State environmental regulators surprised an Oakland metal recycling facility with a 97-page “Enforcement Order for Corrective Action,” directing its owner to prepare a plan to clean up hazardous waste produced in its operations.

Tuesday’s action by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control follows on the heels of a Feb. 2 settlement agreement among Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., the owner of the facility, the Attorney General of California and the District Attorney of Alameda County. Under the agreement, Schnitzer agreed to pay $4.1 million on account of prior polluting activity at the site.

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Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.