Environmental Law & Policy Alert – Update from Somach, Simmons & Dunn

December 12, 2023

State Water Resources Control Board Adopts Revisions to its Water Quality Enforcement Policy

On December 5, 2023, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to its Water Quality Enforcement Policy (“Enforcement Policy” or “Policy”). The Enforcement Policy guides enforcement staff at the State Board and regional water quality control boards (Regional Boards) on how to develop, calculate, and assess penalties imposed for violations of water quality laws and other compliance actions. The Enforcement Policy was last amended in 2017, and under its terms, it is the State Board’s intent to review and revise the Policy every five years. The State Board first issued the proposed revisions for public comment in February 2023. Over a period of several months, stakeholders submitted comments and conferred with State Board staff on the proposed revisions … Read More

Written by Krisha Yadav-Ranjan