Water discharges: mandatory minimum civil penalties.

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (state act) . The state act, with certain exceptions, imposes a mandatory minimum penalty of $3,000 for each serious waste discharge violation, as defined, and for certain other described violations if those violations occur 4 or more times in any period of 6 consecutive months. The state act authorizes the state board or a regional board, in lieu of assessing all or a portion of the mandatory minimum penalties against a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) that serves a small community, to elect to require that POTW to spend an equivalent amount toward the completion of a compliance project. The state act defines a POTW that serves a small community to mean, in pertinent part, a POTW serving a community of 10,000 persons or fewer or a rural county, as specified. This bill would expand that definition to include a POTW serving a community of 20,000 persons or fewer or a rural county, as specified.