City to Pay $270,000 for Oil Cleanup
City Council members agreed Tuesday to pay for the costs directly related to cleaning up waste oil that spilled from a city maintenance yard in 1998 into the Bolsa Chica wetlands. The Coast Guard said it cost $270,000.
Contractor Richard Ogle, former owner of Dick’s Vacuum Truck Service, was found guilty in 1999 for that incident. He was charged with dumping more than 200 gallons of waste oil into a clarifier at a city maintenance yard.
Mayor Bruce Broadwater said even though the contractor is responsible for the pollution, the “appropriate action” is for the city to pay for the cleanup.
Broadwater said the city’s attorneys will try to recover the taxpayers’ money from the contractor.
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