According to court records disclosed on July 19, Crystal Geyser created an "Arsenic Pond" in a remote part of eastern California between Death Valley and The Sequoia National Forest, and then didn’t disclose that water they pumped out of the pond and delivered to water treatment plants was full of the poisonous heavy metal.
According to an investigation by the EPA’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, Crystal Geyser produced thousands of gallons of arsenic-contaminated water at its Olancha, CA facility, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
When the filters are back-flushed for cleaning, thousands of gallons of contaminated water were diverted to a holding pond, the indictment said.
In 2014, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control notified Crystal Geyser that the wastewater was deemed hazardous waste and needed to be transported and treated in compliance with environmental and hazardous waste laws.
The Department of Justice said that the investigation and indictment did not concern the safety or quality of Crystal Geyser’s bottled water.
Crystal Geyser stopped diverting wastewater into the Arsenic Pond in October 2014, the indictment said.
Some of the water was transported to a hazardous waste facility in Los Angeles County.
Laura Cunningham, California Director of Western Watersheds Project, said that pollution from industrial waste has been a particularly common issue in California’s recent history.
Adam Scow, California director of Food and Water Watch, said he doubted the fine would amount to a threat to the company’s business model.
Water is our most important public resource.”