Arrowhead Hit With $600,000 Dumping Fine

The largest fine in state history for a violation of hazardous waste laws was levied Monday against Arrowhead Water Co. after the Los Angeles firm pleaded no contest to charges of dumping caustic contaminants into city sewers.

The drinking-water supplier and its sister corporation, Arrowhead Industrial Water Inc., agreed to a settlement totaling $500,000 in criminal penalties and an estimated $100,000 in repairs to city sewers damaged by the dumping.

The settlement occurred immediately after the filing Monday of 10-count misdemeanor complaints by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office against each of the water companies, which are separate corporations owned by Beatrice Companies Inc., based in Chicago.

None of the violations affected the company’s drinking water, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert B. Werner said.

The fine--including $375,000 for Arrowhead Water and $125,000 for Arrowhead Industrial Water--is the largest in California’s seven-year history of criminal penalties for violations of hazardous waste laws, according to Special Assistant Dist. Atty. Barry C. Groveman, head of the environmental crimes division. The previous high was $250,000 paid last month by Lindberg Corp., a Vernon metal plating company.

Paint Solvents, Sludges

In the Los Angeles Municipal Court complaint filed against Arrowhead Water Co., which sells drinking water, prosecutors alleged that paint solvents and sludges were dumped into city sewers near the company’s cooler-recycling plant at 1584 East 20th St. The wastes were generated during renovation of metal stands used to hold drinking water bottles.

The dumping was discovered after an Arrowhead employee tipped authorities. City Bureau of Sanitation monitors in sewers revealed the dumping of paint sludges, prohibited by city law, and caustic solvents, which are supposed to be neutralized before dumping, Werner said.

“It was a serious violation,” Werner said. “What we found was an old plant that was built to operate a long time ago under old conditions and requirements. . . .”

Prosecutors charged that Arrowhead Industrial Water Inc., a manufacturer of industrial water treatment devices, unlawfully dumped acids and caustics into sewers near its plant at 1441 E. Washington Blvd. The company had a monitoring system required to analyze hazardous discharge levels, but it was not working, Werner said.

“The acids were going almost in a pure state into the sewers,” he said. “We know there’s quite a bit of damage there; the acids had eaten away part of the sewer system.”

Werner said the greatest threat was posed to the city’s sewage treatment process. Excessive levels of such pollutants can kill the bacteria used to clean sewage water before it is piped into the ocean.

In a prepared statement, Arrowhead Water Co. officials said they agreed to the plea settlement in order to avoid a long, costly legal battle.

“Under (the no contest) plea, we do not acknowledge that any violations occurred but pledge to take those steps necessary to make sure that violations do not occur in the future,” the statement said.

“Until it (the complaint) was brought to our attention, we didn’t know,” said Ronald C. Story, Arrowhead Industrial’s vice president, manager and corporate officer.

“Our instrumentation that we are using to monitor our waste discharge showed that we were in full compliance with city standards. We operated in good faith.”