Mandatory Minimum Penalties

CCKA Is Taking Action

CCKA works regularly to improve the level, targeting, and transparency of state law enforcement activities.  Firm, equitable enforcement both improves water quality and ensures fairness to businesses that follow the law.  CCKA most recently has developed an online interactive map (displayed below) to help the public and agencies track and improve compliance with water quality laws.  This tool maps all dischargers within the state’s six coastal Regional Water Boards that have been issued “mandatory minimum penalties” (MMPs) in the ten years since the laws setting these minimum penalties took effect.  State data show that 598 facilities merited 15,772 MMPs from January 2000 through December 2009 in these six coastal Regions.  By comparison, 801 facilities merited 25,542 MMPs statewide over the same period.  In other words, the majority of MMPs occur along the coast; 75% of violating facilities are located in coastal Regions, accounting for 62% of all MMPs statewide.  CCKA’s interactive map illustrates the number of these citations over the ten years for each facility, highlights where facilities have no recent violations, and provides other information to allow communities to have more information about enforcement activities in their area.    Violations related to sewage releases, industrial wastes and contaminated groundwater most frequently caused the issuance of mandatory penalties statewide.

AB 1104 (1999, Migden) and SB 709 (Comm. on Budget, 1999), as amended by SB 2165 (2000, Sher), established mandatory minimum penalties for violators of waste discharge requirements in order to respond to a lack of effective penalties being issued by the State and Regional Water Boards.  Mandatory minimum penalty requirements are issued for “serious” and “multiple chronic” violations, as described in Water Code Sections 13385 and 13385.1 and as implemented through the state’s recently-updated Enforcement Policy.

Coastal Mandatory Minimum Penalty Violations in California, 1/1/2000- 12/1/2009

Click to choose Map:

Region 1: North Coast          Region 4: Los Angeles- East  Central  West
Region 2: San Francisco Bay   Region 8: Santa Ana
Region 3: Central Coast            Region 9: San Diego                                     Download Metadata