On 24 September 2014, CSPA settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit against Las Animas Concrete & Building Supply for violations of the California General Industrial Stormwater Permit. Las Animas operates a 2.4-acre concrete production plant in Santa Cruz, California. The lawsuit alleged that the facility discharged polluted stormwater into the San Lorenzo River.
The settlement agreement obligates Las Animas to comply fully with the Clean Water Act, develop and implement a suite of Best Management Practices and structural improvements, conduct more frequent and comprehensive monitoring and prepare an adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. The agreement incorporates provisions that allow CSPA to return to court for enforcement if pollutant benchmarks continue to be exceeded.
As mitigation for past violations, Las Animas agreed to send $15,000 to the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment to fund environmental projects to improve water quality in local watersheds. They also agreed to reimburse CSPA’s costs of bringing suit. The Law Offices of Andrew Packard represented CSPA in this matter.