EPA Charges Santa Ana Postal Division, O.C. Firms With Illegal Waste Disposal

The U.S. Postal Service’s Santa Ana division and two Orange County companies have been charged with illegally disposing hazardous waste in two out-of-state disposal plants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday.

The postal division, which serves most of Orange County, was charged with four counts of violating national toxic waste laws. No fine will be assessed because it is a federal facility, said EPA spokesman Al Zemsky.

Johnson & Turner, a painting contractor company at 8241 Electric Ave. in Stanton, was charged with nine federal counts and faces a proposed fine of $168,000, while South Coast Lighting Inc., 2200 S. Anne St., Santa Ana, was charged with four counts and faces a $90,000 fine.

EPA officials say the companies and the post office disposed of chemical wastes, mostly paint thinners and other solvents, at plants in Utah and Wyoming that do not have authorization to handle those materials.

The charges stem from a continuing investigation of companies throughout Southern California that illegally sent their waste to the two disposal plants. A total of 12 businesses have faced federal charges, including Disneyland, which last year paid a record EPA fine of $550,000.

EPA officials say the companies apparently were not aware that a hauler they hired--Ken’s Oil Co. Inc. of Garden Grove--was using unauthorized sites. But under federal law, the company that produces the waste has the responsibility to ensure that the disposal is legal.

The charges against the post office involved one shipment, containing 200 gallons of varnishes and paint thinners, that was sent to the Wyoming plant in February, 1988, Zemsky said.

Stacy DiRocco, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service’s Santa Ana division, said the office hired a hauler to dispose of old paint materials from a closed postal site at 805 S. Grand Ave. in Santa Ana. She said the employees were not familiar with the laws and were unaware that the hauler took it to an improper place.

Because of the charges, the Postal Service has agreed to put some employees through EPA training to learn how to properly dispose of chemical wastes.

“We don’t dispose of toxic waste that often, maybe once a year,” DiRocco said. “It was a case of somebody not knowing the procedures. Unfortunately, ignorance is not an excuse, and we have acknowledged the responsibility. It’s a good thing in a way because people become more enlightened.”

The EPA said South Coast Lighting sent two shipments to the plants in 1987 and 1988, one containing 150 gallons and one containing 100 gallons. The charges against Johnson & Turner stemmed from three shipments in 1988, from 330 to 385 gallons each

Also charged were Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., of Long Beach, facing eight counts and a proposed penalty of $151,000, and Premier Metal Products, of Fontana, with three counts and a proposed fine of $56,000.

The companies have until Nov. 4 to appeal the orders, which came from the EPA and the U.S. Justice Department.