Court restores clean water protections in Southern California; Order blocking government enforcement of water quality standards reversed

From the National Resources Defense Council, this press release:

Ruling on a post-trial motion by environmental groups, an Orange County Superior Court yesterday reversed the part of a July 2, 2008 judgment that blocked the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board from enforcing many water quality standards that control Southern California’s worst source of water pollution, storm water runoff.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on behalf of itself, Heal the Bay, and Santa Monica Baykeeper, intervened in the case earlier this year after Judge Thierry Patrick Colaw ruled the water board did not follow the proper procedure when it applied water quality standards for Los Angeles and Ventura County waterways to control polluted runoff. The July 2 ruling suspended the water board’s ability to enforce many water quality standards to control storm water runoff pending further review of standards by the board. Water quality standards play a pivotal rule in pollution control because they serve as legal limits on the amount of dangerous pollutants, such as bacteria and toxic chemicals, that can be discharged to local waterways.

In post-trial motions and objections filed this summer, NRDC, Heal the Bay, and Baykeeper argued that preventing the water board from enforcing the standards, even temporarily, would be harmful to the environment and public health. In yesterday’s decision, Judge Colaw agreed that halting enforcement or application of the water quality standards pending review by the water boards could have “unintended consequences which cannot be predicted.”

The environmental groups are reviewing aspects of the July 2 judgment left in place by the Court finding that the water board failed to abide by proper procedure when it applied water quality standards to storm water.

Following is a statement by David Beckman, lead counsel and co-director of NRDC’s Water Program:

“Today’s decision means that California can get back to enforcing indispensable clean water standards that protect people from getting sick at local beaches and wildlife from toxicity in local waterways. These standards protect drinking water supplies, people at the beach, and fish in our rivers, so this is great news for everyone in Southern California.”

Read more from the NRDC by clicking here.

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