CSPA settles lawsuit against Sacramento Recycling for illegal pollution of the American and Sacramento Rivers

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CSPA settles lawsuit against Sacramento Recycling for illegal pollution of the American and Sacramento Rivers

by Bill Jennings, Executive Director, CSPA

July 18, 2009 -- CSPA has settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit against BLT Enterprises of Sacramento, Inc., the owner and operator of the Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station, a twelve-acre material recovery facility, transfer station and recycling center. Stormwater from the site is discharged to the Sacramento stormwater system that drains to the American and Sacramento Rivers.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in March 2009 alleging that Sacramento Recycling illegally discharged excessive concentrations of total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, oil & grease, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, lead, electrical conductance and other pollutants to the American, Sacramento and Delta. The facility also failed to develop, implement and update: 1) Best Available and Best Conventional Treatment Technologies; 2) an adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP); and 3) an adequate monitoring and reporting plan. It also accused the operators of falsely certifying compliance in their annual reports.

The Settlement Agreement was signed on 16 July 2009 and has been submitted to the court as an enforceable Consent Decree and to the U.S. Department of Justice for review. It obligates Sacramento Recycling to: 1) comply fully with the applicable requirements of the General Permit and Clean Water Act; 2) implement a suite of Best Management and Housekeeping Practices; 3) develop and implement a number of structural improvements to prevent pollutants from being discharged; 4) conduct more frequent, comprehensive monitoring during rain events, and 5) prepare an adequate SWPPP. The agreement incorporates “Meet & Confer” provisions that allow CSPA to return to court for enforcement if pollutant benchmarks continue to be exceeded and the parties cannot agree on additional measures to be implemented.

As mitigation for past violations, Sacramento Recycling agreed to send $40,000 to the Rose Foundation for a Better Environment to fund environmental projects that will improve water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. They also agreed to pay CSPA's costs of bringing the lawsuit plus funds to oversee implementation of the agreement.

Lozeau/Drury LLP and the Law Offices of Andrew Packard represented CSPA in this matter.