§ 13385. — 13385. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 401, Sec. 25.)

California § 13385.

• Jurisdiction: California
• Code WAT: Water Code - WAT
• Div. 7.: DIVISION 7. WATER QUALITY
• Ch. 5.5.: CHAPTER 5.5. Compliance With the Provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as Amended in 1972

Text

(a)
A person who violates any of the following shall be liable civilly in accordance with this section:
(1)
Section 13375 or 13376.
(2)
A waste discharge requirement or dredged or fill material permit issued pursuant to this chapter or any water quality certification issued pursuant to Section 13160.
(3)
A requirement established pursuant to Section 13383.
(4)
An order or prohibition issued pursuant to Section 13243 or Article 1 (commencing with Section 13300) of Chapter 5, if the activity subject to
the order or prohibition is subject to regulation under this chapter.
(5)
A requirement of Section 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, 318, 401, or 405 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1311, 1312, 1316, 1317, 1318, 1341, or 1345), as amended.
(6)
A requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved pursuant to waste discharge requirements issued under Section 13377 or approved pursuant to a permit issued by the administrator.
(b)
(1)
Civil liability may be imposed by the superior court in an amount not to exceed the sum of both of the following:
(A)
Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each day in which the violation occurs.
(B)
Where there is a discharge, any portion of which is not susceptible to cleanup or is not cleaned up, and the volume discharged but not cleaned up exceeds 1,000 gallons, an additional liability not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) multiplied by the number of gallons by which the volume discharged but not cleaned up exceeds 1,000 gallons.
(2)
The Attorney General, upon request of a regional board or the state board, shall petition the superior court to impose the liability.
(c)
Civil liability may be imposed administratively by the state board or a regional board pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 13323) of Chapter 5 in an amount not to exceed the sum of both of the following:
(1)
Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day in which the violation occurs.
(2)
Where there is a discharge, any portion of which is not
susceptible to cleanup or is not cleaned up, and the volume discharged but not cleaned up exceeds 1,000 gallons, an additional liability not to exceed ten dollars ($10) multiplied by the number of gallons by which the volume discharged but not cleaned up exceeds 1,000 gallons.
(d)
For purposes of subdivisions (b) and (c), “discharge” includes any discharge to navigable waters of the United States, any introduction of pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works, or any use or disposal of sewage sludge.
(e)
In determining the amount of any liability imposed under this section, the regional board, the state board, or the superior court, as the case may be, shall take into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or violations, whether
the discharge is susceptible to cleanup or abatement, the degree of toxicity of the discharge, and, with respect to the violator, the ability to pay, the effect on its ability to continue its business, any voluntary cleanup efforts undertaken, any prior history of violations, the degree of culpability, economic benefit or savings, if any, resulting from the violation, and other matters that justice may require. At a minimum, liability shall be assessed at a level that recovers the economic benefits, if any, derived from the acts that constitute the violation.
(f)
(1)
Except as provided in paragraph (2), for the purposes of this section, a single operational upset that leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollutant parameter shall be treated as a single violation.
(2)
(A)
For the purposes of subdivisions (h) and (i), a single operational upset in a wastewater treatment unit that treats wastewater using a biological treatment process shall be treated as a single violation, even if the operational upset results in violations of more than one effluent limitation and the violations continue for a period of more than one day, if all of the following apply:
(i)
The discharger demonstrates all of the following:
(I)
The upset was not caused by wastewater treatment operator error and was not due to discharger negligence.
(II)
But for the operational upset of the biological treatment process, the violations would not have occurred nor would they have
continued for more than one day.
(III)
The discharger carried out all reasonable and immediately feasible actions to reduce noncompliance with the applicable effluent limitations.
(ii)
The discharger is implementing an approved pretreatment program, if so required by federal or state law.
(B)
Subparagraph (A) only applies to violations that occur during a period for which the regional board has determined that violations are unavoidable, but in no case may that period exceed 30 days.
(g)
Remedies under this section are in addition to, and do not supersede or limit, any other remedies, civil or criminal, except that no liability shall be recoverable under
Section 13261, 13265, 13268, or 13350 for violations for which liability is recovered under this section.
(h)
(1)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, and except as provided in subdivisions (j), (k), and (
l
), a mandatory minimum penalty of three thousand dollars ($3,000) shall be
assessed for each serious violation.
(2)
For the purposes of this section, a “serious violation” means any waste discharge that violates the effluent limitations contained in the applicable waste discharge requirements for a Group II pollutant, as specified in Appendix A to Section 123.45 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, by 20 percent or more or for a Group I pollutant, as specified in Appendix A to Section 123.45 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, by 40 percent or more.
