Company Pleads Guilty to Dumping Chromium
An electroplating shop pleaded guilty to dumping chromium-contaminated wastewater into the city sewer system in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
The Neal Feay Co. shop generates large amounts of wastewater. The felony and misdemeanor pleas were entered this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Atty. Debra Yank said.
U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins placed the business on three years’ probation, imposed a $25,000 criminal fine and ordered payment of $50,000 to be divided by the Channel Islands National Park and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The company must also pay about $18,000 in restitution to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, which helped clean up the spill and considered it a serious threat to public health.
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