SANTA CLARITA, CA — (Marketwire) — 03/14/13 — The Board of Directors of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District announced today that a settlement has been reached with the State of California that reduces a proposed State fine on the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District by 20% to $225,000. The fine resulted from the state–s implementation of the requirements of the 1972 Federal Clean Water Act. A little less than half of the final amount, $97,500, will be dedicated to a local environmentally-beneficial project, a low impact development retrofit of a parking lot at a City facility. The State fine, which will ultimately be paid by property owners, was issued for failing to meet the State–s deadline to submit a Facilities Plan and Environmental Impact Report for a project to comply with the State–s legal mandates for levels of chloride (salt) that are allowed in the Valley–s wastewater. The originally proposed fine amount was approximately $280,000.
The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District is currently evaluating the least expensive and most environmentally-sensitive solution to comply with the State–s strict chloride (salt) limits in the Santa Clarita Valley. The staff of the District is conducting the technical studies and planning necessary to develop a proposed project and necessary Draft Environmental Impact Report for public review and comment. The Board of Directors is committed to a local planning process that encourages input from all the communities of the City of Santa Clarita and unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley. The proposed chloride (salt) compliance project plan will be available for public review at the end of April. The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District will hold community information meetings and public hearings this summer before any final decision is made.
The District serves the wastewater management needs of the Santa Clarita Valley. The agency protects public health and the environment by constructing, operating, and maintaining a regional system that collects, treats, recycles and disposes of sewage from homes and businesses in the Santa Clarita area.
For more information, contact Phil Friess or Tom LeBrun of the Sanitation District–s staff at or or visit the Sanitation District–s website at .