(i)
(1)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, and except as provided in subdivisions (j), (k), and (
l
), a mandatory minimum penalty of three thousand dollars ($3,000) shall be assessed for each violation whenever the person does
any of the following four or more times in any period of six consecutive months, except that the requirement to assess the mandatory minimum penalty shall not be applicable to the first three violations:
(A)
Violates a waste discharge requirement effluent limitation.
(B)
Fails to file a report pursuant to Section 13260.
(C)
Files an incomplete report pursuant to Section 13260.
(D)
Violates a toxicity effluent limitation contained in the applicable waste discharge requirements where the waste discharge requirements do not contain pollutant-specific effluent limitations for toxic pollutants.
(2)
For the purposes of this section, a “period of six consecutive months” means the period commencing on the date that one of the violations described in this subdivision occurs and ending 180 days after that date.
(j)
Subdivisions (h) and (i) do not apply to any of the following:
(1)
A violation caused by one or any combination of the following:
(A)
An act of war.
(B)
An unanticipated, grave natural disaster or other natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable, and irresistible character, the effects of which could not have been prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight.
(C)
An intentional act of a third party, the effects of which could not have been prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight.
(D)
(i)
The operation of a new or reconstructed wastewater treatment unit during a defined period of adjusting or testing, not to exceed 90 days for a wastewater treatment unit that relies on a biological treatment process and not to exceed 30 days for any other wastewater treatment unit, if all of the following requirements are met:
(I)
The discharger has submitted to the regional board, at least 30 days in advance of the operation, an operations plan that describes the actions the discharger will take during the period of adjusting and testing, including steps to prevent violations and identifies the
shortest reasonable time required for the period of adjusting and testing, not to exceed 90 days for a wastewater treatment unit that relies on a biological treatment process and not to exceed 30 days for any other wastewater treatment unit.
(II)
The regional board has not objected in writing to the operations plan.
(III)
The discharger demonstrates that the violations resulted from the operation of the new or reconstructed wastewater treatment unit and that the violations could not have reasonably been avoided.
(IV)
The discharger demonstrates compliance with the operations plan.
(V)
In the case of a reconstructed wastewater treatment unit, the unit
relies on a biological treatment process that is required to be out of operation for at least 14 days in order to perform the reconstruction, or the unit is required to be out of operation for at least 14 days and, at the time of the reconstruction, the cost of reconstructing the unit exceeds 50 percent of the cost of replacing the wastewater treatment unit.
(ii)
For the purposes of this section, “wastewater treatment unit” means a component of a wastewater treatment plant that performs a designated treatment function.
(2)
(A)
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a violation of an effluent limitation where the waste discharge is in compliance with either a cease and desist order issued pursuant to Section 13301 or a time schedule order issued pursuant to
Section 13300, if all of the following requirements are met:
(i)
The cease and desist order or time schedule order is issued after January 1, 1995, but not later than July 1, 2000, specifies the actions that the discharger is required to take in order to correct the violations that would otherwise be subject to subdivisions (h) and (i), and the date by which compliance is required to be achieved and, if the final date by which compliance is required to be achieved is later than one year from the effective date of the cease and desist order or time schedule order, specifies the interim requirements by which progress towards compliance will be measured and the date by which the discharger will be in compliance with each interim requirement.
(ii)
The discharger has prepared and is
implementing in a timely and proper manner, or is required by the regional board to prepare and implement, a pollution prevention plan that meets the requirements of Section 13263.3.
(iii)
The discharger demonstrates that it has carried out all reasonable and immediately feasible actions to reduce noncompliance with the waste discharge requirements applicable to the waste discharge and the executive officer of the regional board concurs with the demonstration.
(B)
Subdivisions (h) and (i) shall become applicable to a waste discharge on the date the waste discharge requirements applicable to the waste discharge are revised and reissued pursuant to Section 13380, unless the regional board does all of the following on or before that date:
(i)
Modifies the requirements of the cease and desist order or time schedule order as may be necessary to make it fully consistent with the reissued waste discharge requirements.
(ii)
Establishes in the modified cease and desist order or time schedule order a date by which full compliance with the reissued waste discharge requirements shall be achieved. For the purposes of this subdivision, the regional board may not establish this date later than five years from the date the waste discharge requirements were required to be reviewed pursuant to Section 13380. If the reissued waste discharge requirements do not add new effluent limitations or do not include effluent limitations that are more
stringent than those in the original waste discharge requirements, the date shall be the same as the final date for compliance in the original cease and desist order or time schedule order or five years from the date that the waste discharge requirements were required to be reviewed pursuant to Section 13380, whichever is earlier.
