The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that a California manufacturing company will pay $390,000 for violations of the Clean Water Act. Parker-Hannifin of Oxnard was found to be improperly discharging wastewater from its membrane and filter manufacturing facility into the City of Oxnard’s sewer system. As part of this settlement, Parker-Hannifin will spend approximately $510,000 on equipment upgrades at its facility.
“Industrial wastewater must be treated before it can be discharged, to protect the city's infrastructure and workers,” said John Busterud, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “This allows the City of Oxnard to ensure its municipal discharge to the ocean is protective of coastal waters and marine life.”
Parker-Hannifin owns and operates a facility that manufactures membranes and filters used as components in a variety of consumer goods. As part of its manufacturing processes, the facility generates and discharges wastewater to Oxnard’s sewer system. Parker-Hannifin violated a 2017 EPA administrative order to install a treatment technology that would achieve the pretreatment requirements specified in their permit. EPA’s standards protect municipal sewer collection systems and wastewater treatment plants from the effects of industrial discharges to receiving waters, such as the Pacific Ocean.
In addition to the $390,000 penalty, as part of this settlement, Parker Hannifin will spend $510,000 to install equipment that will ensure wastewater meets permit guidelines by November 2021. Parker-Hannifin will provide EPA with semi-annual reports on compliance.
The proposed consent decree will be lodged in federal district court by the U.S. Department of Justice and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the Consent Decree will be available on the Department of Justice website at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
