Another legal matter has been settled for an energy company with local operations.

Greka Integrated Inc. pleaded no contest Wednesday to one of four misdemeanor counts of water pollution the company was charged with by the state attorney general's office, said Deputy Attorney General Christopher Crook. The complaint was originally filed against Greka Oil and Gas Inc. but was amended to include parent company Greka Integrated Inc., Crook said.

The plea deal was carried out during a hearing Wednesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria. The remaining three counts were dismissed as a condition of the plea agreement, said Crook, the prosecutor on the case.

The four counts were for violations of the California Fish and Game Code, and alleged that Greka “unlawfully deposited in, or permitted petroleum or other deleterious substance to pass into the state waters of California.”

The violations cited in the original complaint allegedly took place Dec. 7, 2005, at 5017 Zaca Station Road in Los Olivos; May 4, 2006, and May 16, 2006, at 3851 Telephone Road in Santa Maria; and Aug. 10 at 6572 Dominion Road in Santa Maria.

Crook said that Greka pleaded to the charge for the spill at Zaca Station Road, which was by far the largest of the four, he said.

“The others I never saw an estimate for, and they just weren't of the same magnitude,” Crook said.

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According to a report from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the Zaca Station Road spill was caused by tank failure, and the petroleum went into an unnamed seasonal creek before it was contained. Drinking water was not affected by the spill, according to the report.

Greka was ordered to pay almost $17,000, the estimated amount in damages from the Zaca Station Road spill, to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Crook said.

The money will go toward habitat restoration, he said.

In addition, the court fined Greka $500 for the misdemeanor violation, Crook said.

Greka was placed on one year of probation, but will be taken off probation once the required fines are paid, Crook said.

The attorney representing Greka in the case, Steve Cochran, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Greka Energy is familiar with legal battles.

Santa Maria Refining Co., which is a subsidiary of Greka Energy, two employees and a former employee agreed to plead guilty to federal charges stemming from the illegal disposal of wastewater, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles announced last month.

In November, the company settled the remainder of a civil lawsuit filed in 2004 by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, which accused it of more than 100 safety and environmental violations. Greka agreed to pay a total $675,000 to the county and the county Air Pollution Control District in the settlements, according to a prosecutor in that case.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamariatimes.com.

May 18, 2007