Bay Area district attorneys reach $3.15 million settlement with three pesticide companies

MARTINEZ A lawsuit led by Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe against three pesticide companies accused of violating state laws in their disposal of hazardous waste and private information has been settled for million Becton disclosed the settlement in a announcement Wednesday The lawsuit she and Wagstaffe led against Clark Pest Control of Stockton Orkin Services of California and Crane Pest Control also included district attorneys in Alameda Santa Clara Solano and Sonoma counties Becton revealed that by terms of the settlement the three companies must comply within five years with a permanent injunction mandating key operational reforms She added that the settlement also resolved charges the three companies discarded customer records containing private information Prosecutors accused the companies of disposing their pesticides and hazardous waste into trash bins destined for landfills that weren t authorized to accept the materials The scrutiny started in Becton revealed that under terms of the judgement the three companies will pay a combined total of million in civil penalties in supplemental environmental projects in investigative costs and in credit for supplemental environmental compliance measures The reforms by the three companies must include adding a third-party dumpster auditor to audit a minimum of of the companies facilities each year for five years Becton reported She added that the reports of those audits must be communicated to prosecutors The companies also must make all employees complete training to ensure compliance of pesticide and hazardous waste and maintain that proof of training for three years Too the companies must devote a minimum of hours per year to the enhanced compliance for each year the settlement is current According to Becton investigators statewide conducted undercover inspections of dumpsters at separate Clark and Orkin facilities from March through February She announced the inspections displayed thousands of unlawfully disposed items including pesticide containers with liquids powders foams baits pellets and aerosol sprays Hazardous batteries e-waste hand sanitizers adhesives and cleaning solutions also were revealed in the bins Becton stated She added that customer records dumped in the bins that were still readable items such as utility orders contracts course reports and invoices manifested privacy law violations Becton announced all three companies cooperated fully and promptly with the prosecutors to correct the violations District attorneys in Monterey San Joaquin Yolo Orange Riverside San Diego and Ventura counties also were part of the lawsuit