Bill to Expedite and Improve Enforcement Against Polluters Passes Assembly Committee
Contact: Jeff Barbosa 916-319-2020
Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski
04/26/2011
A bill to improve enforcement against polluters passed out of a key environmental committee in the California Legislature today. Assembly Bill 246, by Bob Wieckowski, chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee, streamlines enforcement against polluters and will ensure that they pay for the harm they cause.
“The lack of authority for local prosecutors to file civil prosecutions for certain types of water pollution violations is an anomaly in California environmental law,” said Jim Metropolous, a senior advocate with Sierra Club California. “Local prosecutors may bring civil prosecutions in other key areas of environmental protection, such as hazardous materials, hazardous waste, marine oil spills, storage tank violations, and air pollution violations. It is clearly appropriate to provide the same authority to local prosecutors for violations of the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act.”
The bill, which is supported by a broad array of law enforcement and environmental groups including the California District Attorneys Association, Attorney General Kamala Harris, Sierra Club California, California Coastkeeper Alliance, and others, passed out of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee on a 5 to 2 vote despite substantial industry opposition.
“The current system for water quality enforcement contains unique and unnecessary barriers that prevent state regulators and District Attorneys from effectively prosecuting against violators who discharge toxic materials into our waterways,” said Assemblymember Wieckowski. “With so many of the state’s water bodies already compromised, this problem needs to be addressed.”
