2 Indicted for Hazardous Waste Dumping in S.D. Bay

A San Diego-based company and a subcontractor were indicted Tuesday for illegally pouring thousands of pounds of copper- and creosote-laden material into San Diego Bay, as well as dumping the hazardous material into local landfills.

H. B. Mack Inc. was hired under a Navy contract to renovate the Naval Fuel Pier at the Submarine Base on Ballast Point. Mack hired Larry Gustafson of L and Coating Inc. to remove the epoxy coating from the pier. L and Coating sandblasted the pier and dumped the waste material into the bay and into a trash bin that went to a landfill, according to court documents. The resulting discharge contained high levels of copper.

“They were working with a substance considered to be a hazardous waste, and not only did they dump it in the harbor, but they also disposed of it illegally on land,” said Melanie Pierson, assistant U.S. attorney. “Our local landfills are not equipped to deal with this stuff.”

About 500,000 pounds of copper- and creosote-laden material was dumped into the water as well as on land between Oct. 1, 1988, through July 1, 1989, a source said. Experts link creosote, a wood preservative, to cancer.

Last month, county health officials decided to post warnings alerting fishermen to the dangers of fish caught in bay water because of the levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

“It’s awful, and it shouldn’t be happening,” said Libby Lucas, a research associate with Environmental Health Coalition. “Copper is a problem. For one thing, it will sink and mess up the organisms in the bay. So, when these organisms are eaten, the fish will accumulate the copper.”

Neither Gustafson nor representatives from H. B. Mack were available for comment Tuesday.

At no time did Gustafson or the involved companies obtain permits to discharge waste into the waters, according to court documents. By law, sandblast waste containing high levels of copper must be disposed of at a facility authorized by the California Department of Health Services.

H. B. Mack is charged with four counts of unlawfully and knowingly discharging pollutants. Gustafson is charged with three of the same counts. Those involved could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and be given $50,000-a-day fines, Pierson said.