Law will allow sanitation district to avoid fines

Paul Clinton

The Orange County Sanitation District will not face onerous fines

as long as it implements full treatment of its wastewater by 2013,

under a bill signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday.

The legislation, known as Assembly Bill 1969, was introduced by

Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) in February. Fellow Orange

County Assemblyman Bill Campbell (R-Orange) added his name as a

co-author during the summer.

“So long as they meet that timeline, they’ll be immune from

penalty,” said Maddox, whose district will include Costa Mesa

following reapportionment, which will occur after the November

election. “The governor’s signing the bill ensures the sanitation

district will move forward with their [full] treatment plan and won’t

have the ability to move the clock backward on ocean pollution.”

Environmentalists have also said the bill is necessary as a way to

ensure the district implements a directive approved by its 25-member

board on July 17.

On that day, the agency voted to shift the direction of how it

treats Orange County’s sewage by stepping to full treatment of the

234-million gallons of waste water it releases into the ocean each

day.

The district also dropped a controversial waiver that allowed it

to dump waste water into the ocean that didn’t meet the standards of

the Clean Water Act of 1972. With the waiver set to expire this year,

however, district officials worried that the county’s largest sewer

agency could be left open to onerous fines from the State Water

Board.

Maddox’s bill would short-circuit those fines, which can reach as

high as $3,000 per day. The bill grants the sanitation district a

special exception from the Clean Water Enforcement and Pollution

Prevention Act, passed in 1999, which requires the water board to

fine agencies discharging illegal waste into the ocean.

Even with the change in state law, the district could still face

federal fines. Since the Clean Water Act is a federal environmental

law, the Environmental Protection Agency could pin fines of up to

$25,000 on the district for discharging illegal waste water.

“We would like the same protections at the federal level,” said

the district’s technical services director, Bob Ghirelli. “We don’t

have that yet, but are pursuing discussions with EPA staff.”

Ghirelli said the district is lobbying federal lawmakers to carry

a similar bill at the federal level.

Sanitation district board members praised Davis’ decision to sign

the bill, which came at the 11th hour. All legislation needed either

an approval or veto by Monday.

Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway, who sits on the board, said the

bill is a responsible way to usher in new treatment standards at the

district.

“They don’t have time to drag their feet,” Ridgeway said. “They

have to move with all due diligence now.”