C&H Sugar agrees to pay $734,000 for Crockett odor nuisance and wastewater violations

OAKLAND – C&H Sugar Co. has agreed to pay $734,000 to resolve allegations by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board that its joint treatment plant caused an odor nuisance in the Contra Costa County town of Crockett, after which it failed to provide information on its wastewater treatment and failed to meet other Clean Water Act requirements.

C&H’s treatment operations allegedly produced a foul odor that permeated the Crockett community for over a month in 2022 and discharged wastewater that failed to meet water quality standards.

The San Francisco Water Board has posted the settlement agreement on its website for public review and comment for the next 30 days pending the regional board’s decision to accept or reject it.

C&H is the leading sugar brand on the West Coast. It operates and co-owns the Philip F. Meads Water Treatment Plant in Crockett. On Sept. 4, 2022, a heatwave caused the treatment plant’s equipment to fail, resulting in strong odors that continued through October. Residents compared the odor to rotten eggs and sewage and were advised by Contra Costa Health officials to remain indoors due to elevated hydrogen sulfide levels.

Following these complaints, the regional board required C&H to submit information on its treatment system reliability, specifically regarding the causes of the equipment failures that resulted in the odor. C&H responded 209 days past the deadline and failed to include significant elements, such as measures to prevent power outages and operational changes to ensure that the treatment plant is properly maintained in the future.

Additionally, from December 2020 through January 2024, C&H reported that its wastewater discharges to Carquinez Strait violated effluent limitations in its Clean Water Act permit 15 times. C&H also submitted required monitoring reports late three times.

Since these events, C&H has invested in improvements to prevent such violations from reoccurring. Regional water board staff will monitor the company’s progress to ensure it is in compliance with the terms of the settlement.

A little less than half of the penalty ($360,000) will go to the State Water Board’s Cleanup and Abatement Account, which provides grants for pollution cleanup projects throughout California, including projects that address urgent drinking water needs. The remaining $374,000 will be spent to improve the Carquinez Waterfront, where a bioretention basin, rainwater garden and permeable surface bordered by bioswales will be constructed to slow down and filter stormwater runoff while promoting groundwater recharge. The project is part of a community-based vision for the waterfront that will include common use space for picnics, recreation and access to the San Francisco Bay trail.

More information about the regional board’s enforcement activities can be found on its website.

The mission of the San Francisco Bay Water Board is to preserve, enhance, and restore California's water resources for the protection of the environment, public health, and all beneficial uses for present and future generations.