San Diego Region - Enforcement Actions for July 2008
Enforcement Actions for July 2008 (Mark Alpert)
The following is a summary of all enforcement actions taken during the month of July 2008. During this period the Regional Board initiated 13 enforcement actions (1 Notice of Noncompliance; 2 Notice of Violation (NOV); 4 NOVs with Required Technical Reports; 1 Cleanup and Abatement Order, 1 Complaint for Administrative Liability (ACL); and 1 Settlement in lieu of ACL Complaint).
In addition to the summary information provided below, access to information on violations, enforcement actions, and Mandatory Minimum Penalties (MMPs) on a real-time basis is available to the public from the State Water Resources Control Board’s Internet webpage.
July 3, 2008 Notice of Violation (NOV) No. R9-2008-0075 & Required Technical Report City of Temecula MS4 Program. The NOV was issued for violations of Order No. R9-2004-001; Discharges of Urban Runoff from the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) Draining the County of Riverside, the City of Murrieta, the City of Temecula, and the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District within the San Diego Region (Permit). The violations include: The City’s failure to prepare an adequate Development Planning, Construction, and Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Program. The violation was discovered during an audit of the Riverside County MS4 implementation program. Earlier this year, the County of Riverside, City of Temecula, City of Murrieta, and the Riverside County Flood Control District were also issued NOV No. R9-2008-0053 for violations of the Permit’s monitoring provisions. The City of Temecula was required to submit a technical report, by 5:00 PM, on August 4, 2008.
July 3, 2008 Staff Enforcement Letters (SEL) Multiple Agencies Sewage Collection System. Three Staff Enforcement Letters (SEL) were issued to enrollees in the State Board Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ that regulates sewer spills (Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems), for failure to submit required reports and for failing to complete a Collection System Questionnaire (as required in Section G.3 of Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ). The following entities received SELs:
1. California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92069
2. R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility, 480 Alta Road,San Diego, CA 92179
3. City of Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA 92075
July 9, 2008 Cleanup and Abatement Order No. R9-2008-0074 Dr. William Moritz Jerome Drive, Poway, CA 92064. The CAO was issued to Dr. William Moritz for the unauthorized discharge of waste at 14272 Jerome Drive, Poway, CA. The landowner failed to submit a 401 Water Quality Certification application prior discharging sand, silt, clay, and piping material into a 340 feet reach of an unnamed ephemeral stream tributary to Poway Creek. The CAO directs Dr. Moritz to immediately stabilize the disturbed area with appropriate erosion and sediment controls; by August 15, 2008, to develop a Stream Restoration Plan; and by October 24, 2008, to cleanup and abate existing and threatened pollution associated with the unauthorized discharge (i.e., by removing the fill and restoring the stream to pre-impact conditions). A final report is due by December 19, 2008, to document that Cleanup and Abatement actions have been completed. A hearing on the CAO is tentatively scheduled for the September 10, 2008, Regional Board meeting.
July 14, 2008. Notice of Violation (NOV) No. R9-2008-0079 County of San Diego Bonsall Landfill, Bonsall, CA. The NOV was issued for violations of Waste Discharge Requirements Order No. 97-15; Waste Discharge Requirements for Post-Closure Maintenance of County of San Diego, Bonsall Sanitary Landfill, San Diego, County. The specific violations include: causing a condition of pollution which adversely affects beneficial uses of groundwater; failing to provide a comprehensive discussion of the compliance record; and, failure to comply with electronic reporting requirements.
July 15, 2008. Staff Enforcement Letter (SEL) Valley Center Municipal Water District,, Lower Moosa Canyon Reclamation Facility. The SEL was issued for violations of effluent limitations established in Waste Discharge Requirements Order No. R9 1995 0032, Discharge Specification B.1 for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS). The Discharger exceeded the 30-day average and daily maximum limit for BOD in November 2007. The Discharger also exceeded the 30-day average and daily maximum limit for TSS in November and December 2007. Violations of effluent limitations in WDRs are not subject to Mandatory Minimum Penalties.
July 15, 2008 Notice of Violation (NOV) No. R9-2008-0086 & Required Technical Report. USACE and Riverside CO Flood Control Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project. The NOV was issued for violations of Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification No. 03C-046, issued on August 15, 2003, for the Murrieta Creek Flood Control, Environmental Restoration, and Recreation Project. The dischargers were out of compliance with several conditions relating to reporting, maintenance and monitoring of the compensatory mitigation area. The dischargers are required to submit a technical report, pursuant to Water Code Sections 13267 and 13383, no later than 5:00 p.m., on August 22, 2008.
