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Board hears Office of Enforcement report: roughly $37M in 2024 liabilities, EJ sanitation inspections and notable settlements
Summary
The State Water Board's Office of Enforcement reported about $37 million in imposed liability in 2024, expanded targeted sanitary‑sewer inspections in overburdened communities, and described recent settlements and drinking‑water interventions including a Calexico shutoff settlement that provided customer credits and new consumer protections.
The State Water Resources Control Board received an update from the Office of Enforcement on Feb. 4 summarizing 2024 enforcement activities and environmental‑justice (EJ) efforts.
"I am the director of the Office of Enforcement here at the State Water Resources Control Board," director Yvonne West told the board as she opened the presentation. The office highlighted that in 2024 the water boards imposed approximately $37,000,000 in liability through administrative orders, settlements and judgments across water quality, water rights and drinking‑water programs.
Key figures and program highlights presented by the Office of Enforcement: - Total imposed liability in 2024: approximately $37,000,000 across programs. - Water quality program: regions conducted over 5,000 inspections and issued over 3,000 enforcement actions, including 165 administrative civil liability orders totaling over $19,000,000; roughly $9,000,000 of that amount was directed to supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in affected communities. - Water rights enforcement: the Division of Water Rights issued multiple information orders, cease‑and‑desist orders and administrative civil liability orders in systems including the Scott and Shasta river watersheds and Clear Lake. - Drinking water: Office assistance in complex cases included Big Basin Water Company (post‑CZU Fire system failures) and a joint enforcement action regarding the City of Calexico that addressed illegal water shutoffs during the COVID pandemic.
Enforcement‑related settlements and outcomes cited in the presentation: - Compton CERCLA‑related cleanup settlement: approximately $9.8 million was agreed and placed into a trust for soil and groundwater cleanup (judicial action with Office of Enforcement participation). - Dominguez Channel / Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts: settlement with administrative civil liability where $5.9 million of approximately $6.0 million in penalties is directed to a SEP — a stormwater capture and groundwater recharge project planned for an overburdened community in a park in the area; the project is in planning and design with a target completion in or around January 2028. - Calexico (joint investigation with Division of Drinking Water and AG Environmental Justice Bureau): settlement included $150,000 in penalties to the State Water Board, $200,000 in water conservation program funding and direct customer credits totaling over $50,000 to 484 customers; the settlement also memorialized increased consumer protections and a required shutoff‑protection plan.
Office initiatives and priorities: - Sanitary sewer inspection initiative (EJ focus): the Office of Enforcement's Special Investigations Unit developed a prioritization model that uses CalEnviroScreen and integrated water quality database indicators to target collection system inspections in smaller overburdened communities (population served under 20,000 and CES score over 70). In 2024 the unit completed 15 inspections across multiple regional boards and issued notices of violation in many cases; NOVs were emphasized as a first‑step, low‑cost enforcement tool to bring small systems into compliance. - Environmental Justice Task Force participation: the office participates in a multi‑agency rapid‑response and engagement pilot in Bayview‑Hunters Point (San Francisco), Fresno, Kern and Los Angeles and reported participation in rapid responses and a newly signed West Oakland partnership agreement involving multiple agencies and community groups. - Drinking water and shutoff protections: the office plans to expand focus on Shutoff Protection Act compliance for smaller water systems after SB 3 extended protections to those systems (effective Aug. 1, 2024).
Board members praised the office for its EJ‑focused work and asked staff to continue improving public communication and coordination. Director West said targeted complaint reporting through CalEPA's online complaint portal remains the best way for community members to bring local problems to the office's attention.
The board asked for follow‑up materials on: how many NOVs move to no further formal enforcement (Office of Enforcement estimated roughly one third progress to more formal action), additional detail on SEP project selection and tracking, and a mid‑year check‑in to review 2025 progress and any impacts from federal developments such as the Sackett decision that affect the scope of federal vs. state water protections.
