Laundry pays fine for overflows into creek

Alsco Laundry (DBA Steiner Corporation) has worked with Santa Rosa's water inspectors to upgrade its facility to help reduce the potential for future pollution after two instances of releasing polluted waters into Piner Creek in Santa Rosa, a violation of Fish and Game Code section 5650.1.

The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office's Environmental and Consumer Law Division also stated Wednesday that Alsco has agreed to train employees at its Santa Rosa facility on methods to prevent illegal releases, to show proof of this training, and to pay civil penalties in the amount of $135,000 ($115,000 in investigative costs, and $20,000 to protect water quality in Piner Creek).

The office stated that on June 4, 2015, the City of Santa Rosa's Water Department observed a discharge of about 100 gallons of laundry wash water into a storm drain connected to Piner Creek. On June 9, during another routine inspection, about 150 gallons of laundry wash water unlawfully overflowed into Piner Creek, the office stated. Both instances required capturing and relocating more than 200 fish and crayfish upstream, the office stated, but 40 other fish or crayfish died.