Company Accused of Pollution Is Ordered to Halt Creek Mining
Superior Court Judge Phillip E. Cox Tuesday temporarily ordered a South County sand and gravel company to halt all mining operations along a stretch of Trabuco Creek.
Cox granted a restraining order against Mission Viejo Materials Co. of San Juan Capistrano until a Sept. 13 court hearing on allegations the company has polluted the creek and damaged the stream bed.
The hearing will be held in West Orange County Superior Court.
The district attorney filed a lawsuit this week claiming the company has repeatedly damaged a 150-acre portion of the creek, including sensitive riparian habitat along the creek bed and also failed to comply with a 2-year-old agreement with the California Department of Fish and Game to repair the creek damage.
“This is a long-term problem,” Bob Schlichting, a Fish and Game spokesman, said Tuesday. “The company is supposed to be doing some mitigation of the damage but hasn’t done so. They are stalling and not living up to their part of the agreement.”
Mission Viejo Materials has been mining a 600-acre site along the creek in Rancho Mission Viejo for the past six years. The company leases the site from the Santa Margarita Co.
Officials at Mission Viejo Materials did not return calls seeking comment.
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