Investigations

On March 14, 2018, Charles Mundy, vice president of environmental compliance and facilities operations, Santa Clara Waste Water Company (SCWWC) was sentenced in Superior Court of California, Ventura County, to 24 months in custody and 36 months of probation for his role in a November 2014 explosion at the SCWWC facility in Santa Paula, California. Under the terms and conditions of his probation, Mundy is prohibited from employment in any capacity in the wastewater treatment industry. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and remains liable for additional restitution owed to victims, which will be determined by the Ventura County Probation Department. At the time of his guilty plea, Mundy paid $100,000 as partial payment toward restitution. He was scheduled to begin serving his jail sentence on March 21, 2018.

 

In February 2018, Mundy pleaded guilty to several felony offenses, including knowing failure to warn of a serious concealed danger, disposal of hazardous waste, filing a false or forged instrument, and reckless disregard for handling hazardous waste causing unreasonable risk. He also pleaded no contest to the felony offense of causing great bodily injury by emitting an air contaminant, and to the misdemeanor offenses of repeated violation of labor safety standards and failure to update a Hazardous Materials Business Plan.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation jointly with the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, which also prosecuted the case with the California Attorney General’s Office.