EPA Fines Waste Management $300,000

Kettleman Hills Landfill in Kettleman City Has Been Controversial For Years

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined landfill operator Chemical Waste Management, a subsidiary of Waste Management, $300,000 for allowing cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to leach into the soil. Residents have complained that birth defects have been caused by toxic chemicals from the landfill.  State health officials recently released a report that concluded the birth defects did not come from exposure to chemicals from the landfill.

The EPA fine does not confirm the health effects that residents claim caused the birth defects, but fined the company due to the contamination of the soil.