South County : Company Charged With Illegal Waste Dumping
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A sand and gravel company has been charged with illegally dumping a waste clay solution that hardened into a concrete-like layer along a stream bed in the southern part of the county.
Prosecutors, acting on a complaint filed by state fish and game officials, filed two criminal misdemeanor charges against the El Toro Materials Co. late Monday.
The firm is charged with dumping the solution into an Aliso Creek tributary. Once dumped, the solution hardened and must be broken by hand for removal, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Diane Stavenhagen Kadletz.
The alleged source of the pollution was a plant facility in Laguna Hills near El Toro Road.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $3,000 and one year in jail.
R. N. Basich, general manager of El Toro Materials, said he had not seen the charges and declined comment.
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