July 15, 2008. Notice of Non-Compliance (NONC) Valley Powder Coating & Sandblasting, El Cajon, CA 92021. The NONC was issued for failure to enroll in the Statewide Industrial Storm Water Permit, (Order No. 97- 03 DWQ). The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) for the operation at the facility is a conditional classification for coverage in the Permit. The discharger is required to enroll because the facility has outdoor exposure to storm water. Failure to file a Notice of Intent (NOI) to comply with the Permit within 30 days subjects the discharger to mandatory penalties, pursuant to Water Code Sections 13399.30 and 13399.33. The penalty for failure to file the NOI is $5,000 per year.
July 16 2008.Settlement Offer Mandatory Minimum Penalties No. R9-2008-0076 City of San Diego, San Diego Convention Dewatering. The Regional Board presented a $69,000 settlement offer to the City to resolve 23 serious and non-serious violations of effluent limitations established in Regional Board Order No. R9-2003-0050, Waste Discharge Requirement for Groundwater Extraction Waste Discharges to San Diego Bay from the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego County. These violations are subject to Mandatory Minimum Penalties (MMP) pursuant to Water Code Sections 13385(h) and (i) which requires a $3,000 MMP per violation. The settlement offer in lieu of a Complaint for Civil liability was issued in accordance with the State Board’s initiative to reduce the backlog of effluent violations subject to MMP. The Settlement offer includes a process to expedite the payment of the MMP for those cases that are not contested.
July 17, 2008 Notice of Violation (NOV) No. R9-2008-0083. City of San Marcos. 401 Certification. The NOV was issued to the City of San Marcos for 13 violations of three separate Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certifications for the following projects: (1) Twin Oaks Valley Road Extension project (Cert no. 03C-147); (2) San Elijo Road, County Dip Segment project Cert no. 03C-067); and (3) Grand Acres Commercial Shopping Center (Creekside Market) project (Cert no. 03C-040). The violations were identified during inspections of the projects. Violations included failure to perform adequate and timely habitat mitigation, failure to implement post-construction storm water Best Management Practices (BMP) provisions, and failure to provide numerous required reports, among others. The violations are under investigation and additional enforcement may be considered in the future.
July 17, 2008. Amended ACL Complaint No. R9-2008-0056 for Mandatory Minimum Penalties. Promenade Mall Corp. Promenade at Pacific Beach, Dewatering. Amended ACL Complaint R9-2008-0056 was issued to Promenade Mall Development Corporation for Mandatory Minimum Penalties (MMPs) of $15,000. The original complaint, issued May 20, 2008, also recommended a $15,000 MMP. Revisions to the original complaint were in response to further evaluation of monitoring reports and applicable water quality standards. The revised Complaint reflects two revisions to violations subject to MMPs; the addition of one violation (chronic nickel concentrations in January 2006) and the deletion of one previously alleged violation (chronic copper concentrations in December 2005). If the Discharger contests the violations alleged in the Complaint, a hearing will be scheduled for the September 10, 2008, Regional Board meeting.
July 23, 2008 Notice of Violation (NOV) No. R9-2008-0084 Ramona Landfill, Inc. for the Ramona Landfill due to noncompliance with Investigative Order No. R9-2008-0047, Investigation of Significant Physical Evidence of Release, Ramona Landfill, San Diego County. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region (Regional Board) received the technical report required under Investigative Order No. R9-2008-0047 and have determined it to be incomplete.
July 30, 2008 Notice of Violation (NOV) No. R9-2008-0087 & Required Technical Report. Murrieta School District Monroe Avenue Extension Project. Notice of Violation No. R9-2008-0087 was issued for violations of Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification No. 06C-114 (Certification), issued on February 26, 2007, for the Monroe Avenue Extension project. Murrieta Valley Unified School District failed to submit several notifications and reports and failed to implement mitigation, as proposed in the habitat mitigation and monitoring plan, as required by the Certification. The Dischargers are required to submit a technical report, pursuant to Water Code Sections 13267 and 13383, no later than 5:00 p.m., on September 5, 2008.
