Verizon Wireless Will Pay $7.7 Million in Civil Enforcement Action

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will receive more than $800,000 from the settlement, mostly to help prosecute environmental crime cases

LOS ANGELES – Verizon Wireless will pay $7.7 million to settle a civil enforcement action alleging widespread violations of California environmental laws governing hazardous materials storage, reporting and permitting at cell tower sites throughout the state.

The settlement, signed today by Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Y. Lee, resolves allegations that Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, failed to properly report hazardous materials, pay required permit fees, allow regulatory inspections, and comply with laws regulating aboveground petroleum storage tanks used to power emergency generators and backup systems.

The investigation, led by the District Attorney’s Offices of Orange County and San Bernardino County along with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, found that beginning in 2019 Verizon failed at multiple locations to comply with hazardous materials reporting requirements, provide required training, allow on-site inspections, and pay hazardous materials permit fees.

After being notified of the violations, Verizon cooperated with prosecutors, agreed to pay all outstanding permit fees, corrected the violations, and implemented policies and procedures to ensure future compliance.

Under the stipulated final judgment, Verizon will pay a total of $7,700,000, including:

• $7,125,000 in civil penalties
• $375,000 in Supplemental Environmental Compliance Projects
• $200,000 in investigative costs

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will receive more than $800,000 from the settlement, mostly to help prosecute environmental crime cases.

Participating agencies in the lawsuit include the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and the District Attorneys of seven California counties:

• Los Angeles
• Imperial
• Orange
• Riverside
• San Bernardino,
• San Diego
• Ventura

This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wright of the Environmental Crimes Division.

Verizon Wireless to Pay $7.7 Million to Settle Environmental Violations Following Statewide Investigation | Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

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