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-+ to . E CSE: Suit seeks to h* dumping as threat to water CONTINUED from A-1 "This is clearly agricultural use and does not constitute illegal the north side of Highway 120. use under any zoning ordi- Nestle's is not named as a de- nance." fendant in the suit filed earlier Brown countered, "Essentially, this year in Superior Court. this isn't recycling, it's a dump." Ronyak's businesses—the cat- The dumping violates the Fair T tle company and his Stockton-JBusiness Practices Act, countybased hauling operation, Com-% zoning ordinances and some mercial Salvage Inc. — are'` state water quality regulations, named as defendants in the law- she said. suit brought to stop the dumping. The district attorney's com- "It's an organic waste percolat- plaint also charges the defen- ing into the ground, and so we're dants illegally dumped coffee concerned about water quality," grounds in a canal along South said Louis Pratt, a water quality Manteca Way in December. The specialist with the regional con- suit calls for a minimum of trol board in Sacramento. $250,000 in civil penalties against The legal wrangling over the the defendants. ' coffee grounds is headed for a Neighbors have turned their showdown before a judge next noses up at the foul odors they Friday in Superior Court in sayennania te frqg! the, le-feed t Stockton. lo Ronyak sells the material as a "Eve bod u' and down the soil additive. Although he's been street has been u set," said Lois doing it for years, he suddenly p finds himself wrapped up in red Gregg,who lives about a quarter- tape. mile away on Bronzan Road. "This is not a dump. It'sstrictly "You can't describe the smell. It's an agricultural operation," Ron- garbage. yak protested Thursday. "We're talking about rotting to- Fifty to 90 cubic yards a day matoes and coffee grounds. It's were being delivered to the site, not an ag smell. One county according to Deputy District At- planning commissioner came torney Lisa Brown. down and agreed the smell In addition to halting the coffee would gag a maggot." grounds operation, the suit seeks Prattsaid he inspected the site a court order to clean up tomato early t 1988 inspected t what cannery waste that has been he believes were violations that dumped at the site and to force compliance with local and state posed a threat to groundwater, quality. laws regarding cattle-feed opera_ ns. Brown said the defendants The cannery waste was used stopped the cattle-feed operation r silage for cattle. The site has in January after water quality of- en used as a cattle feed lot ficials demanded Ronyak comply ce 1954. with their rules. "All of these products have en imported to the site for In September, the county Plan- ny years,"said Ronyak's attor- ning Commission denied an ap- y, Paul Balestracci of Stockton, plication for a permit to continue documents filed with the use of the site as a feed 1pt.an store coffee grounds.