On 14 August 2013, CSPA submitted comments to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board on proposed amendments to the waste discharge permit regulating pollutant discharges from the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. The proposed amendments further relax already inadequate water quality limits in the existing permit and improperly extend the timelines for achieving compliance. An evidentiary hearing in the matter will be conducted later this year.
The facility is the largest wastewater treatment plant in the Central Valley and is authorized to discharge up to 181 million gallons of treated wastewater a day. The Regional Board adopted the present permit, in December 2010. CSPA testified that the permit was inadequate, not protective of water quality and fisheries and violated numerous explicit provisions of the federal Clean Water Act. CSPA appealed the Regional Board’s approval of the permit to the State Water Resources Control Board and subsequently filed a lawsuit against both the State and Regional Water Boards in January 2013. That lawsuit is pending in Sacramento Superior Court.