Lieu Proposes Legislation To Improve Reporting Of Sewage Spills

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) today introduced AB 800, legislation that strengthens state laws affecting the emergency notification and reporting of raw sewage spills.

The bill is based on recent findings of the Los Angeles County Department of Auditor-Controller, which reported that records do not exist for 189 of the 208 sewage spills that occurred in the past four ½ years in Los Angeles County. Furthermore, most of these sewage spills have no record of any clean-up efforts or steps taken to warn the public.

“This is a serious public health issue. These unreported spills represent over 8 million gallons of raw sewage that have spread into the coastal areas of Los Angeles County.  This is reprehensible that the proper public health authorities were never contacted in the event of these spills, and that no one really knows where the spills occurred and what communities were impacted.”

AB 800 will require sewage treatment workers to notify local public health officials immediately when a spill occurs; increase civil fines for failing to properly notify local public health officials in the event of a sewage spill, and establish uniform standards for county health departments to report sewage spills and document efforts to notify the public of the health risks.

Assembly Member Lieu is working with LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, the Los Angeles County Department of Auditor-Controller, and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in developing this legislation.