Anaheim : Water Quality Board Fines Exxon for Spill
The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board on Friday fined Exxon Corp. $5,000 for the Feb. 14 spill of 1,000 gallons of gasoline at an Anaheim service station.
James R. Bennett, executive officer of the state agency, said the board unanimously approved the fine without discussion.
Bennett, who recommended the penalty, said Exxon executives had written to the board announcing their plans to have instructions posted at gas stations for attendants to follow in the event of a spill.
The spill, at 2180 Ball Road, was caused when a contractor checking for leaks in an underground storage tank failed to shut lines, Bennett said.
It was the second time in four months that the board had fined Exxon. On the same day of the Anaheim spill, the company was fined $2,760 for the “intentional flushing” of gasoline from an Irvine station into a Newport Bay tributary in September.
Criminal misdemeanor charges had been filed in February against Exxon for the Irvine incident, but those were dropped when further investigation revealed that “Exxon employees were not responsible.”
In other action, the board refused to accept a recommendation from Bennett that would have allowed Orange County Steel Salvage Inc. to dump lead-laden auto shredder waste in the county’s Brea-Olinda landfill.
The board was concerned about some of the “fluff” from shredders that may contain PCBs, a hazardous material, Bennett said.
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