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# Settlement to help fund educational programs
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/settlement-to-help-fund-educational-programs/
- Published: 2007-01-02T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:34:41.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Education, Pier, #archive-import

The settlement will provide approximately $2.2 million to the San Gabriel River Discovery Center in Whittier Narrows, which will include interactive exhibits and classes on the San Gabriel River. Another $50,000 will fund education for at-risk students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The rest of the money will fund a project to identify the source of bacteria affecting water quality in Redondo Pier, and will be deposited into the Cleanup and Abatement Account, which is managed by the State Water Resources Control Board.

“This settlement agreement makes additional and critically needed funding available for community-based research and education on water quality,” said Jim Stahl, chief engineer and general manager for the LA County Sanitation Districts. “We strive for zero overflows, but short of achieving this perfection, I cannot think of a better outcome to the 93 overflows.”

The LA County Sanitation District came under fire from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003 when the EPA ordered district officials to cut down on the number of spills from its sewage collection system. From Oct. 1, 1998 to Aug. 22, 2003, the LA County Sanitation Districts was responsible for 35 sewage spills in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

The district has 49 pumping stations and oversees 1,300 miles of sewer lines, according to the EPA.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 2, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)