The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts are being fined $4.6 million for a sewage spill that occurred in January. The fine is for an incident where over 800,000 gallons of wastewater leaked into Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.
According to The Record, the penalty handed out by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is among the largest ever sought by the agency. However, the amount can be appealed and still faces additional review by board members. Most of the spill was stopped at the beach, but 65,000 gallons reached the ocean. The shoreline was closed for four days, and then closed shortly after it was reopened, due to the fact that the sand was difficult to clean. $3.1 million of the fine is for the contamination of groundwater caused the wastewater that soaked into the sand. The districts find the fee disappointing, citing the fact that the company was able to contain much of the sewage, and only a portion reached the sea. The Sanitation Districts have 90 days to respond to the fine by either making a payment, or filing an appeal.Source: The Record