Polluters Deserve Tough Fines

Firm action, both in detection and in prosecution, is required to discourage the illegal dumping of hazardous waste into the county’s sewers, water system and other unprotected places.

There have been some encouraging signs that local and state officials in Orange County are indeed responding to that need.

Less than two weeks ago, the Orange County Sanitation Districts, working with the district attorney’s office, filed civil complaints seeking penalties of more than $100,000 each against two firms charged with illegally dumping chemicals. The sanitation agency, criticized in the past for not being tough enough, has now served notice that it intends to follow a strict enforcement policy against industrial polluters.

The state’s Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board put out a similar warning several days later when it fined an oil company $2,760, the toughest fine it can levy under the circumstances, for intentionally dumping gasoline into a storm drain in Irvine.

State health officials are considering action against a steel salvage firm in Anaheim for stockpiling shredder waste that allegedly contains higher-than-legal levels of toxic PCBs.

And last Wednesday, the State Department of Fish and Game cited a Costa Mesa roofing company for illegally discharging gasoline into Newport Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard is also considering additional charges of polluting navigable waters, which could involve a fine of up to $5,000.

The stepped-up enforcement effort responds to growing public concern about toxic waste. The only solution is diligent enforcement action against polluters by water, air, wildlife and other environmental agencies on all levels. At the same time, a long-range solution is required in the form of safe and economically viable disposal systems for all hazardous wastes.