VENTURA, California – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that his office has filed and settled a civil law enforcement action against Southern California Edison Company (“SCE”). The settlement resolves allegations that SCE violated environmental protection laws requiring the filing of a hazardous materials business plan (“HMBP”) for each of its Ventura County electrical transformer facilities.

California’s HMBP laws protect and inform emergency responders about hazardous materials stored at a business location. Filing an HMBP protects emergency responders by providing advance notice of potential risks associated with the release or ignition of hazardous materials that may be present at an emergency response scene.

SCE owns and operates 47 electrical substations in Ventura County that house transformers containing mineral oil. Mineral oil is combustible and requires specialized response techniques in the event of a fire or release. SCE discovered it had not submitted reports for many of its Ventura County facilities as the result of a self-audit. SCE then began reporting its undisclosed facilities to the authorities. As of today, all Ventura County SCE sites have been reported to the emergency authorities as required.

Under the Final Judgment signed by Superior Court Judge Vincent J. O’Neill, Jr., SCE was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution and disgorgement payable as follows: $17,500 to the Ventura County Environmental Health Division, $5,000 to the Oxnard Fire-CUPA Division and $2,500 to the City of Ventura Fire Prevention Division. In addition, SCE was ordered to pay $120,000 as statutory investigation costs and civil penalties to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. SCE will be bound under the terms of a permanent injunction prohibiting similar future violations.