==

Crystal Geyser Water Pleads Guilty to Dumping Arsenic into California's Ecosystem==

The beverage maker agreed to pay a fine of $5 million after pleading guilty to two felony offenses earlier this month

The company that makes Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water has admitted to illegally handling hazardous wastes at its facility in Olancha, California.

On Jan. 9, CG Roxane, LLC, the company behind the bottled water brand, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful storage of hazardous waste and one count of unlawful transportation of hazardous material.

In a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court, the beverage-maker agreed to pay a criminal fine of $5 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The groundwater that CG Roxane sourced from the Sierra Nevada mountains in California contained naturally occurring arsenic, which it filtered out using sand filters.

“To maintain the effectiveness of the sand filters, CG Roxane back-flushed the filters with a sodium hydroxide solution, which generated thousands of gallons of arsenic-contaminated wastewater,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

The statement clarified that the case concerned the violations in handling and transporting the wastewater, and not the safety of the Crystal Geyser bottled water, which is sold nationwide in stores like Walmart.

Representatives from CG Roxane did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

https://people.com/food/crystal-geyser-water-bottler-pleads-guilty-to-dumping-arsenic-into-californias-ecosystem/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&utm_term=7581714