Orange County Coastkeeper and Huntington Beach Foundry Reach Historic Agreement to Improve Water Quality
- Coastkeeper expects safer water flowing to national wildlife refuge
- Foundry to transform industrial processes to reuse stormwater
COSTA MESA, CA – Orange County Coastkeeper reached an agreement with a Huntington Beach commercial bronze foundry, Fox Hills Industries, to improve water quality in Huntington Harbor and the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The foundry plans to update its practices to capture and reuse all stormwater onsite before it flows into local waterways.
The Huntington Beach foundry will develop systems to capture stormwater, allowing some of it to evaporate and reusing some for industrial purposes, which will also eliminate the need to use expensive drinking water in the facility’s systems. If successful in these improvements, Fox Hills will stop releasing polluted runoff to nearby waterways and make history as the first Orange County facility to make such a significant reduction in polluted stormwater through a settlement with Coastkeeper.
“We expect these improvements to be a model for other industrial facilities looking to come into compliance and keep our waters safe for families and our California way of life,” said Colin Kelly, senior staff attorney at Coastkeeper.
In 2016, Coastkeeper tested rainwater flowing from Fox Hills facilities and found nearly 300 times the allowable level of copper. Coastkeeper filed a federal notice to
encourage Fox Hills Industries to adjust its practices to come into compliance with its industrial stormwater permit and the Clean Water Act – a federal law regulating pollution nationwide. According to Coastkeeper, the completed negotiations mean that Fox Hills will fulfill its responsibility to keep local waters safe for endangered marine life and local residents alike.
“We are delighted with the outcomes provided the facility can qualify for approval to be removed from permit coverage due to the fact it must capture all stormwater flows on site,” said Garry Brown, founder and President of Orange County Coastkeeper. “This should be a model for other industrial facilities in Orange County.”
The two parties jointly agreed on the settlement terms, which is now subject to final review and approval by the US District Court. Fox Hills plans to make the necessary modifications to its facility by June of 2018.
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ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY COASTKEEPER
Founded in 1999, the mission of Coastkeeper is to protect and promote sustainable water resources that are swimmable, drinkable, and fishable. Coastkeeper is a nonprofit clean water organization that serves as a proactive steward of our fresh- and saltwater ecosystems. We work collaboratively with diverse groups in the public and private sectors to achieve healthy, accessible, and sustainable water resources for the region. We implement innovative, effective programs in education, advocacy, restoration, research, enforcement, and conservation. For more information, visit www.coastkeeper.org.
