The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a $677,531 civil liability against A Greener Globe Corporation Inc. Thursday, June 4, for failure to submit technical reports for its Berry Street Mall Landfill at 901 Galleria Blvd. in Roseville.
In 1996, A Greener Globe Corporation bought the closed landfill through foreclosure. The 26- acre parcel is on Galleria Boulevard near the Roseville Galleria mall, Creekside Retail Plaza and the Fountains at Roseville shopping center. A Greener Globe leases a portion of the landfill site to Green Acres Nursery.
Landfills contain high levels of constituents that can impact groundwater and surface water, and state regulations (Title 27, California Code of Regulations) contain specific requirements for maintaining closed landfills, including conducting regular monitoring to ensure any impacts from these constituents are detected and remediated. The Central Valley Water Board regulates the facility through a Waste Discharge Requirements permit, which implements the applicable portions of Title 27.
A Greener Globe has failed to comply with the Water Board’s requirements ever since it bought the site in 1996. The Board has taken numerous enforcement actions, including a referral to the Office of the Attorney General in 2000. The most recent violations focus on the failure to submit six technical reports and six complete monitoring reports as required by the Waste Discharge Requirements permit.
Groundwater monitoring conducted prior to 2012 found the landfill has impacted groundwater with volatile organic compounds and other constituents. However, A Greener Globe has not submitted complete monitoring reports since then, and Board staff cannot determine the current extent of the contamination.
In addition, A Greener Globe has not submitted a plan to remediate the groundwater and has not submitted other technical information necessary to ensure it is appropriately maintaining the landfill. The $677,531 penalty is intended to act as a deterrent and to compel A Greener Globe to comply with the Waste Discharge Requirements.
“A Greener Globe has a track record of non-compliance with the requirements of their permits, despite the substantial income they are generating from their site,” said Andrew Altevogt, assistant executive officer for the Central Valley Regional Board. “The penalty adopted by the Board reflects the recalcitrance of A Greener Globe in meeting very standard regulatory requirements.”
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is a California state agency responsible for the preservation and enhancement of quality in water resources.
For more information, visit: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralvalley/.