Orange : Two Companies Accused of Polluting Waterways

Criminal complaints were filed Thursday against two Orange County companies for allegedly polluting state waters and killing aquatic life, Deputy Dist. Atty. Diane Stavenhagen Kadletz said.

The complaints were filed against J.A. Jones Construction Co. of Orange for allegedly killing 3,000 pounds of live squid by pumping hydrogen sulfide-contaminated water into Newport Bay in late January; and against Aerochem Inc., also of Orange, for allegedly spilling thousands of gallons of caustic sodium hydroxide into the Santa Ana River in February.

In the Aerochem incident, streets were closed for several hours, and more than 20 parked cars were damaged by a corrosive liquid described as a 10% solution of sodium hydroxide that overflowed a holding tank at the company plant on Batavia Street.

Kadletz said thousands of gallons flowed into a settling basin in the nearby river, where it killed more than a dozen small fish. She said an Aerochem employee had noticed the tank overflowing at 3:30 a.m. that day, but company officials failed to stem the flow or report the incident until six hours later, when they noticed the liquid eating away the coating of a discarded soft drink can.

Arraignment on the misdemeanor charge is set for Wednesday in Central Municipal Court. The maximum penalty is $2,000.

In the complaint against the J.A. Jones Construction Co., Kadletz alleges that company workers pumped ground water from a building site into Newport Bay near Davy’s Locker, a sportfishing store.

On two days in late January, the pumped water was contaminated with high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide that were discovered only after the death of 1,500 pounds of squid in a pier-side bait tank. Employees at Davy’s Locker traced a sulfurous odor to the construction site on the second day and notified state Department of Fish and Game wardens.

Company officials have been ordered to appear for arraignment April 16 in Central Municipal Court. They are charged with two misdemeanor counts of polluting public waterways in violation of the state Fish and Game code. Each count carries a maximum $2,000 fine.