On January 9th, Crystal Geyser and its parent company, CG Roxane, LLC, pled guilty in federal court to contaminating the ecosystem with arsenic. Documents indicate that the company illegally stored and transported hazardous waste at facilities located in Olancha, California.

According to the U.S. attorney general, “in May 2015, CG Roxane hired two Los Angeles-area entities to remove the hazardous waste and transport it – which was done without the proper manifest and without identifying the wastewater as a hazardous material, according to court documents. The arsenic-contaminated wastewater was ultimately transported to a Southern California facility that was not authorized to receive or treat hazardous waste. As a result, more than 23,000 gallons of the wastewater from the arsenic pond allegedly was discharged into a sewer without appropriate treatment.”

The statement went on to say, “CG Roxane, LLC pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful storage of hazardous waste and one count of unlawful transportation of hazardous material. In a plea agreement recently filed in United States District Court, CG Roxane agreed to pay a criminal fine of $5 million.” 

CG Roxane, LLC’ gets its water from the Sierra Nevada mountains located in Central and Eastern California. The water contains arsenic, a known carcinogen, which is filtered out through sand filters and  then stored in a man-made pond.  The company failed to disclose the heavy metal contamination when the water was delivered to treatment facilities.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring compound found in ground water, and deeper water levels contain higher  concentrations. Bottled water companies are required by law to filter their sources and supply clean drinking water. As companies seek to increase production by drilling deeper wells, their filtration systems become overloaded with compounds. State and federal laws dictate that arsenic be disposed of safely.

The U.S. attorney’s office said in their press release, dated January 9, “for approximately 15 years, CG Roxane discharged the arsenic-contaminated wastewater into a manmade pond…” 

This contaminated, man-made pond has been a source of legal trouble for the company since 2013. Storage and disposal issues plague Crystal Geysers’ producers and the businesses they hire to help them transport the contamination. 

The U.S. attorney general said that the investigative process was a collaborative effort “conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the United States Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General. These federal agencies received assistance from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.”

 Crystal Geyser did not offer any direct comments related to the guilty plea, but a message on the Crystal Geyser website reads, “Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water comes directly from the Earth. We’re not just environmentally friendly, we’re activists partnering with federal, state and local governments and conservation trusts to protect the land surrounding our sources. We do this for the good of the water and the life-giving nature that provides it.”