FROM:
Karyn Sinunu, Assistant District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
John Fioretta, Deputy District Attorney
Environmental Protection Unit
(408) 792-2638 For Release on May 1, 2003 FORMER SAN MARTIN BUSINESS PAYS $50,000 FOR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS VIOLATIONS Yesterday West Coast Engineering, Inc. admitted liability for hazardous materials violations at its former location in San Martin. This admission resolved the civil enforcement action filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney. The company and its owner, R.H. "Dick" Von Bargen will pay a total of $50,000 in civil penalties and costs and will be permanently enjoined from future violations. West Coast Engineering was a metal fabrication business that illegally stored hazardous materials and operated without required permits until it was shut down in April, 2002 by a temporary restraining order. The company has since gone out of business. The case was scheduled for trial next week. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health’s Hazardous Materials Compliance Division investigated the case after receiving a complaint. Despite receiving several notices of violation over an eight-month period, West Coast Engineering failed to come into compliance. The District Attorney’s Environmental Protection Unit prosecuted the case.
Karyn Sinunu, Assistant District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
John Fioretta, Deputy District Attorney
Environmental Protection Unit
(408) 792-2638 For Release on May 1, 2003 FORMER SAN MARTIN BUSINESS PAYS $50,000 FOR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS VIOLATIONS Yesterday West Coast Engineering, Inc. admitted liability for hazardous materials violations at its former location in San Martin. This admission resolved the civil enforcement action filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney. The company and its owner, R.H. "Dick" Von Bargen will pay a total of $50,000 in civil penalties and costs and will be permanently enjoined from future violations. West Coast Engineering was a metal fabrication business that illegally stored hazardous materials and operated without required permits until it was shut down in April, 2002 by a temporary restraining order. The company has since gone out of business. The case was scheduled for trial next week. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health’s Hazardous Materials Compliance Division investigated the case after receiving a complaint. Despite receiving several notices of violation over an eight-month period, West Coast Engineering failed to come into compliance. The District Attorney’s Environmental Protection Unit prosecuted the case.