U.S. EPA orders three Southern California companies to limit wastewater discharges

03/03/2006, LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered three Santa Ana, Calif.-based companies to limit their wastewater discharges and establish a self-monitoring plan to correct violations of the Clean Water Act.

The three Santa Ana firms are:
• Embee Incorporated, a metal finishing firm located at 2136 South Hathaway Street;
• Reid Metal Finishing, Inc., also a metal finishing firm, located at 3110 W. Harvard;
• Pioneer Circuits, a printed circuit board manufacturer located at 3000 South Shannon Street.


“Metal finishing wastewaters released into sewers have the potential to affect the health and safety of sewer workers and people living in the surrounding community,” said Alexis Strauss, director of the water division of the EPA. “They also can interfere with the proper operation of the sewers and sewage treatment plants. These three companies must do their part to protect the Santa Ana and Orange County sewer systems from the harmful effects of industrial discharges.”

The three companies must follow a 12-month timetable to modernize their wastewater treatment in order to reduce their discharges of toxics such cadmium, copper, nickel, and cyanide into the sewers. The pollutant limitations for the three companies apply nationwide to all metal finishers and printed circuit board manufacturers.

Contact Information

Francisco Arcaute

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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