On 10 March 2014, CSPA settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit Criterion Catalysts & Technologies, LP, a 30-acre industrial inorganic chemical facility in Pittsburg, for violations of the federal Clean Water Act and their California General Industrial Stormwater Permit. The lawsuit alleged that the facility discharged polluted stormwater, including aluminum, iron, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, nitrogen, suspended solids and pH and above applicable levels into the Suisun Bay.
The settlement agreement obligates Criterion Catalysts 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 settlement incorporates provisions that allow CSPA to return to court to enforce the terms of the agreement, if necessary.
As mitigation for past violations, Criterion Catalysts agreed to send $40,000 to the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment to fund environmental projects to improve water quality in the San Francisco Bay-Delta watershed. They also agreed to reimburse CSPA’s costs of bringing suit. The Law Offices of Lozeau/Drury LLP represented CSPA in this matter.