about $21,000 to reimburse the county for the health department’s supervision, she said.

The district attorney’s office had attempted to negotiate a settlement on penalties, but the firm did not respond to the county’s last offer by the Feb. 15 deadline, Kadletz said. She would not disclose the county’s last offer but said “it was a lot lower” than the $1.6 million sought in the suit.

Negligence Claimed

The suit charges that the firm “negligently disposed” of hazardous waste in an unauthorized manner and “established, operated or maintained” a hazardous waste facility without a permit.

Attorney Peter Freeman, representing the Larry Fricker Co., said he has not yet seen the suit but denied that the company was operating a hazardous waste facility.

Freeman said the barrels were not left behind but were “stacked and awaiting transportation” to the new location.

Rejected Settlement Amount

As an agricultural pesticide manufacturer and distributor, Fricker must maintain an inventory of chemicals, he said. “We are not at all a waste disposal facility,” he said.

Freeman said the firm had rejected the settlement figures because the county was attempting to collect “maximum amounts . . . and we don’t feel the maximum fine is warranted.”

In addition to Larry Fricker Co., defendants include Febs Land Co., which owned the land, and Larry Fricker Co. officials Leonard J. Brown, Phil Fricker and Paul L. Etzold.