In This Section
Related News
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Central Coast growers, environmentalists spar over proposed water quality rules
07.09.2010
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Water board lacks quorum, can't take action
06.09.2010
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Outsider role seems to suit environmental attorney
06.01.2010
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Big fines for unreported water use: State Water Board requires regular filing for stream diversions
05.25.2010
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Battle growing over water rules
04.15.2010
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Related Links
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Pesticide General Permit for Discharges from the Application of Pesticides, EPA (June 2010)
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2010 EPA Clean Water Act NonCompliance Map
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2009 EPA Enforcement Action Report
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NY Times: Find Polluters-Interactive Map
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State Water Resources Control Board’s Enforcement Program
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State Water Resources Control Board’s CIWQS enforcement database
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CA Environmental Protection Agency Enforcement programs and documents
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State Water Board, Current and Revised Draft Enforcement Policies
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CA Regional Water Boards
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Find and Contact Your Local Legislators
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Clean Water Enforcement Action Plan Discussion Forum
Enforcement
Tracking and Assisting with Enforcement of California’s Water Laws
CCKA and member Waterkeepers fight for full enforcement of state and federal water laws to ensure clean, abundant waters for California.
Regular CCKA advocacy to state agencies responsible for enforcing California’s water laws has significantly improved the transparency of the State Water Board’s enforcement system. The State Water Board now produces Annual Enforcement reports and quarterly enforcement updates, and makes detailed enforcement data available online through its California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS) database. With extensive input from CCKA, the State Water Board adopted an updated Water Quality Enforcement Policy, and also released an updated report summarizing efforts to issue mandatory minimum penalties. CCKA recently updated as well its own online interactive map to help the public and agencies track and improve compliance with water quality laws. This tool maps all dischargers in California that have been issued "mandatory minimum penalties" (MMPs) by the State Water Board in the ten years since the laws setting these minimum penalties took effect.
A significant gap in the both the Policy and the regular enforcement reports is the lack of enforcement of polluted runoff. Enforcement focuses on discharges from pipes to surface waters regulated under the federal Clean Water Act. But many of the state’s waterways are seriously polluted from contaminated land run-off, such as from agriculture and timber operations. State law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, requires the State and Regional Water Boards to implement and enforce programs to control all pollution (including polluted runoff) into all waters (both surface water and groundwater). CCKA advocates on behalf of healthy waterways by encouraging the full enforcement of both state and federal water laws, and for complete reporting on the success of those efforts.
Part of improving enforcement of water quality laws is making the laws easier to enforce, so that staff and dischargers can more quickly assess whether there are violations. CCKA and member Waterkeepers work to make permits easier to enforce; for example, we are advocating for numeric pollution limits in stormwater permits, as opposed to the subjective qualitative conditions that are used in those permits now.
Take Action
The links on this site lead you to reports on local pollution; let your local Regional Water Board and state legislators know that you want pollution laws enforced! And if you see pollution incidents, call the local Regional Water Board or the Department of Fish and Game’s Cal-TIP line at 1 (888) DFG-CALTIP. Find and call your local legislators.
Take Action
Documents
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2009 Annual Enforcement Report
SWRCB (May 2010)
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MMP Initiative Update
State Water Board (March 2010)
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CalEPA Consolidated Environmental Law Enforcement Report (March 2010)
Cal/EPA
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2009 Enforcement Report
SWRCB (Jan. 2010)
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Water Quality Enforcement Policy
State Water Resource Control Board (Nov. 2009)
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California Coastal Commission Conservation Voting Chart
Surfrider Foundation, Sierra Club Coastal Programs, and others
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Waterkeepers Petition EPA to Protect Maryland Waterways
Waterkeepers Chesapeake of Maryland, 2009
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California State Review Framework Review of Clean Water Act Compliance and Enforcement
EPA, 2008
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Annual Enforcement Report
State Water Board, 2009
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Comments on Annual Enforcement Report
Submitted by CCKA to State Water Board, 2009
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Comments on Quarterly Enforcement Report
Submitted by CCKA to State Water Board, 2009
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Comments Regarding Draft Water Quality Enforcement Policy
Submitted by CCKA to State Water Board, 2009
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An Uneven Shield: The Record of Enforcement and Violations Under California’s Environmental, Health, and Workplace Safety Laws
NRDC, 2008


