Party Venue Accused of Polluting Creek

After pleading no contest to one group of misdemeanors earlier this week, party venue operator Avi Datner was hit with a new set of felony charges Wednesday, this time alleging he polluted a nearby creek.

The five-count complaint charges Datner and his sister, Shula Datner, with discharging copper sulfate into Triunfo Creek when they drained decorative ponds at Fantasy Island, an Agoura party venue the family owns. A popular site for weddings and bar mitzvahs, the retreat has been the center of a long--running dispute between the Datners and neighbors who have lodged hundreds of complaints over noise and traffic.

Datner pleaded no contest Monday to several misdemeanor counts of failure to comply with county permit and licensing laws, his attorney said. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to obtain the proper permits necessary to operate the site.

“At the judge’s urging we thought this was the best way to settle things,” said Richard Beada, Datner’s attorney.

Beada said he was “very surprised” to learn that prosecutors had filed new charges Wednesday. “I thought we had settled everything the other day.”

The latest case alleges that the Datners discharged copper sulfate into Triunfo Creek in March of last year. County fire officials were notified that a colored liquid was running through the creek. The fire officials reported the incident to the Department of Fish and Game, which launched an investigation.

“When they drained the ponds on the property, they were loaded with copper sulfate and it entered the creek,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison, of the Environmental Crimes Unit. “There was also significant amounts of sludge adjacent to the creek that contained copper sulfate.”

Copper sulfate is used for various purposes, including killing algae in water, Nison said. In small amounts, copper sulfate is not environmentally dangerous but in the concentrations discovered it becomes a hazardous material, he said.

The five-count complaint contains three felony counts: discharge of pollutants into navigable waters of the state, illegal disposal of hazardous waste and illegal disposal of hazardous substances into state waters. The two misdemeanor counts are for illegal pollution of state water and illegal dumping of garbage and rubbish.

A court appearance has been scheduled for April 6.