News
L.A. County Flood Control District faces state fines
A state Regional Water Quality Control Board recommends nearly $275,000 in fines after the district allegedly allowed bacterial pollution to flow into the harbor at Marina del Rey from 2007 to 2009.
The Los Angeles County Flood Control District faces a state fine of almost $275,000 for allegedly allowing bacterial pollution to flow into the harbor at Marina del Rey for more than two years, officials said Monday.
The staff of the Los Angeles region of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a complaint against the district Feb. 18, recommending $274,896 in fines.
The board, part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, cited 186 violations from 2007 to 2009 of the district's storm water permit, which was issued in accordance with federal and state clean-water standards.
L.A. County Flood Control District faces state fines
A state Regional Water Quality Control Board recommends nearly $275,000 in fines after the district allegedly allowed bacterial pollution to flow into the harbor at Marina del Rey from 2007 to 2009.
The Los Angeles County Flood Control District faces a state fine of almost $275,000 for allegedly allowing bacterial pollution to flow into the harbor at Marina del Rey for more than two years, officials said Monday.
Los Angeles might require rainwater capture
Proposed law would apply to new home-building, larger developments and some redevelopment projects to prevent runoff from reaching the ocean. A builders group has voiced some objections.
A proposed law would require new homes, larger developments and some redevelopments in Los Angeles to capture and reuse runoff generated in rainstorms.
The ordinance approved in January by the Department of Public Works would require such projects to capture, reuse or infiltrate 100% of runoff generated in a 3/4 -inch rainstorm or to pay a storm water pollution mitigation fee that would help fund off-site, low-impact public developments.
EPA to Hold Public Listening Sessions on Potential Stormwater Rule
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold five listening sessions to provide information to the public about a potential rule to strengthen stormwater regulations and to establish a comprehensive program to reduce stormwater from new development and redevelopment. These potential regulations would help to reduce stormwater discharges that can harm water quality into nearby waterways.
EPA seeks input on the following preliminary regulatory considerations: expand the area subject to federal stormwater regulations; establish specific requirements to control stormwater discharges from new development and redevelopment; develop a single set of consistent stormwater requirements for all municipal separate storm sewer systems; require those sewer systems to address stormwater discharges in areas of existing development through retrofitting the sewer system or drainage area with improved stormwater control measures; and explore specific stormwater provisions to protect sensitive areas.
Wall St. Journal: EPA Targets Construction-Site Pollution
WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule Monday aimed at reducing pollution from construction sites, saying that it will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide.
The rule will be phased in over four years, starting in February, and when it is fully in effect, the EPA estimates there will be four billion fewer pounds of sediment discharged from construction sites each year.
Nearly 82,000 home builders, commercial and industrial building contractors, and civil-engineering companies are expected to be covered by the rule, which the EPA estimates will impose about $953 million of annual costs.
Such costs could raise home prices and cause a small number of builders to go out of business, resulting in some job losses, the EPA said in a draft version of the final rule. It said job losses may be temporary given the relatively high turnover in the construction industry, and acknowledged that the new rule is being introduced at a time when construction has fallen off sharply.
Dan Walters: Land use is real issue in water wrangling
They're fighting over water in the Capitol, but lurking just below the surface is the real issue – how and where California develops land in the years and decades ahead.
In a semi-arid state such as California, whether land remains undeveloped, is cultivated for agriculture, or is covered with houses and shopping centers depends almost entirely on the availability of water.
That was true when Los Angeles' civic and political gentry, eager for profitable land development in the San Fernando Valley, stealthily grabbed water from the Owens Valley a century ago. It's even truer today.
Eye on the Environment: New rules in place to reduce pollution from storm runoff
VENTURA, Calif. - The state has adopted new rules for Ventura County that position the county and its 10 cities on the leading edge of protecting water quality from stormwater pollution.
A new permit adopted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board on May 7 details the measures these agencies must take to protect water quality in local creeks, rivers and the ocean. The cities, county and Ventura County Watershed Protection District will implement new requirements to ensure that stormwater pollution is reduced to the "maximum extent practicable."
State Water Panel Cancels July 10 Workshop
VENTURA, Calif. - State water regulators Monday abruptly canceled a public workshop planned for this week in Ventura, temporarily silencing dozens of local officials who had prepared for weeks to argue against tough new storm-water rules for Ventura County.
Water-Starved California Slows Development
PERRIS, Calif. - As California faces one of its worst droughts in two decades, building projects are being curtailed for the first time under state law by the inability of developers to find long-term water supplies.
Ammonia from Sacramento waste could hurt Delta ecosystem
After years of searching high and low for a culprit in the collapse of Delta fish populations, scientists are learning the problem may lie right under their noses.
Schwarzenegger proclaims that California is in a drought
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought Wednesday, warning that California's water supply is falling dangerously low because of below-average rainfall and court-ordered water restrictions aimed at protecting fish.
