Firm to Pay Damages in Dumping Case

A Ventura company has agreed to pay $80,000 in damages after 15 tons of hazardous waste were disposed of at a site that wasn’t authorized to receive the material.

The district attorney’s office settled a civil suit Friday with Ojai Manufacturing Technology Inc., a company that designs and produces machines for cutting ceramics and other hard materials.

The company had hired Bakersfield-based Calpi Inc. to dispose of 15 tons of hazardous waste at the McKittrick Waste Treatment Site in Kern County, according to an investigation by the Ventura County Environmental Health Department and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The investigation also alleged that representatives from both companies made false statements to the treatment site about the waste, and that the Ventura company stored hazardous waste on its property for too long and in unlabeled containers.

Calpi Inc., an environmental firm that hauls hazardous waste, agreed to pay $15,000 in penalties and costs. Neither Ojai Manufacturing Technology nor Calpi acknowledged any wrongdoing.

The settlement also requires both companies to comply with state environmental laws in the future.