Pest Control Companies to Pay $3.1 Million in Environmental Settlement
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan today announced a $3.15 million civil settlement against Clark Pest Control of Stockton (Clark), Orkin Services of California (Orkin), and Crane Pest Control (Crane) to resolve allegations that the companies violated state laws governing pesticide, hazardous waste, and customer records privacy laws, by unlawfully disposing of pesticides and hazardous wastes into company waste bins destined for municipal landfills not authorized to accept these wastes. Joining DA Stephan in the lawsuit are the District Attorneys of Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, and Ventura counties.
The lawsuit also resolves allegations that the companies routinely failed to shred customer records containing confidential information before disposing of those items into the trash.
“By enforcing environmental laws, our Environmental Protection Unit does an outstanding job ensuring that companies don’t profit by cutting corners in ways that harm our communities through pollution, hazardous waste dumping, or other violations,” said DA Stephan. “We will continue to work with regulators and other district attorneys across the state to investigate and prosecute corporations who would break the law and endanger San Diego County’s environmental health and the safety of its residents.”
Clark, Orkin and Crane are residential and commercial pest control service companies owned by Georgia-based Rollins, Inc., with over 70 facilities in California including seven in San Diego County.
The investigation was initiated in 2021 and from March of that year through February 2022, DA investigators throughout the state conducted a series of undercover waste inspections of 40 dumpsters originating at 22 separate Clark and Orkin facilities. The inspections uncovered thousands of unlawfully disposed of toxic, ignitable, and corrosive pesticide and hazardous waste items that were destined for transfer stations and landfills not permitted to receive those wastes. Those items included containers of pesticide liquids, powders, foams, baits, pellets and aerosol sprays, and hazardous batteries, e-waste, hand sanitizers, caulking, adhesives, and facility cleaning solutions.
The inspections also revealed the pest control companies had improperly managed and disposed of thousands of customer records violating California privacy laws designed to protect consumers by requiring businesses to render personal information in those records unreadable before disposal. Those records included customer service orders, contracts, invoices and route reports.
When Clark and Orkin were notified by the prosecutors of the unlawful disposals, they fully cooperated and quickly responded to enhance company policies and procedures designed to eliminate the improper management and disposal of these prohibited wastes, and to protect confidential customer information in California.
Under the stipulated final judgment, Clark, Orkin and Crane will pay a total of $3,175,000, consisting of:
- $2,017,000 in civil penalties
- $400,000 in Supplemental Environmental Compliance projects
- $333,000 in investigative costs
- $400,000 in credit for Supplemental Environmental Compliance Measures
San Diego County will receive $125,000.00.
The judgment also requires the companies to comply with a permanent injunction mandating significant operational reforms for a period of no less than five years, including:
- Retention of a third-party auditor to conduct dumpster audits at a minimum of 10% of its facilities each year for five years.
- Report the findings of the dumpster audits to the prosecutors.
- Require that all facility employees complete a training program that ensures compliance with applicable pesticide waste and hazardous waste management and maintain proof of the training for three years.
- Devote a minimum of two thousand (2,000) hours per year for each year in which the judgment remains in effect to enhanced environmental compliance measures, including compliance reviews of waste accumulation areas, oversight of waste minimization efforts by company technicians, and oversight of enhanced hazardous waste compliance management.
The San Diego DA’s Environmental Protection Unit is part of its Economic Crimes and Consumer Protection Division. Prosecutors in the Unit handle cases involving the illegal treatment, transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials and waste. They also review industrial accidents referred by Cal-OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Administration), especially when there are serious safety violations that lead to death, disability, or significant exposure risk. Prosecutions can be criminal or civil depending on the situation.
Deputy District Attorney Michael McCann handled the civil suit on behalf of the San Diego DA’s Office.
