While it might be tempting to avoid waste removal fees by dumping construction materials illegally in remote or deserted locations, the outcome of a recent court case in California should change your mind. A California contractor and construction firm has been ordered to pay $170,000 in fines for illegally dumping waste materials in a protected wetlands areas while working on the construction of a strip mall.
In addition, the company will also have to pay another $150k to assist in the rehabilitation and repair of the nine acres that were polluted and contaminated by their waste materials. The case involved over two hundred construction waste loads from large dump trucks being illegally dumped into protected wetlands essential to salmon and steelhead populations.The river where the dumping occurred is considered impaired due to low dissolved oxygen, excessive sediment loads, and high water temperatures.
The illegal dumping happened from 2005 to 2008 and polluted over four acres of wetlands and violated the Clean Water Act, a federal regulation designed to protect our country’s coasts, lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands, which are vital to human health and the well-being of our environment.
WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Cutting corners to save in waste disposal fees is never a good idea. Resorting to illegal dumping will certainly land you and your company in hot water!