Online map highlights water violations in state
Zeke Barlow
Ventura County Star
03/28/2010
The California Coastkeeper Alliance is hoping a new map of water violations across the state will spur people to action and call attention to companies and cities with dozens of violations.
The interactive online map highlights scores of places around Ventura County that have numerous violations and fines from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
“We hope this will apply or put pressure on the polluters so people can advocate for action,” said Jason Weiner, Ventura Coastkeeper’s staff attorney.
Using a database from the water board, each violation is plotted on a map, allowing users to explore how many are in specific locations.
However, a violation does not always mean that a company is dumping pollutants into a water body. Some violations are merely paperwork and the permit holder isn’t discharging anything into a body of water. Weiner said one of the problems at the Water Quality Control Board is an enormous backlog of uncollected fines levied against polluters.
