Federal judge fines eyeglass lens maker $750,000 for Clean Water Act offense.
A federal judge Monday fined an eyeglass lens manufacturer $750,000 for repeatedly discharging hazardous waste into Clackamas County's sewer system in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
Carl Zeiss Vision operated for three years without a required industrial wastewater discharge permit and allowed untreated corrosive liquid waste to seep into a public sanitary sewer connection that fed into the county's water service sewer system, according to prosecutors and federal agents.
An investigator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined that the compound in the drain contained different metals, including cadmium and lead.
In January, the Clackamas company, through its general counsel, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating federal regulations requiring treatment of pollutants. The charge covered violations that occurred over 30 days from June to July 2015.
Prosecutors sought the $750,000 fine, while lawyers representing Carl Zeiss Vision argued for a $150,000 penalty.
Karla G. Perrin, a lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency, said the higher amount was justified, noting that the company avoided the costs of properly disposing the hazardous waste for seven years.
"The fine is supposed to sting a little bit,'' Perrin said, noting that the company reports a $35 million annual profit.
Attorneys for the manufacturer called the $750,000 "badly out of step'' with other fines issued for similar environmental violations, particularly for a misdemeanor.
They urged the judge to consider that the company has cooperated with federal and local regulators and spent about $600,000 to correct the problem.
Michael F. Vitris, one of the lawyers representing the company, said the "eye-popping'' amount of the fine will "jump off a page'' and harm the company's reputation and business.
Peter C. Anderson, another lawyer for Carl Zeiss Vision, said the violations were "inconsistent with Zeiss' ethic. This is not something the company is proud of. There was a belief either the company had a permit or didn't need one. ... It was inadvertent, sloppy. It shouldn't have happened, but they have cooperated.''
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon said he found $750,000 "sufficient but not greater than necessary,'' considering the seriousness of the offense, the need to promote respect for the law and provide a just punishment.
Simon also said he considered the company's resources.
The Environmental Protection Agency began investigating the company after a maintenance worker at Carl Zeiss Vision filed a complaint in 2014. In 2015, the agency conducted a search warrant at the manufacturing plant at 14450 S.E. 98th Court.
The maintenance worker contacted the EPA office in Seattle and said he watched Carl Zeiss Vision employees at the end of the night shift dump a bucket of an alloy and wastewater down the drain. The worker included in his complaint a photo of a plastic drain containing a metallic-looking substance, according to a search warrant affidavit.
The EPA installed recording monitors in the sanitary sewer line where the company discharged its waste, said Eric Martenson, special agent with EPA's criminal investigation division. The monitors found the company was discharging corrosive liquid wastes above permitted PH levels.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...yeglass_l.html
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