Assembly Passes ACWA-Sponsored SB 1284

ACWA-sponsored legislation addressing penalties for wastewater discharge reporting passed off the Assembly floor today and now returns to the Senate for concurrence with amendments made in the Assembly.

SB 1284 (Ducheny) addresses high penalties for water agencies and others for failing to report there was no wastewater discharge or failing to report a discharge that did not violate environmental standards.

The bill would provide that failure to file a discharge monitoring report in certain situations would not be subject to mandatory minimum penalties. The bill is co-sponsored by the Regional Council of Rural Counties and the California Chamber of Commerce and is supported by the League of California Cities, the California Association of Sanitation Agencies and the California State Association of Counties.

Existing law authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board and regional water quality control boards to impose mandatory minimum penalties of $3,000 for each serious waste discharge violation or for certain other described violations. This bill would provide that certain violations involving the failure to file a discharge monitoring report are not subject to those mandatory minimum penalties if certain requirements are met. Dischargers would still be accountable for those violations, but more appropriate penalties would apply.

SB 1284 would also revise current law to allow for an extension in the time schedule for bringing a wastewater discharge into compliance if the discharger can show that additional time is needed to reach compliance.