West L.A. Firm Fined for Illegal Dumping

A West Los Angeles furniture manufacturing company has been ordered to pay $10,000 in fines and restitution for illegally dumping hazardous materials at its facility overlooking Ballona Creek.

The sentence was imposed on Don Alderson Associates Inc. last week as part of a plea bargain in which charges against company President Donald Alderson and two associates were dropped, said Deputy City Atty. Teresa Lujan.

The company agreed to enter no-contest pleas to single counts of illegally disposing of hazardous waste and failing to maintain a contingency plan and employee training plan for dealing with hazardous materials, according to Lujan, who is handling the case.

The company was accused of dumping paint, paint thinner and other debris on the ground along a chain-link fence at the rear of the factory at 3327 S. La Cienega Place, which sits on an embankment overlooking Ballona Creek. The company employs about 26 people at the site, where it manufactures handmade specialty furniture for hotels, businesses and homes, Lujan said.

“It appeared that the illegal dumping had been going on for some time, since the inspectors determined . . . that the paint contamination had soaked six to eight inches deep into the soil,” City Atty. James K. Hahn said in a statement announcing the agreement.

Inspectors first issued a notice of violation during a visit Jan. 20, 1989, and discovered evidence of further illegal dumping in the same location two months later, Lujan said.

Lujan said Tuesday she allowed the three people to be released from liability in the case because they had no prior record of violations and because they came into “reasonably good” compliance.

The company’s attorney, Aaron Rosen, said releasing the three without charges was fair because they had no knowledge of the laws involved and came into compliance as soon as they could.

The company also was placed on two years’ summary probation by Los Angeles Municipal Court Commissioner Joseph Spada, Lujan said.