AT&T share price down, to settle with California state over illegal waste

AT&T Inc will pay $23.8 million in civil penalties under a settlement with the California state over allegations of illegally dumping hazardous waste.

The settlement is pending an approval by the Alameda County Superior Court and marks the first enforcement action in California versus a telecommunications company over improperly handled and disposed hazardous waste.

General Kamala Harris, a California Attorney, said that the Dallas-based company has agreed to spend an additional $28 million over the next five years to establish the new environmental practices under the settlement and properly dispose the waste, which includes electronic hardware, batteries, different gels and other potentially dangerous materials.

The authorities alleged more than 235 AT&T warehouses and dispatch centers across the country had illegally disposed hazardous wastes and other materials over a nine-year period. Under the pending agreement the company will adopt several new environmental policies, including contractor inspections of trash bins outside AT&Ts facilities and three independent audits over the five-year period.

The investigation, which began in 2011, uncovered that AT&T has been regularly sending hazardous waste to local junkyards not permitted to receive such contaminants.

David Beltran, a spokesman for Ms. Harris, said that AT&T admits to no illegal actions against the environment and does not feel the need to remove any waste. However, the court ruling specifically said that it doesnt release the company from any liability for contamination in the event AT&T is named in a lawsuit seeking damages.

“This legal action should put others on notice that local and state agencies will continue to work together to investigate and prosecute violations against our environment” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said in a news statement.

Earlier this year Verizon said is being investigated for similar doings by California. State officials have also initiated legal actions against auto parts retailers AutoZone and O’Reilly Automotive.

Advocate for the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog group, Liza Tucker disapproved the settlement and said the court should have forced AT&T to do a necessary cleanup to ensure public health and discourage illegal dumping by other companies.

“Theyre being fined what amounts to chump change for a company like AT&T, and the public is not going to be protected in the end because wherever theyve illegally disposed of that waste, its going to stay there” Ms. Tucker said.

AT&T lost 0.25% on Thursday and closed at $35.28 in New York, marking a one-year decrease of 0.34%. The company is valued at $183.46 billion. According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for AT&T Inc have a median target of $35.00, with a high estimate of $41.00 and a low estimate of $25.00. The median estimate represents a 0.79% decrease from the last price of $35.28.