The Marin County District Attorney is now handling a criminal case referred by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control regarding the alleged mishandling of fragments of treated wood and other debris at Drakes Estero during a restoration project conducted by the National Park Service in 2017. Abbott Dutton, spokeswoman for the toxic substances control office, said the department passed the case to the county’s district attorney, though that office did not respond to inquiries concerning the status of the investigation. Last August, the toxics department launched a criminal investigation, sending a team of scientists to take site samples. The probe began after Matthew Zugsberger, the diver and former employee of the park contractor who was tasked with helping to remove aquaculture debris and defunct oyster racks, filed a complaint just a few months before. Mr. Zugsberger, who was fired after a short stint on the job, sued the contractors last year in the United States District Court for Northern California. His host of allegations included that they defrauded the park service by disposing of toxic waste pulled from the estero at unauthorized sites. John Hulls, a former Point Reyes Station resident and a reporter with the Russian River Times who has followed the case extensively, was pleased the toxics department had picked up the investigation, a long time coming as far as he is concerned. “Instead of protecting the rich environmental diversity of Drake’s Estero, NPS allowed contractor shortcuts and permit violations to spread fragments of toxic materials across the Estero public access area,” he wrote last month. The Times, he continued, has documented many of the events in question, including with aerial images showing large areas of toxic waste illegally placed directly on the estero’s shores. “These photos, in conjunction with other images and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show violations of laws on waste handling which fall under the jurisdiction of [the California Department of Toxic Substances Control]. They also show violations of the Clean Water Act and permits granted by other Federal and State agencies,” he wrote. Last October, Mr. Zugsberger—who has alleged pay, safety and environmental misconduct—won his first case, and thousands of dollars in compensation for chemical burns he incurred on the job. The court ruled that, under maritime common law, the contractor Galindo Construction was responsible for his “maintenance”—or room and board during recovery—and “cure,” or medical expenses. The court charged Galindo over $33,000 in maintenance and ongoing fees of $53 a day until he recovers or until there is no further medical treatment that can help him improve his condition. Regarding cure, Galindo has the same time period to pay him $32,000 and the cost of medical treatment. As far as the stakes of the criminal investigation launched by the toxic’s department, high toxicity levels would contradict the park service’s environmental permitting for the project, which did not assume the presence of toxic materials. They would also provide evidence for Mr. Zugsberger’s allegations about the illegal handling and disposal of the material cleared from the estero. The civil aspects of his case are on hold currently, pending the outcome of the criminal charges. Neither he nor his attorneys have been able to access the report completed by the toxics department and passed to the county. “This criminal investigation is the center of everything, and now it’s in the hands of Marin County,” Mr. Zugsberger told the Light this week.