Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 11, 2007
4. Water Quality
Transit district to pay $160,000 fine for runoff; Water quality agency cites violations on Sprinter line
By Michael Burge, staff writer
The North County Transit District will pay a $160,000 penalty for failing to prevent storm runoff from fouling streams and for falsifying inspection reports.
The violations occurred along the 22-mile Sprinter passenger line between
The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board is levying the fine. The agreement between the two agencies means the board will not hold a public hearing on the penalty as scheduled tomorrow.
The transit district faces more possible penalties because the problems continued after Aug. 31, when the water quality control board announced its intention to penalize the district.
When the board meets tomorrow, “we are going to point out they have not yet achieved compliance,” Michael McCann, the board's assistant executive director, said yesterday.
The transit district was given the maximum possible penalty: $10,000 each for 16 violations.
McCann said the intent was to get the district and its contractor, West Coast Rail, to prevent dirt and debris from running off the rail line into streams, but it didn't seem to work.
“We've had two periods of rain where they didn't get out soon enough to avoid the problems both times,” McCann said.
Also, the transit district stated in inspection reports that its contractor had taken proper steps to prevent storm runoff, but water quality control board inspectors said the measures were inadequate, so the reports were false.
C. Michael Cowett, the transit district's lawyer, said the district had been negotiating with the water quality board to reduce the penalty.
“There were some violations, certainly, and we had anticipated coming to an arrangement that would have been substantially less than this ($160,000) until the heavy rains hit the weekend before last, which essentially exacerbated the situation,” Cowett said yesterday.
The contractors' barriers failed to hold, resulting in more runoff and undermining the transit district's case.
Cowett said the transit district is working with the regional board and its contractor to get the measures right.
Technically, the contractor is responsible for paying the fine, but Cowett said that is not an excuse for failure.
“When we're responsible ... and the contractor is not performing in a way that makes us look exemplary, you bet we're concerned,” Cowett said. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071211/news_1m11penalty.html
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