Verizon Wireless will pay $7.7 million to settle a civil enforcement action alleging widespread violations of California environmental laws.
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, had been cited for failing to properly report hazardous materials, pay required permit fees, allow regulatory inspections, and comply with laws regulating aboveground petroleum storage tanks used to power emergency generators and backup systems, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. The accord signed Friday by Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Y. Lee, resolves those allegations. and requires the company to pay $7.1 million in civil penalties, $375,000 in supplemental environmental compliance projects and $200,000 in investigative costs.
“Companies that store hazardous materials have a legal obligation to protect the public, first responders, and the environment,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “This settlement underscores that even the largest corporations must follow California’s environmental laws, and when they don’t, they will be held accountable.”
Verizon Wireless is the largest provider of mobile telephone services in the United States and owns and operates thousands of cell sites across California. Many of these sites store hazardous materials that, if improperly managed, can pose serious risks including fires, explosions, and the release of toxic chemical air contaminants, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
California law requires permits, accurate reporting, employee training and access for inspections when hazardous materials are stored above certain threshold quantities. An investigation led by the District Attorney’s Offices of Orange and San Bernardino counties along with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office found that beginning in 2019, Verizon failed to comply with those rules at multiple locations.
After being notified of the violations, Verizon cooperated with prosecutors, agreed to pay all outstanding permit fees, corrected the violations and implemented policies and procedures to ensure future compliance, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office will receive more than $800,000 from the settlement, mostly to help prosecute environmental crime cases. Other agencies that participated in the lawsuit include the district attorneys of Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, as well as the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.