CAMARILLO : Firm Agrees to Pay $75,000 in Penalties

A Camarillo etching firm accused of improperly disposing of hazardous wastes has agreed to pay $75,000 in civil penalties in an out-of-court settlement, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury announced Wednesday.

Supra Alloys Inc. entered into the settlement agreement without admitting any liability or wrongdoing, Bradbury said.

The settlement stemmed from a 1990 investigation by the district attorney’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division. Investigators received an anonymous tip that the firm was improperly discarding industrial byproducts used in its operations.

Bradbury said Supra Alloys installed a system to clean its wastewater in 1988. He said when the system was operating, a “filter cake” would form that contained hazardous amounts of fluoride and vanadium.

Bradbury said every two months, the company would discard the waste in regular trash dumpsters, rather than handling it as a hazardous waste.

He said the company fully cooperated with investigators, who contacted the firm after receiving a report that it was improperly discarding 55-gallon drums in its trash dumpsters.

Investigators learned that the residue remaining in the drums was non-hazardous, but informed the company that the practice was still illegal, Bradbury said.

“Businesses who generate hazardous waste have an obligation to ensure that it is properly treated, stored, transported and disposed of,” Bradbury said.