VENTURA : Man Settles Oil Dumping Lawsuit

A Santa Barbara man agreed Thursday to pay $5,573 in penalties and costs to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the Ventura County district attorney’s office against him for allegedly dumping petroleum-tainted water into a storm drain.

Steven James Sherwin agreed to pay the fines without admitting any wrongdoing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz said. The penalties include reimbursement to government agencies for costs incurred in responding to, cleaning up and investigating the incident, Schwartz said.

It is the first settlement obtained by the district attorney’s office for an action brought under tightened water pollution laws that went into effect Jan. 1, Schwartz said.

A complaint filed by the Consumer and Environmental Protection Division alleged that on Feb. 22, Sherwin pumped water containing petroleum waste from a vacant building located at 42 Chestnut St. in Ventura into a storm drain that empties into the ocean.

The building, which is owned by Sherwin’s father, had been used in past years as an automotive garage with an underground tank. The building flooded during February’s heavy rains, bringing the petroleum wastes from the tank to the surface, Schwartz said.

The tainted water should have been treated as a hazardous substance and disposed of properly, officials said.

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said the settlement shows that pollution laws apply to citizens as well as to factories and chemical companies.

“Anyone who finds used oil and hazardous waste on their property has the responsibility to handle it in a way that will protect our environment as required by law,” he said.