CSPA has settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority for violations of the California General Industrial Stormwater Permit. The Salinas Valley Solid Waste operates a 6.75-acre waste transfer and recycling facility in Salinas, California. The lawsuit alleged that the facility discharged polluted stormwater into the Salinas Reclamation Canal, which drains to Tembladero Slough, then into the Old Salinas River and ultimately the Pacific Ocean.
The settlement agreement obligates Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority to comply fully with the Clean Water Act, develop and implement a suite of Best Management Practices and structural improvements, conduct more frequent and comprehensive monitoring and prepare an adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. The agreement incorporates provisions that allow CSPA to return to court for enforcement if pollutant benchmarks continue to be exceeded.
As mitigation for past violations, Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority agreed to send $40,000 to the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment to fund environmental projects to improve water quality. They also agreed to reimburse CSPA’s costs of bringing suit. The Law Offices of Andrew Packard represented CSPA in this matter.