South County Mushroom Grower has Long History of Violations

Monterey Mushrooms’ history of allowing its farm production waste to flow from its Morgan Hill facility into local waterways is extensive, according to a complaint filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office against the company.

Recorded incidents of such wastewater flow from the mushroom-growing site on Hale Avenue into Fisher Creek and its tributaries date back more than 30 years and have occurred on dozens of occasions observed by law enforcement, authorities say.

Similar illegal dumping practices have been logged at other Monterey Mushrooms facilities in the Central Coast region, and authorities outside of this county are still working with the company to correct the more recent violations, sources say.

Despite the nasty-sounding nature of the allegations against Monterey Mushrooms, local officials have tried to assure the public that drinking water is not at risk. Morgan Hill spokeswoman Maureen Tobin noted that the mushroom-growing facility near Hale and Miramonte avenues is outside the city proper—about 1.5 miles north of town—and Fisher Creek flows away from town to the north.

“Although the alleged discharges are far to the north of the city’s groundwater supply, residents should understand that the city has and continues to test water quality in order to ensure the water delivered to Morgan Hill is safe,” Tobin said in an email.

Morgan Hill’s public drinking water is drawn directly from the groundwater basin beneath the city. Fisher Creek flows into Coyote Creek, which flows through San Jose and into the San Francisco Bay. Coyote Creek is home to steelhead trout, California tiger salamanders and California red-legged frogs.

The DA alleges that environmentally harmful and unfair business practices have been deliberate and pervasive at Monterey Mushrooms’ Morgan Hill site. The lawsuit is asking the Superior Court for $67 million in damages.

The lawsuit describes the allegations in detail and includes photos of how Monterey Mushrooms allowed harmful production waste to flow off its property. Hay bales used for compost at the site—often made of used horse stable grasses that may contain animal urine and feces—are pictured sitting directly next to the creek in one of the exhibits, with no barrier or collection pond to prevent rain water from washing material into the creek.

One time, in January of 2016, California Fish and Game wardens saw stormwater running off piles of used hay bales, “flowing through an intentionally hand-dug ditch and directly into a stream, Fisher Creek,” per the DA’s complaint.

The lawsuit also alleges that employees of Monterey Mushrooms dug up sections of Fisher Creek’s banks without a permit, to remove weeds.

On Feb. 7, 2017, authorities estimated the Morgan Hill site pumped more than 345,000 gallons of wastewater into Fisher Creek. Much of the wastewater pumped into the creek from Monterey Mushrooms’ site, on multiple occasions, contained toxic levels of ammonia, according to the DA’s complaint.

In all, the DA’s complaint alleges 66 violations of state Fish and Game codes and one violation of unfair competition laws. The lawsuit alleges Monterey Mushrooms committed the violations in order to cut operation costs.

Monterey Mushrooms, one of the nation’s largest mushroom growers, operates other farms in California that fall outside the local jurisdiction. The DA included information about recent violations at these sites as well in the lawsuit, for background information.

Three other Monterey Mushrooms facilities where the company has allegedly diverted or pumped wastewater into creeks are in Royal Oaks, Watsonville and Arroyo Grande. The company is based in Watsonville.

These facilities fall within the oversight jurisdiction of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. That board’s assistant executive officer, Matt Keeling, said these three sites have shown “similar types of violations (that) we’re currently working with Monterey Mushrooms to resolve.” The board has not yet fined or penalized the company, but it has the authority to do so, and such enforcement may later be on the table for Monterey Mushrooms, Keeling said.

The alleged violations at the Central Coast mushroom facilities date back to 2016, according to Keeling. When asked if wastewater runoff violations are pervasive at the three Monterey Mushrooms sites, Keeling said, “It does appear to be so.” The board’s goal at the moment is to make sure these facilities are in compliance with state law.

In a statement in December, Monterey Mushrooms said it was “shocked” by the DA’s lawsuit. A company spokesman said the un-permitted flows of wastewater off the Morgan Hill site in 2016 and 2017 were not intentional, but were the result of torrential rain storms that occurred during the winter months.

The lawsuit also includes a history of Monterey Mushrooms’ violations at the Morgan Hill site going back to 1985. That year, regulators required the company to install an upgraded evaporation pond to the property in order to lawfully deal with production waste. The company asked for an extension on its deadline to install the pond due to the high cost of the project, but ultimately did not complete the evaporation pond until 2001.

“During the 16 years (from 1985 to 2001), defendants remained in full production and unlawfully discharged their wastewater into (an) unlined percolation pond,” according to the DA complaint.

Michael Moore is an award-winning journalist who has worked as a reporter and editor for the Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Free Lance and Gilroy Dispatch since 2008. During that time, he has covered crime, breaking news, local government, education, entertainment and more.

8 Comments

  1. They discharged their wastewater into an unlined percolation pond? Percolation ponds by definition percolate water back into the ground recharging underground aquifers. Looks like these people are missing a great opportunity to sell all that great organic material back to gardeners and farmers.

  2. > Despite the nasty-sounding nature of the allegations against Monterey Mushrooms, . . . .

    Hmmmm.

    Sounds like Monterey Mushrooms may not have made enough in the way of political contributions to the right kind of people.

    “One time, in January of 2016, California Fish and Game wardens saw stormwater running off piles of used hay bales,”

    We pay California Fish and Game wardens to be out in rainstorms and spy on piles of used hay bales?

    Couldn’t some of them be used on the border to look out for caravans of migrants tossing backpacks full of fentanyl over the border fence?

    • San Jose outside the bubble… what a stupid comment. Pathetic and ignorant. Sounds like trump. STFU hamhead

      • > STFU hamhead

        Well, so much for dialogue.

        I think Marcie would be happier in a private, progressives-only discussion forum.

        It would probably be a good experience for her. Progressive blogs are so boring and predictable that even progressives get tired of them.

        “I hate Trump”
        “Me too.”
        “I hate Trump more than you do.”
        “No, I hate Trump more”.
        “I’m against racism”
        “Me too.”
        “I hate racism”.
        “I hate racism more than you”.
        “I really, really hate racism”.
        “I’m against hate, too”.
        “Me too. I hate hate.”
        “What else should we talk about?”
        “Trump. Let’s talk about Trump.”
        “I hate Trump”

  3. Classic anachro-tyranny, make everything against the law but never enforce. Until you want to coerce some citizen or remove them as an obstacle. Perfected in Latin America. Welcome to the single party oligarchy that is post Republican California.

    Isn’t this what everyone is immigrating from?

  4. Who was harmed by these horrible, terrifying mushroom monsters? No fish died. No plants died. There was no explosion of algae growth. The water is still drinkable, and nitrate, the most common supposed hazardous chemical in this mushroom farming water discharge, is present in lunch meat in higher concentrations than was found in this terrible agricultural discharge. This is a technical violation of some environmental regulation, not a law, that was put into effect in the 70’s or 80’s, if memory serves.

    No one seems to care about the winos and bums in “encampments” urinating and taking dumps into Guadalupe Creek as if it was their own personal Ganges River, but we get excited about mushroom farm water?

    Oh, and SJO-Bubble, we all hate you too, you dirty trump; Just thought I’d throw that in so as to be trendy and “compassionate”. I have no actual point to make on that account.

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