District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Charles Ray Mundy (DOB 12/27/63), of Ventura, was sentenced to serve two years in the Ventura County jail for his role in causing a 2014 explosion at Santa Clara Waste Water Company (“SCWWC”). Last month, Mundy pled guilty to felony offenses of knowing failure to warn of a serious concealed danger, disposal of hazardous waste, filing a forged instrument, and reckless disregard for handling hazardous waste causing unreasonable risk. Mundy also pled 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 business plan. This case was jointly prosecuted by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office.

On November 18, 2014, an explosion occurred at 815 Mission Rock Road, Santa Paula, a wastewater treatment facility owned and operated by SCWWC. Mundy was the former vice president of Environmental Compliance and Facilities Operations at SCWWC. The explosion was caused by the reckless disposal of hazardous chemicals with incompatible materials in a vacuum truck. Numerous employees and first responders were injured either by the initial explosion or by inhaling toxic fumes.

While employed by SCWWC, Mundy was instrumental in obtaining 255 gallons of the chemical sodium chlorite, a regulated hazardous material. SCWWC was required to report the presence of sodium chlorite in their Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP). Mundy failed to report that sodium chlorite was present at the Santa Paula location. Further, Mundy failed to disclose the presence of sodium chlorite to first responders immediately after the explosion. In addition, Mundy provided false HMBP submissions by not reporting 5,500 gallons of Petromax, a hazardous chemical.

While executing search warrants in November 2014, police recovered forged analytical results in Mundy’s SCWWC office and later confirmed he prepared these forged results and submitted them to the City of Oxnard. Mundy also failed to provide adequate training and personal protective equipment to employees working on site.

In addition to the jail sentence, Mundy was ordered to pay victim restitution and will be placed on formal probation for three years. As a term of probation, Mundy is prohibited from employment in any capacity in the waste water treatment industry.

About The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is the public prosecutor for the county’s 850,000 residents. The office employs approximately 280 employees including attorneys, investigators, victim advocates, and other professional support staff who strive to seek justice, ensure public safety, and protect the rights of crime victims.