Local News in Brief : Sylmar Pipe Manufacturer Charged in Waste Oil Dumping

A Sylmar plastic pipe manufacturer and his company were charged Friday with dumping waste oil into a flood-control ditch that flows into the Santa Clara River, authorities said.

The six misdemeanor charges were filed against Robert Wayne Spears, president and owner of Spears Manufacturing Co. in Sylmar, said Al Albergate, spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Spears and the company are scheduled for arraignment June 20 in Newhall Municipal Court. Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine, Albergate said.

Spears could not be reached for comment.

An investigation by the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Toxic Waste Strike Force determined that thousands of gallons of waste hydraulic oil from the facility were dumped on dirt roads at Spears’ ranch in Agua Dulce, Albergate said. The oil also flowed into a flood control ditch that runs beside the ranch, he said.

The dumping occurred between August, 1985, and January this year, he said. Albergate said he did not know if there was any environmental damage to the river.