Tustin Oil Firm Facing Criminal Pollution Charges
The city of Los Angeles filed criminal charges Tuesday against Hillcrest Beverly Oil Corp., charging the Tustin company with negligence in the pollution of Rancho Park golf course and surrounding neighborhoods.
Filed in Los Angeles Municipal Court, the complaint alleges negligence against Hillcrest, the owner of two crude-oil cellars that flooded during heavy rainstorms on Feb. 7. The cellars are reservoirs built around pipeline pumps to catch leaking oil and water.
The complaint alleges that a Hillcrest employee assigned to monitor the cellars failed to call for a pump truck to remove the oil and water from the cellars before they flooded, said Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Don Kass, who is handling the case.
The contamination then flowed onto the golf course, parts of the residential neighborhood and into the city storm drain system, which empties into the ocean, the city alleges.
Morris Hodges, president of Hillcrest, said late Tuesday afternoon he was not aware of the legal action.
“I’m quite surprised,” said Hodges, adding that he could not comment further until reading the lawsuit.
Hillcrest, an oil drilling and producing company founded in 1979, is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 20.
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