NEW YORK WHOLESALE

The husband of a community activist who speaks out on environmental issues and is frequently at odds with the city has been issued a notice of violation for discharging pollutants from their wholesale plant nursery in Beaumont.

The notice of violation is addressed to Edward Bingham, Judy Bingham’s husband, and was issued by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board on May 11. Edward Bingham owns Beaumont Garden Center, Inc., which has a retail shop on Beaumont Avenue and wholesale operations on Veil Avenue. It’s a family business.

Judy Bingham said she believes the city is trying to get back at her for her activism and is trying to make her out to be the bad guy in town. She said she also thinks city officials are trying to deflect attention away from their problems.

The letter says the board and the County of Riverside inspected Bingham’s Wholesale Nursery on Jan. 25, as the result of a complaint filed with both agencies. It continues: “During the inspection, a non-storm water discharge into a tributary at Cooper’s Creek was observed. You said that the discharge was the result of a seasonal preparation for bare root plants and the discharge was not representative of year-round activity.”

The letter says a sampling of the discharge “revealed there were concentrations of ammonia that exceeded allowable limits,” which “constituted a discharge of a pollutant from your facility.”

A follow-up meeting was held in March with Judy and Jason Bingham, their son, who is also involved in the business, and the agency. According to Steve Mayville, the water board’s enforcement chief, the Binghams indicated they were going to do something about the issue and promised some information. He said they have not followed through and that’s why the board sent a notice of violation.

The business has until June 11 to provide an action plan or face fines.

When asked by phone if she planned to fix the problem, Judy Bingham replied, “What do you think?” Bingham said she guessed she could move and give her business to another town, or comply.

Judy Bingham is a vocal critic of Beaumont City Hall and for years, has alleged corruption.

“This is what you get for speaking out in a corrupt city,” she said of the notice of violation.

Mayville said he did not know who filed the complaint. He said generally, the board does not tell people under investigation who filed the complaint against them and that if the board finds violations, it’s immaterial.

Mayor Roger Berg said he emailed the water board and asked them to check out the nursery for possible violations. He said he has no ax to grind with Judy Bingham.

“I have a responsibility as an elected official to do the right thing,” he said.

He noted that Judy Bingham has accused the city of dumping nitrates into Cooper’s Creek.

“She got caught, and she’s having to fix the problem,” Berg said.

At the Tuesday, May 15, Beaumont City Council meeting, as a water issue was discussed, Berg said from the dais that he understands the regional water board is studying the issue of nitrates and has found it is not coming from the city’s wastewater treatment plant but from a local business. He did not name the business.

Berg said at the time, it is “kind of sad that a business owner would do that and not care about this community.”

Judy Bingham said the next day that the city is doing “all this to deflect and spin their own problems.”

Follow Erin Waldner on Twitter: @PE_ErinWaldner