Los Angeles’ City Attorney filed 18 misdemeanor charges against the owner and operator of a Harbor City bus dismantler and recycling company for environmental crimes, including the illegal disposal of hazardous waste.
Joseph Michael Zacher, Jr., 49, and Zacher Automotive Recyclers Inc. were each charged with 18 criminal counts for environmental violations. Charges include five counts of illegal disposal of hazardous waste and individual counts of failure to label and store hazardous waste in proper and closed containers, illegal disposal of lead acid batteries, disposal of oil onto the soil, failure to prevent soil contamination, illegal deposit of hazardous materials on public roads, littering near a main water drain, and the illegal disposal of parts into the water.
Investigators alleged the owner and his company routinely drained waste oil and other engine lubricants onto the ground during their bus dismantling and repair operations.
The report also alleged that lead acid batteries were illegally disposed and scattered all over the facility with their caps missing. In one location dozens of the batteries were stacked and covered with dirt and debris in what apparently was used as a makeshift retaining wall.
A laboratory analysis of samples from the site indicated that the soil at the facility was contaminated with lead and cadmium at levels constituting hazardous waste, according to the California Hazardous Waste Control Laws. The laboratory analyses of other samples indicated that waste oil was also disposed onto the ground at the facility, which is prohibited by state law.
The complaint was filed on December 3. Arraignment for both Zacher and Zacher Automotive Recyclers Inc. is scheduled for February 2.