CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SOUTH LAKE TAHOE : Charges Weighed in Diesel Fuel Spill

A Placer County prosecutor said he may file criminal charges against Squaw Valley Ski Corp. because of a diesel fuel spill into a creek at Squaw Valley. The company is already facing possible fines of $1 million or more by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will consider the case next month. Joe Barbara, a deputy Placer County district attorney, said he wants to review a recent report on the spill before filing any criminal charges. The report, by the water board’s staff, found that the corporation was negligent because it failed to investigate the spill when it was first discovered. An anonymous tip alerted authorities to last January’s mishap, when 1,000 to 2,200 gallons of fuel poured into the creek. Bob Maddox, the ski resort’s attorney, said the company spent $300,000 cleaning up the spill and installing a monitoring system to protect against future spills. He complained that the water board’s report had “a predetermined outcome.”