San Diego Region - Enforcement Actions for September 2010

Enforcement Actions for September 2010

 During the month of September 2010, the San Diego Water Board initiated 15 enforcement actions including 4 Complaints for Administrative Civil Liability, 1 Notice of Violation, and 10 Staff Enforcement Letters.

A summary of recent regional enforcement actions is provided below.  Additional information on violations, enforcement actions, and mandatory minimum penalties is available to the public from the following on-line sources:

State Water Board Office of Enforcement webpage at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/enforcement/

California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS)
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ciwqs/publicreports.html

State Water Board GeoTracker database:
https://geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/

ADMINISTRATIVE CIVIL LIABILITY (ACL) COMPLAINTS

Russo Tile and Marble, Inc
ACL Complaint No. R9-2010-0128 was issued to Russo Tile and Marble, Inc. on September 20, 2010 recommending a penalty amount of $1,700 for failing to provide an annual storm water report, required by State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 97-03-DWQ, despite being notified twice of the delinquency. The recommended liability is a mandatory penalty under Water Code section 13399.33, which requires the San Diego Water Board to impose civil liability no less than $1,000 plus staff costs. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for the December 8, 2010 San Diego Water Board meeting.

Jack Eitzen, La Cresta Community, Riverside County
ACL Complaint No. R9-2010-0084 was issued to Mr. Jack Eitzen on September 30, 2010 recommending a penalty of $381,450 for violating Basin Plan Prohibition Nos. 1 and 14 and State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 99-08-DWQ (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System [NPDES] General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated With Construction Activity) resulting from construction activities at a residential subdivision in the La Cresta portion of unincorporated Riverside County. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for the December 8, 2010 San Diego Water Board meeting.

Bulldog Concrete Pumping
ACL Complaint No. R9-2010-0082 was issued to Oscar Molina Pererya and Linda Michelle Pererya individually and d.b.a Bulldog Concrete Pumping on September 22, 2010 recommending a penalty amount of $329,091 for failing to comply with Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO) No. R9-2008-0036. The CAO, issued on August 21, 2008, required the dischargers to cleanup and abate pollution associated with unauthorized discharges of concrete waste into Chollas Creek by January 7, 2009. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for the December 8, 2010 San Diego Water Board meeting.

City of Escondido, Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility
ACL Complaint No. R9-2010-0132 was issued to the City of Escondido on September 29, 2010 for $6,000 in mandatory minimum penalties for two violations of pH and total suspended solids effluent limitations in Order No. R9-2005-0139, NPDES Permit No. CA0109215, Waste Discharge Requirements for the City of Escondido, Industrial Brine Collection System Discharge to the Pacific Ocean Via the San Elijo Ocean Outfall. Water Code section 13385 requires the San Diego Water Board impose a $3,000 mandatory minimum penalty for each violation. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for the December 8, 2010 San Diego Water Board meeting.

NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NOV)

K Square Financial, Escondido
NOV No. R9-2010-0111 was issued to Mr. Kirin Shah, representing K Square Financial, on September 30, 2010 for failure to comply with Directive A.1. of Investigative Order No. R9-2010-0021 (Investigative Order Directing Mr. Kirin Shah to Submit Technical Reports Pertaining to The Investigation of Discharge of Petroleum Waste into The Subsurface at Ksquare Gas Station Located at 1602 East Valley Parkway, Escondido). Directive A.1. requires K Square Financial to submit to the San Diego Water Board a Site Assessment Workplan, including a human health vapor risk assessment, by June 30, 2010.

STAFF ENFORCEMENT LETTERS (SEL)

Pinecrest Park, Julian
An SEL was issued to Pinecrest Park on September 22, 2010 for one violation of the discharge specification for total dissolved solids in Order No. 86-48 (Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) for Pinecrest Park, San Diego County) that occurred in July 2010.

