City Appeals Sanction Levied in Sewage Spill

The city has asked state water regulators to overturn a record $2.3-million fine levied against it after a massive winter sewer main break, a lawyer announced Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Area Regional Water Quality Control Board slapped Thousand Oaks with the fine--the largest of its kind in state history--for the sewer break, which loosed 86 million gallons of raw sewage into the Arroyo Conejo en route to the sea.

The city filed an appeal Tuesday with the State Water Resources Control Board in response to the action, said lawyer Jeffrey Dintzer, an attorney defending Thousand Oaks in state and federal probes into the spill.

Saying the February washout was avoidable, regional water board members cited a past history of spills and a two-year stalemate over rate hikes to pay for sewer upgrades as factors necessitating a substantial penalty.

The city has argued that the spill was an unavoidable act of God caused when a “tsunami-like” wall of water and debris rushed down the arroyo during El Nino storms, which hampered repair efforts.

The state board will decide whether to hear the city’s case. If the board refuses, Thousand Oaks could turn to the courts for relief.

Although there is no fee for contesting a fine to the state board, the preparation for an appeal hearing will likely add to Thousand Oaks’ hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees.

Regional Board Executive Officer Dennis Dickerson said he is not surprised by the appeal, but wouldn’t speculate about whether the board would hear the case.

“We expect an appeal from any party that has a case before the [regional] board and may not be pleased with the result,” he said. “It’s part of the normal process. . . . We still think the penalty the board assessed is extremely fair.”

The city faced a possible fine of up to $860 million for the spill.