The California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - Fiscal Year 2010-11
ENFORCE: WASTE DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS |
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MEASURE: PENALTIES | ||||
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MEASUREMENTS
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WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING
During fiscal year 2010-2011 almost twice as many as FY 2009-10 of Administrative Civil Liability actions were issued under the WDR program in. This large number of actions assessed a significant amount in penalty liability of which approximately 18% has thus far been resolved. Of the liability amount thus far resolved, a very small percentage (3%) contributed to approved compliance and supplemental environmental projects and the rest was collected as direct payments into the Cleanup and Abatement Account or into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund. It is also significant to point out the large number of cases that remain in progress from previous years.
WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT
Liabilities imposed by the Water Boards are an important part of the Water Board's enforcement authority. California law and the Water Boards enforcement policy establish the circumstances for which violations must receive a penalty and in what amount. In certain cases, the Water Boards have the discretion of imposing administrative civil liabilities after considering certain factors. For other types of violations, mandatory minimum penalties must be imposed and settlement conditions for those violations are also limited. The Regional Boards must consider whether the discharger should be allowed to satisfy some or all of the monetary assessment by completing or funding one or more compliance or supplemental environmental projects or by depositing the penalty amount in a specified fund. Preparing each case for prosecution requires a significant amount of time and resources. This measure describes a significant workload for the enforcement program.
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
- Data Source: CIWQS. Period July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. Extracted on July 29, 2011.
- Unit of Measure: Number of enforcement actions and penalties assessed during FY 10-11 and the progress of those penalties.
- Data Definitions: Penalties Assessed: Amounts assessed in an ACL complaint, settlement agreements or any other penalty action. Penalties Resolved: Amount of penalties assessed that have been either paid or approved as a SEP.
- All Other Programs: Include Timber Harvest operations, Irrigated Lands and Site Cleanup.
- References: Administrative Civil Liability Report
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Information
The Water Boards' Enforcement Policy
State Water Board SEP Policy
GLOSSARY
- Administrative Civil Liability (ACL)
- Administrative Civil Liabilities means monetary assessments imposed by a RWQCB or the SWRCB. The California Water Code and the Health and Safety Code authorize ACLs in several circumstances. California Water Code sections 13323-13327 describe the process to be used to assess ACLs. Assessments od administrative civil liability can be either negotiated pursuant to a settlement agreement or imposed after an administrative adjudication.
- Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP)
- Supplemental environmental projects are defined as environmentally beneficial projects which a defendant/respondent agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action, but which the defendant respondent is not otherwise legally required to perform. Environmentally beneficial means a SEP must improve, protect, or reduce risks to public health, of the environment at large. While in some cases a SEP may provide the alleged violator with certain benefits, there must be no doubt, that the project primarily benefits the public health or the environment.
- Compliance Project
- A Compliance Project (CP) is a project designed to address problems related to the violation and bring the discharger back into compliance in a timely manner. CPs can only be considered where they are authorized by statute. At this time, CPs are authorized by statute only in connection with MMPs if the POTW serves a small community with a financial hardship.