Sonoma County Reaches Hazardous Waste Settlement With Ulta Beauty

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County District Attorney is among 10 district attorneys in the greater Bay Area who've reached a settlement with the cosmetics company Ulta Beauty over improper storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials.

District attorneys from Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties were part of a lawsuit against Ulta Beauty Inc. that included a total of 34 district attorneys and city attorneys across the state.

According to the complaint filed by the district and city attorneys, Ulta Beauty stores across the state frequently handled flammable, reactive, toxic and corrosive materials like cosmetics, fragrances, nail polish and electronics and allegedly improperly disposed of them in standard trash containers and dumpsters rather than transporting them to a designated, legal hazardous waste facility.

The settlement announced Monday includes $752,000 of civil penalties, supplemental environmental projects, and costs.

Ulta has three stores in Sonoma County — one in Petaluma and two in Santa Rosa — and 161 facilities overall in California.

"Companies must be held responsible for business practices that pose a harm to the environment," said Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton. "Ulta was cooperative throughout the investigation and in correcting the issues."

Ulta stores in California have adopted and implemented new policies and procedures and enhanced existing training programs designed to properly manage and dispose of hazardous waste products, other regulated waste, and confidential customer consumer information.

Under the settlement, Ulta must pay $439,500 in civil penalties, $250,000 in costs and $62,500 in supplemental environmental projects.

Ulta must also implement certain compliance assurance programs.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.