An environmental group has reached a settlement with a sanitation district on the South Coast over allegations that storm runoff from a landfill was contaminating some waterways.
The Environmental Defense Center sued the Ventura Regional Sanitation District over the operation of the Toland Road landfill, near Santa Paula. The EDC says the district’s own testing showed stormwater was carrying toxic pollutants into O’Leary Creek, the Santa Clara River, and ultimately the Pacific Ocean.
The settlement calls for the district to upgrade a large water detention facility to minimize offsite runoff. Instead of paying a penalty, the district will contribute $75,000 to The Nature Conservancy’s efforts to remove non-native plants from the Santa Clara River area.
