Hayden Asks Stiff Fines in Sewage Spill

Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) on Friday called for the maximum fines against the City of Los Angeles for the recent discharge of raw sewage into Ballona Creek, which empties into the Pacific Ocean at Playa del Rey.

According to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, more than 1.2 million gallons of raw sewage have spilled into the creek over the last 11 months through an overflow gate in Culver City.

Henry M. Sizemore, assistant director of the city Bureau of Sanitation, said Friday that the problem is due to an overtaxed sewer system and should be corrected this fall when a new treatment plant is opened in Van Nuys.

Hayden charged that the overflow problem is not limited to Ballona Creek and accused public officials of minimizing its extent. He said 50 gallons of raw sewage spilled last February from a city pumping station into the Venice canals and that high levels of coliform bacteria, indicating sewage in the water, have been discovered on beaches from Malibu to Redondo Beach.

Hayden said the city’s 35-year-old Hyperion sewage treatment plant in El Segundo is plagued by maintenance problems and “may not operate effectively for years, if at all.”

He accused the Regional Water Quality Control Board of doing “nothing while the ocean has become polluted.” Hayden said the water board could fine the city $10,000 for each day it is in violation.

Robert P. Ghirelli, executive director of the board, said in response to Hayden’s allegations that his agency is looking at several sanctions it can take against the city, including fines. Other actions, he said, could range from a simple warning to a moratorium on sewer hookups.

“Until I see what my staff recommendation is, I think it would be premature to discuss what we’ll do,” Ghirelli said. But, he added, “I don’t agree that we’re sitting here doing nothing.”

Ghirelli, however, did not contest Hayden’s claim that the regional water board has never fined the city for sewage treatment violations.

Last week, Ghirelli ordered the city’s Bureau of Sanitation to stop the spills immediately and said that diversion of sewage to Ballona Creek and the failure to notify the board about it violated regulations prohibiting discharges from the sewer collection system unless there is a threat to life, severe property damage or damage to sewage facilities.

That order came at the same time that the county Health Department declared swimming and surfing unsafe and posted warnings along a quarter-mile section of Playa del Rey and in Ballona Creek. A 35,000-gallon discharge occurred July 26. Other overflows into the creek have ranged from 20,000 gallons to 500,000 gallons.