SIMI VALLEY : 2 Fined $1,000 Each for Dumping Oil

Two Simi Valley men have been fined $1,000 each and placed on three years probation for dumping a bucket of used motor oil in a dirt lot, officials said Tuesday.

Scott Ray Hooper, 29, and Christopher James Murawski, 25, were also ordered by Ventura County Municipal Judge John J. Hunter to spend 10 days in a work release program and to either pay for the cost of the cleanup or perform the cleanup themselves.

The defendants could not be reached for comment.

Both men pleaded no contest last Friday to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful disposal of used motor oil, a violation of the state’s health and safety code, Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda S. Groberg said.

Groberg said that if the motor oil had been tested and found to contain a hazardous chemical, the two defendants could have been charged with a felony violation under the state’s hazardous waste control law. Such a violation carries a $5,000 to $100,000 fine, as well as a 16-month to 36-month prison term.

Groberg said a witness observed the men dumping the oil--about 10 to 20 quarts--in a vacant lot near Moorpark Avenue and Majestic Court in Moorpark on Feb. 5. The witness followed the men’s truck to a garage, wrote down the license number and called the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

“The purpose of the prosecution was not only to punish the individuals but to serve as a general deterrent for other people who are not aware of what they can and can’t do,” Groberg said.

Groberg said hazardous waste collection sites countywide and many service stations will dispose of used motor oil free of charge.