San Diego Region - Enforcement Actions for August 2009

Enforcement Actions for August 2009

The following is a summary of all enforcement actions taken or initiated during the month of August 2009. During this period the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region (Regional Board) initiated ten enforcement actions: Two Settlement Agreements, one Administrative Civil Liability Order, one ACL Complaint, one Cleanup and Abatement Order, three Notices of Violation, one Time Schedule Order and one Investigative Order. 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 at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/enforcement/

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS

Ametek, Inc., Former Ketema Facility, El Cajon
Order No. R9-2009-0091 was adopted on August 12, 2009. The Settlement Agreement assessed administrative civil liability against Ametek, Inc. in the amount of $1,095,000. Ametek, Inc. is required to pay $600,000 to the State Water Board Cleanup and Abatement Account and will satisfy the balance of the total liability by taking timely actions in accordance with Cleanup and Abatement Order No. R9-2009-0073.

William and Heidi Dickerson, Larry and Penny Gunning, and Perry and Papenhausen, Inc., Coronado
Order No. R9-2009-0125 was adopted on August 12, 2009. The Settlement Agreement rescinds Amended Cleanup and Abatement Order Nos. R9-2006-0101 and R9-2006-0102, reimburses the Regional Board for staff costs totaling $67,000, and requires the Dischargers to comply with riprap replacement and eelgrass mitigation required by a Federal Settlement Agreement.

ADMINISTRATIVE CIVIL LIABILITY (ACL) ORDERS

William and Heidi Dickerson, Larry and Penny Gunning, and Perry and Papenhausen, Inc., Coronado
Order No. R9-2009-0084 was adopted on August 12, 2009 assessing administrative civil liability in the amount of $61,200. Of that amount, $24,000 is to satisfy mandatory minimum penalties for violations of NPDES Order No. R9-2000-0090 and will be deposited into the State Water Board Cleanup and Abatement Account. The remaining $37,200 in discretionary liability will be divided between the Cleanup and Abatement Account and the Waste Discharge Permit Fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE CIVIL LIABILITY (ACL) COMPLAINTS

City of Laguna Beach, Sanitary Sewer System
ACL Complaint No. R9-2009-0040 was issued on August 18, 2009 to the City of Laguna Beach for the discharge of sanitary sewage into the Pacific Ocean. The Complaint recommends a civil liability of $70,680 for the discharge of 591,000 gallons of untreated sewage on October 29, 2008 from the Bluebird Lift Station. A hearing is tentatively scheduled for November 10, 2009.

CLEANUP AND ABATEMENT ORDERS (CAO)

Ametek, Inc. Former Ketema Facility, El Cajon
CAO R9-2009-0073 was adopted by the Regional Board on August 12, 2009 as part of a Settlement Agreement. The CAO requires Ametek, Inc. to implement an Environmental Monitoring Program and submit quarterly gas/vapor and groundwater monitoring reports. Successful completion of the requirements contained in the CAO will permanently suspend the imposition of $495,000 of the civil liability imposed in Order No. R9-2009-0091.

TIME SCHEDULE ORDERS (TSO)

General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO)
TSO No. R9-2009-0117 was adopted on August 12, 2009 establishing a compliance schedule for the implementation of new drydock flooding and cleaning procedures in order to comply with new effluent limitations for copper and nickel in NPDES Order No. R9-2009-0099. The TSO contains a final compliance date of August 12, 2014.

INVESTIGATIVE ORDERS

Unocal Station #6519, Temecula
Addendum No. 1 to Investigative Order No. R9-2002-0105 was issued to Unocal Service Station #6519 located in Temecula on August 4, 2009. Addendum No. 1 modifies the frequency of monitoring activities from quarterly to semiannual. Changing the monitoring frequency statewide from quarterly to semiannual will save $40 million annually without harm to the environment or risk to health and safety.

NOTICES OF VIOLATION (NOV)

U. S. Marine Corps, Southern Regional Tertiary Treatment Plant, Camp Pendleton
NOV No. R9-2009-0141 was issued to the U. S. Marine Corps Southern Region Tertiary Treatment Plant on August 3, 2009 for eight violations of discharge specifications prescribed in Conditional Waiver No. 7 and Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) Order No. R9-2009-0021. The NOV alleges the Marine Corps: (1) failed to collect all of the wastewater samples required in January 2009; (2) discharged 1,000 gallons of recycled water to an area not specified in Order No. R9-2009-0021 on May 12, 2009; and (3) discharged chloride in excess of the daily maximum effluent limitation in March and April 2009.

Carlsbad Municipal Water District, Carlsbad Water Recycling Facility
NOV No. R9-2009-0145 was issued to the Carlsbad Municipal Water District on August 5, 2009 for violations of WDR Order No. R9-2004-0409. The NOV alleges four violations of WDR discharge specifications for manganese in April, May, and June 2009 and two violations of WDR discharge specifications for iron in April 2009.

County of Orange, Aliso Creek Outlet Maintenance Program Project
NOV No. R9-2009-0159 was issued to the County of Orange on August 31, 2009 for violations of Water Quality Certification No. 05C-009. The NOV alleges that the County failed to comply with monitoring and notification requirements of the Certification.