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U.S. EPA orders Carson Pepsi bottling plant to comply with the federal Clean Water Act

Release Date: 12/1/2004
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, U.S. EPA, (213) 244-1815

Firm faces fines of $32,500 per day per violation

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently ordered The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. to correct Clean Water Act violations at its bottling facility in Carson, Calif.

The Pepsi Bottling Group occupies a nine-acre site located at 19700 Figueroa Street, in Carson, near Los Angeles.

The order cited the Pepsi Bottling Group's Carson facility for failing to properly monitor and sample its industrial stormwater runoff as required by the state's industrial stormwater discharge permit issued under the Clean Water Act. The order also cited the Pepsi Bottling Group for sending excessively acidic industrial wastewater to the sewage treatment plant run by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.

Such discharges are in violation of both EPA and sanitation districts regulations designed to protect sewer systems from corrosion and structural damage.

"Pepsi Bottling Group's Carson facility has been discharging acidic industrial wastewater to Los Angeles' collection system, which can corrode the sewer pipes," said Alexis Strauss, the EPA's water director for the Pacific Southwest region. "We trust that The Pepsi Bottling Group will comply with the Clean Water Act and rectify the problem at this bottling facility and fulfill its legal responsibilities to protect the wastewater infrastructure and coastal waters of Los Angeles County."

The EPA order requires The Pepsi Bottling Group to take all necessary measures to fully comply with the Clean Water Act, including the following:

Develop and implement a comprehensive pH compliance plan for the industrial wastewater sent to the local sewers.
Implement an updated plan for stormwater monitoring to comply with permit requirements.

Failure to comply with the Clean Water Act and the EPA order could bring penalties of up to $32,500 per day per violation.

The EPA's enforcement effort was assisted by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board in Los Angeles and the Sanitation District of Los Angeles County, who conducted key inspections and issued separate notices of violation.

For more information on the EPA's Office of Water, please visit https://www.epa.gov/region09/water/