The District Attorney's Office of Ventura County, Calif., filed a lawsuit against Halaco Engineering Co,, Oxnard, Calif., alleging that the company illegally disposed of used oil into settling ponds near the beach. The suit was filed Oct. 16th.
Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Disney, with the County’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division, said the civil lawsuit was filed because Halaco, a metal recycling company, violated the state's hazardous- waste control and unlawful business practices laws.
Disney said the suit stems from a 1999 inspection done by state officials who allegedly discovered the illegal disposal.
Halaco operates an aluminum and magnesium recycling facility in South Oxnard where it accepts scrap metals and smelts them in its furnace.
The county has claimed that rather than managing and disposing of the oil, used in the maintenance of the smelter equipment, as a hazardous waste, the company employed the practice of disposing of used oil by adding it to the dross, baghouse dust and scrap metal bound for the rotary washers.
The county further noted that during the washing process, used oil was carried out of the washers and deposited into settling ponds. Any used oil that adhered to the washed materials was burned in Halaco’s furnace, a violation of California law.
According to the county, the company continued the practice until it received a written notice to cease and desist the practice January 2000.
The complaint seeks a permanent injunction and civil penalties.
According to local press reports, it took two years for the county to file the lawsuit because prosecutors wanted to make sure they had a strong case against Halaco.
According to an article in the Ventura County Star, Halaco lawyer David Shemano said company officials were surprised by the civil action because the allegations center around conduct that happened two years ago.
"The conduct that the district attorney is concerned about was discontinued by Halaco more than two years ago. We look forward to resolving this as quickly as we can," he said. "We disagree that the disposal was improper. The lawsuit is not alleging that anything improper is going on in Halaco. I think it is important that people understand that."
Halaco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this summer.