Anaheim : Business to Obey Court Order on Waste Water

The general manager of an Anaheim metal-plating firm that was ordered by the county Superior Court to stop discharging waste water into the sewer system said Tuesday that the firm’s operations will not be affected by the order, which he called “nothing but a plain harassment.”

However, a spokeswoman for the county Sanitation Districts--which requested the temporary restraining order along with the district attorney’s office--said Aero Tech Plating Inc. is “a chronic violator” that has continued to defy the state’s Health and Safety Code.

She added that the company also has violated the rules of a special permit granted it by the districts, even after a suit was filed against it in February seeking $130,000 in penalties for previous toxic waste violations.

“Despite the suit they’ve continued to violate permit laws, in fact, more drastically than . . . before,” spokeswoman Corinne Clawson said.

The agency charged Aero Tech with dumping highly concentrated solutions of toxic metals into the sewer system on four occasions last month. One sample showed that the company discharged concentrations of the toxic metal cadmium more than 8,000 times the legal limit, Clawson said.

Vinod Shaw, general manager of Aero Tech, said the company will comply with the court order by recycling water used to rinse metal pieces.

He said the company, which employs six persons, should be able to operate in this manner until June 9, when a hearing is scheduled on the preliminary injunction.