Investigation Reveals Widespread Failures in Reporting of Local Sewage Spills Investigation Findings Next Steps Resources A Call for Reform

That no evidence exists as to what ever happened to 9.7 million gallons of raw sewage over a 55 month period is abhorrent. That’s the equivalent to the volume of nearly 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools and no one has any idea of what happened to the raw sewage. No one knows if it made it into the Santa Monica Bay, onto our beaches, into our streams and parks or bubbled up through manhole cover and storm drains onto streets where our children play. This investigation has shown that we must make immediate reforms, which is exactly what I am proposing today. Supervisor Knabe
January 24, 2007
Supervisor Knabe’s Action Plan
Direct Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County’s Public Health Officer, in close consultation with the Public Health Commission, Auditor-Controller, County Chief Administrative Officer and County Counsel to:
1. Lead a project to pursue all fifteen Auditor-Controller recommendations to conclusion;
2. Assume personal accountability for the results;
3. Designate a senior manager to serve as day-to-day project manager and advise the Board of his/her selection within one week;
4. Work closely and consultatively with affected County Departments and Districts, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Baykeepers, the City of Los Angeles and all other affected constituencies;
5. Submit in no more than 60 days and present to the Board as a set item, the approach proposed to implement each recommendation along with an action plan and time table to accomplish the specified results
6. Also include as part of the project plan the additional task of critiquing the County’s public health disaster response plans based on the improvements planned as a result of the Auditor-Controller’s report.
7. Provide monthly project status reports to the Board thereafter.
Instruct the County Fire Chief, the Directors of Public Works and Beaches and Harbors, and request the County Sanitation Districts, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Baykeepers, the City of Los Angeles and all other affected constituencies to work with Dr. Fielding and his staff in this effort.
Instruct the Executive Officer to submit a letter and the Auditor-Controller’s report to the Governor and the County’s State legislators:
1. Indicating Board support of the County Public Health Commission’s recommendation to have a public health expert on the L. A. Regional Water Board,
2. Requesting consideration of a change in the Water Code to require at least one Water Board member have a public health background and,
3. Suggesting they consider investigating whether the problems Los Angeles County experienced in reporting and documenting potentially harmful sewage spills as required by law are also occurring elsewhere in the State.
Instruct the Executive Officer to submit a letter to the Los Angeles Water Quality Control Board requesting that they:
1. Amend the Los Angeles County National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit and Waste Discharge Requirements to require sewer system owners/operators to implement the Auditor’s recommendations;
2. Convene a work group of key stakeholders to develop specific maintenance standards for owners/operators of sanitary sewer systems in the County;
3. Seek appropriate authority and funding to create and operate an ongoing independent sanitary sewer collection system monitoring program. The program would monitor sanitary sewer owners/operators for compliance with established maintenance standards and would include a written report on the monitoring results.
Instruct the County Auditor-Controller to conduct an audit, within one year of this date, and report back as a set item on the Board’s agenda on the status of the implementation of his recommendations as well as recommendations of what further action may be needed, Commend the Auditor-Controller and his staff that conducted this report for a job well done.