South Orange County Wastewater Authority, Multiple Facilities
An SEL was issued to the South Orange County Wastewater Authority (SOCWA) on September 22, 2010 for numerous violations of Order No. 97-52 (Waste Discharge and Water Recycling Requirements for the Production and Purveyance of Recycled Water by Member Agencies of the South Orange County Reclamation Authority, Orange County) at six of its member agencies’ facilities that occurred between April 2009 and June 2010.

• The Moulten Niguel Water District Regional Plant was cited for 17 violations of the daily maximum and 12-month average discharge specifications for manganese.

• The Moulten Niguel Water District 3A Treatment Plant was cited for one violation of the 12-month average discharge specification for total dissolved solids (TDS).

• The Santa Margarita Water District Nichols Water Reclamation Plant was cited for 11 violations of the daily maximum and 12-month average discharge specification for TDS and the 12-month average discharge specification for iron.

• The Santa Margarita Water District Chiquita Water Reclamation Plant was cited for six violations of the instantaneous pH discharge specification.

• The South Coast Water District Coastal Treatment Plant was cited for 28 violations of the daily maximum and 12-month average discharge specifications for manganese and TDS; and

• The Trabuco Canyon Water District Robinson Ranch Water Reclamation Plant was cited for five violations of the daily maximum discharge specifications for manganese and TDS.

City of San Diego, North City Water Reclamation Plant
An SEL was issued to the City of San Diego on September 20, 2010 for four violations of the 12-month average discharge specification for manganese in Order No. 97-03 (Waste Discharge and Water Recycling Requirements for the City of San Diego, North City Water Reclamation Plant, San Diego County) that occurred between April and July 2010.

City of Escondido, Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility
An SEL was issued to the City of Escondido on September 20, 2010 for six violations of the 12-month average daily maximum discharge specifications for manganese in Order No. R9-2010-0032 (Waste Discharge Requirements and Master Reclamation Permit for the City of Escondido, Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility) that occurred between February and July 2010.

Carlsbad Municipal Water District, Carlsbad Water Recycling Facility
An SEL was issued to the Carlsbad Municipal Water District on September 20, 2010 for seven violations of the 12-month average daily maximum discharge specifications for manganese for and two violations for failing to comply with daily monitoring requirements for total coliform in Order No. R9-2001-352 (Master Reclamation Permit with Waste Discharge Requirements for the Production and Purveyance of Recycled Water for Carlsbad Municipal Water District, Carlsbad Water Recycling Facility, San Diego County) that occurred between February and June 2010.

City of San Clemente, Water Reclamation Plant
An SEL was issued to the City of San Clemente on September 9, 2010 for nine violations of the median coliform and instantaneous pH discharge specifications for in Order No. R9-2003-0123 (Master Reclamation Permit with Waste Discharge Requirements for Production and Purveyance of Recycled Water, City of San Clemente Water Reclamation Plant, Orange County) that occurred between September 2009 and June 2010.

Ramona Municipal Water District, Santa Maria Water Reclamation Facility
An SEL was issued to the Ramona Municipal Water District on September 30, 2010 for two violations of the 12-month average discharge specifications for TDS and sulfate in Order No. 2000-177 that occurred between May and August 2010.

Otay Water District, Ralph W. Chapman Water Recycling Facility
An SEL was issued to the Otay Water District on September 30, 2010 for four violations of the 12-month running average discharge specification for total nitrogen in Order No. R9-2007-0038 that occurred between May and August 2010.

City of Oceanside, San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant
An SEL was issued to the Otay Water District on September 29, 2010 for two violations of the daily average discharge specifications for Nephelometric Turbidity Units and coliform bacteria in Order No. 93-07 that occurred between April and July 2010.

Rancho California Water District, Santa Rosa Water Reclamation Facility
An SEL was issued to the Rancho California Water District on September 29, 2010 for two violations of the daily maximum discharge specification for TDS in Order No. 94-92 that occurred between April and July 2010.