News Release

T – 18 – 21
Meredith Williams, Director

Contact: Sanford (Sandy) Nax
(916) 416-4309
Sanford.Nax@dtsc.ca.gov

DTSC Files Civil Complaint against Chemical Manufacturing Complex in Pittsburg, Contra Costa County

SACRAMENTO – The state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is asking a judge to issue civil penalties and to order Corteva Inc. and related entities to stop violating hazardous waste control laws at a chemical manufacturing plant near the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Contra Costa County.

In a civil complaint filed by the California Attorney General in Contra Costa County Superior Court, DTSC names Corteva and former or related entities including The Dow Chemical Co., Dow Agrosciences LLC, Corteva Agrisciences, LLC. and E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company.

The complaint alleges five causes of action:

• More than 1,000 instances where Corteva or a predecessor illegally treated wastewater with hazardous levels of toxic and corrosive chemicals in 2016, 2017, and 2020 without DTSC authorization.
• Operating numerous tanks that were either open or had open vents which could lead to uncontrolled emissions of toxic chemicals into the air.
• Failing to reply to repeated requests for information and documents related to inspections in 2016 and 2020 that found violations.
• Failing to make a required hazardous waste determination.
• Failing to determine whether the equipment in the wastewater treatment system must be monitored for air emissions.

“This facility is in an environmentally sensitive area and in a community where residents already suffer from high levels of pollution. We cannot let the facility operate unsafely and continue to stonewall us,” said DTSC Director Meredith Williams. “This enforcement action should send a signal to other polluters that DTSC will do whatever it takes to protect our unique natural environment and nearby residents.”

The facility at 901 Loveridge Road in Pittsburg sits less than a mile from the Corteva Wetlands and meets the shore of New York Slough at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers before they flow into the Suisun Bay, San Pablo Bay and eventually San Francisco Bay. It also is located near populated areas. Schools, a park, a nursing home and residences are within 1.5 miles of the property. The nearest neighborhoods are low-income communities, with a high population of people of color, where residents are already exposed to a disproportionately high level of pollution.

The case was referred to DTSC in 2019 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after a 2016 inspection reportedly found illegal treatment of corrosive and toxic hazardous waste in the wastewater treatment system and potentially hazardous waste streams the company was managing as recyclable.

When the U.S EPA referred the case to DTSC in 2019, DTSC ordered the facility to hand over information related to various aspects of the operation and the handling of hazardous waste. The responses have been incomplete, DTSC alleges in the complaint.

Likewise, the company has not provided all wastewater treatment system tank logs that DTSC requested following DTSC’s own inspection last November. During that inspection, the complaint states, DTSC found hazardous levels of corrosives and chemicals in the plant’s wastewater treatment system, chemicals the company did not have a permit to treat: carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, and chloroform. Acute exposure to high levels of carbon tetrachloride can harm the liver and kidneys. Exposure to high levels of tetrachloroethylene can lead to confusion, dizziness and unconsciousness. Chronic exposure to chloroform can harm the liver and central nervous system.

The court has the authority to impose civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day per violation for violations which occurred prior to Jan. 1, 2018, and up to $70,000 per day per violation for violations occurring on or after Jan. 1, 2018.

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FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES: Contact the Department of Toxic Substances Control to report illegal handling, discharge, or disposal of hazardous waste or other environmental concerns at Calepa.my.salesforce-sites.com/complaints/Complaint.