Baykeeper nets $2.5M after 93 sewage spills
LOS ANGELES — It’s no use crying anymore over regional sewage spills.
Approximately $2.5 million for environmental research and education is in store for the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Santa Monica Baykeeper after both parties reached a settlement last week with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts as a penalty for 93 sewage spills that occurred in the past five years.
The Santa Monica Baykeeper, based in Marina del Rey, aims to protect and restore the Santa Monica and San Pedro bays through community action and litigation when needed. The Santa Monica Bay stretches from Point Dume in Malibu all the way down to the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
A spokesperson from Santa Monica Baykeeper could not be reached for comment.
The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which provides wastewater and solid waste management for 5.1 million people in LA County, was responsible for 93 sewage spills from several collection system facilities between January 2001 and September of this year. One of the largest spills occurred on Jan. 15, when 65,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was inadvertently released into the Pacific Ocean, and 780,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was sent into the groundwater beneath Manhattan and Hermosa beaches, according to a spokesman at the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board [LARWQCB].
“This is a highly beneficial settlement,” said LARWQCB Chairman David Nahai on Thursday. “It sends a potent message of zero tolerance for sewage spills and at the same
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 2, 2007. Read the original PDF.