San Diego

The City Council agreed Tuesday to pay a $300,000 fine rather than contest the penalty from a Thanksgiving Day sewage leak in which 1.5 million gallons of effluent spilled into a lagoon.

The city was fined Jan. 23 by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The board’s staff said the Nov. 27 spill into Los Penasquitos Lagoon was caused by the city’s negligent operation and poor maintenance of Pump Station No. 64 in Sorrento Valley.

The council voted to pay the fine during a closed session. It will ask the state to use $200,000 of the money for environmental projects in San Diego, Mayor Maureen O’Connor said.

The rest would go to a private organization dedicated to preservation of the lagoon, which has been polluted by more than 50 sewage spills at the pump station over the last seven years.

The city, meanwhile, faces additional fines and a possible board-imposed moratorium on sewer hookups in the North City area served by Pump Station No. 64 should future spills occur.

City officials are working to expand the pump station’s capacity and improve its equipment but they do not expect to meet the board’s May deadline, which also could lead to a fine. The city expects to complete improvements on the plan by November.