An official website of the United States government.

Public Notice: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Van Norman Complex, Granada Hills, California: Proposed Settlement of Clean Water Act Class II Administrative Penalty and Opportunity to Comment

How to Comment

Comments accepted through: 10/05/2018

How to Comment

Please provide your full name and mailing address. Please submit your comment in writing stating that you are providing comments on the proposed assessment of a penalty pursuant to CWA § 309(g)(4) and intend to participate in the proceeding. Please include the following Docket Number CWA-09-2018-0014 with your comments.

All comments must be submitted to the Regional Hearing Clerk (address below), within 30 days of the date of this public notice (see 40 C.F.R. § 22.45(b)). If the 30th day of the comment period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline shall be extended to the next business day. EPA will consider all comments received within this 30-day period before issuance of the final order. Please note that 40 C.F.R. Part 22, the federal regulations governing these proceedings, can be found online at www.ecfr.gov.

Name, Mailing Address, Telephone Number, and Email of Regional Hearing Clerk
Steven Armsey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street (ORC-1)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 972-3919
r9hearingclerk@epa.gov

Consent Agreement and Proposed Final Order

Publish Date: 09/05/2018

Summary

In accordance with Section 309(g) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g), and the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Final Order (Proposed CA/FO), between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA or Complainant), and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (Respondent) to resolve the following civil administrative penalty proceeding under Section 309(g).

On August 29, 2018, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2) and (3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Proposed CA/FO to simultaneously commence and conclude this CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding. The Proposed CA/FO requires Respondent to pay the United States a penalty of ninety-four thousand ($94,000) dollars. Payment of this penalty will resolve EPA’s allegations that Respondent violated CWA Section 301(a) by failing to apply for or obtain a CWA Section 404 permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) for the discharge of fill material in to waters of the U.S. at the Lower San Fernando Detention Basin in the Van Norman Complex, Granada Hills, California (“Site”), which began on or about October 2013, ending no later than February 2016.

In the Matter of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Van Norman Complex, Granada Hills

Docket No. CWA-09-2018-0014

Complainant

Kathleen Johnson, Director
Enforcement Division, U.S. EPA, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

Respondent

David H. Wright, General Manager
Barbara E. Moschos, Board Secretary
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, PO Box 51111, Los Angeles, CA 90051-0100

Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is a municipal water and power utility in the city of Los Angeles, CA.

Summary of Alleged Violations

Based on aerial photography and other documents reviewed by EPA, EPA alleges that approximately 7.95 acres of waters of the U.S., including adjacent wetlands, were filled by Respondent’s earthmoving activity at the Site. Respondent did not apply for or obtain a CWA Section 404 permit from the Corps for the discharges of fill and dredged material into water of the U.S.

Proposed Penalty

$94,000

Applicant or Respondent

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
PO Box 51111
Los Angeles, CA 90051-0100