Clean Water Act Citizen Suits and the Public Agency: A Legal and Operations Perspective

摘要

The purpose of this presentation is to provide attendees with valuable information on the legalframework surrounding Clean Water Act third party lawsuits, tips on what non-governmentorganizations (NGO) look for in deciding to file suit, and what you can do to put your agency inthe best position with regard to potential litigation.Over the past several years, California local governments have faced a flurry of Clean Water Actcitizen suits for sanitary sewer overflows and alleged stormwater permit violations. The suits arebrought by a handful of plaintiffs’ attorneys on behalf of a number of environmentalorganizations. Several millions of dollars of ratepayer revenues are being paid out each year inthe form of attorneys fees, mitigation projects and costs to implement capital and operationalprograms required under consent decrees.In January 2010, the El Dorado Irrigation District, serving nearly 110,000 residents in the ElDorado County, northern California area, received notice of a citizen suit alleging sanitary sewerand recycled water spills, under-reporting claims, and various effluent discharge violationallegations. The District had been pro-active in meeting regulatory requirements dating back tothe CMOM era and now the more current California Sanitary Sewer Overflow ReductionProgram; however, compliance with these requirements did not protect the District from thirdparty lawsuits. This came at a time when the district was experiencing personnel and financialcut-backs from late 2008 through 2010. Participants will hear the District’s first hand details andexperiences of the citizen suit including the allegations, the negotiations, and the final settlement.You will also hear of the District’s management strategy, before the suit and as well their currentstrategy. Secondly, participants will learn how the District overcame the challenges of thelawsuit and the budgetary constraints.