Despite Thousands of Pollution Violations, Agency Sends 80 Notices
Photo by Unobtanium via Flickr
An extensive review of the last 8 years worth of toxicity reports filed to the Water Quality Control Board has shown a pattern of oversight and lack of enforcement for violations to wastewater dischargers, according to Heal the Bay.
The function of the State Water Board is to allocate water rights, adjudicate water right disputes, develop water protection pans, and establish water quality standards that set allowable concentrations of pollutants. The Regional Water Board is seen as the front line defense for state pollution control efforts. However, the findings by Heal the Bay indicate that neither have been doing their jobs.
As part of the Los Angeles Basin Plan specific objectives for toxicity have been set. The plan indicates that all waters “shall be maintained free of toxic substances in concentrations that are toxic to, or that produce detrimental physiological responses in human, plant, animal or aquatic life.” This is also a regulation of the Clean Water Act, therefore toxic discharges are illegal of the federal and state level.
Under state law, water dischargers, such as sewage treatment facilities and other industry, are required to obtain permits prior to dumping water. A condition of that permit is that the holder is mandated to test for toxic substances in their discharge on a regular basis and measure the combined effects of these pollutants on living test organisms.
On repeated sample analyses, performed by the various dischargers, has shown that their effluent (the liquid waste) is toxic to aquatic life. In fact, during the 8 year time period, “there were 819 chronic and 68 acute instances of toxic water discharge or ‘exceedances’, and there were 408 chronic and 64 acute instances of toxicity among all receiving water testing stations.”
Of those instances, only 80 notices of violation were issued by the Regional Board. Of those 80, only 11 had accompanying enforcement penalty. This essentially sends a message that the maintaining clean waters is a voluntary compliance program.
“Although Heal the Bay only examined the records for the Los Angeles region, we believe that the local situation is just the tip of the iceberg on the magnitude of the toxicity problem in California,” said Charlotte Stevenson, a Heal the Bay staff scientist who served as the study’s lead author. “The vague guidance from the State Board has allowed toxicity to be present for years without anyone being held truly accountable, and the consequences can likely be seen in rivers and streams throughout the state.”
The LA Times was able to talk to Jonathan Bishop, chief deputy officer of the State Water Resources Control Board, who did concede that more “precise, numeric standards were needed and said his agency was moving to adopt them in the coming year.
Many would argue is that soon enough. When we are seeing pelicans dying en masse and pollution contaminated fish, many think it may be too little, too late.