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EPA files civil lawsuit against operators of Oasis Mobile Home Park
Riverside County Aug 15, 2023
The Oasis Mobile Home Park. | Photo courtesy of Rep. Raul Ruiz
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Operators of Oasis Mobile Home Park in eastern Riverside County were sued by the federal government Monday for allegedly failing to properly maintain and operate the park’s water systems.
The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, according to EPA officials.
“This complaint is an outcome of many years of failure by the operators of the Oasis Mobile Home Park to follow EPA’s orders and provide safe drinking water and sanitation to the families living in their park,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in a statement. “We now seek action by a federal court to enforce our orders, to provide justice to the residents that have lived for so long without safe drinking water.”
Representatives for the operators, identified in court papers as the estate of Scott Lawson and Lopez to Lawson Inc., could not be reached for comment.
The EPA alleges they failed to maintain and operate the park’s primary drinking water well, as well as treatment, distribution and wastewater systems. The operators also allegedly failed to take corrective measures to protect the health of people who drank the water.
The action seeks a judicial order requiring the park to pay a civil penalty, comply with the Safe Water Drinking Act, and address the endangerment conditions related to the allegations, EPA officials wrote.
Emergency orders were issued to Scott Lawson in August 2019 and September 2020 for allegedly providing drinking water with high levels of arsenic — a carcinogen that can cause lung, bladder and skin cancers as well as heart disease, diabetes and neurological damage, according to the EPA.
The second order — which required respondents to provide an alternative drinking water source, fix the treatment system, reduce arsenic levels and monitor the water’s contamination — was issued after the park switched to a backup well that also had water with high arsenic levels.
Another emergency order was issued against the defendants following the death of Lawson in May 2021, with similar requirements to the 2020 order, according to the EPA. A sampling of the drinking water system from April showed that the arsenic issues were unabated, prompting the issuance of an amended order requiring the defendants to address the drinking water storage tank issues.
Additionally, inspections from February 2021 and May 2020 by the EPA revealed that the Oasis Mobile Home Park had no dedicated wastewater operator, septic maintenance, and pumping program for about 90 septic tanks, according to EPA officials.
“This is welcomed news for our local collaborative efforts to ensure that residents are safe, have access to clean drinking water, and are relocated to affordable and preferential housing options,” Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, said in a statement. “Enough is enough.”
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