(iii)
Determines that the pollution prevention plan required by clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) is in compliance with the requirements of Section 13263.3 and that the discharger is implementing the pollution prevention plan in a timely and proper manner.
(3)
A violation of an effluent limitation where the waste discharge is in compliance with either a cease and desist order issued pursuant to Section 13301 or a time schedule order issued pursuant
to Section 13300 or 13308, if all of the following requirements are met:
(A)
The cease and desist order or time schedule order is issued on or after July 1, 2000, and specifies the actions that the discharger is required to take in order to correct the violations that would otherwise be subject to subdivisions (h) and (i).
(B)
The regional board finds that, for one of the following reasons, the discharger is not able to consistently comply with one or more of the effluent limitations established in the waste discharge requirements applicable to the waste discharge:
(i)
The effluent limitation is a new, more stringent, or modified regulatory requirement that has become applicable to the waste discharge after the effective
date of the waste discharge requirements and after July 1, 2000, new or modified control measures are necessary in order to comply with the effluent limitation, and the new or modified control measures cannot be designed, installed, and put into operation within 30 calendar days.
(ii)
New methods for detecting or measuring a pollutant in the waste discharge demonstrate that new or modified control measures are necessary in order to comply with the effluent limitation and the new or modified control measures cannot be designed, installed, and put into operation within 30 calendar days.
(iii)
Unanticipated changes in the quality of the municipal or industrial water supply available to the discharger are the cause of unavoidable changes in the composition of the waste discharge, the
changes in the composition of the waste discharge are the cause of the inability to comply with the effluent limitation, no alternative water supply is reasonably available to the discharger, and new or modified measures to control the composition of the waste discharge cannot be designed, installed, and put into operation within 30 calendar days.
(iv)
The discharger is a publicly owned treatment works located in Orange County that is unable to meet effluent limitations for biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, or both, because the publicly owned treatment works meets all of the following criteria:
(I)
Was previously operating under modified secondary treatment requirements pursuant to Section 301(h) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1311(h)).
(II)
Did vote on July 17, 2002, not to apply for a renewal of the modified secondary treatment requirements.
(III)
Is in the process of upgrading its treatment facilities to meet the secondary treatment standards required by Section 301(b)(1)(B) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1311(b)(1)(B)).
(C)
(i)
The regional board establishes a time schedule for bringing the waste discharge into compliance with the effluent limitation that is as short as possible, taking into account the technological, operational, and economic factors that affect the design, development, and implementation of the control measures that are necessary to comply with the effluent limitation. Except as provided in clause
(ii), for the purposes of this subdivision, the time schedule shall not exceed five years in length.
(ii)
(I)
For purposes of the upgrade described in subclause (III) of clause (iv) of subparagraph (B), the time schedule shall not exceed 10 years in length.
(II)
Following a public hearing, and upon a showing that the discharger is making diligent progress toward bringing the waste discharge into compliance with the effluent limitation, the regional board may extend the time schedule for an additional period not exceeding five years in length, if the discharger demonstrates that the additional time is necessary to comply with the effluent limitation. This subclause does not apply to a time schedule described in subclause (I).
(iii)
If the time schedule exceeds one year from the effective date of the order, the schedule shall include interim requirements and the dates for their achievement. The interim requirements shall include both of the following:
(I)
Effluent limitations for the pollutant or pollutants of concern.
(II)
Actions and milestones leading to compliance with the effluent limitation.
(D)
The discharger has prepared and is implementing in a timely and proper manner, or is required by the regional board to prepare and implement, a pollution prevention plan pursuant to Section 13263.3.
(k)
(1)
In lieu of assessing all or a portion of the mandatory minimum penalties pursuant to subdivisions (h) and (i) against a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community, the state board or the regional board may elect to require the publicly owned treatment works to spend an equivalent amount towards the completion of a compliance project proposed by the publicly owned treatment works, if the state board or the regional board finds all of the following:
(A)
The compliance project is designed to correct the violations within five years.
(B)
The compliance project is in accordance with the enforcement policy of the state board, excluding any provision in the policy that is inconsistent with this section.
(C)
The publicly owned treatment works has prepared a financing plan to complete the compliance project.
(2)
For the purposes of this subdivision, “a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community” means a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 20,000 persons or fewer or a rural county, with a financial hardship as determined by the state board after considering such factors as median income of the residents, rate of unemployment, or low population density in the service area of the publicly owned treatment works.
(
l
)
(1)
In lieu of assessing penalties pursuant to subdivision (h) or (i), the state board or the regional board, with the concurrence of the discharger, may direct a portion of the penalty amount to be
expended on a supplemental environmental project in accordance with the enforcement policy of the state board. If the penalty amount exceeds fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), the portion of the penalty amount that may be directed to be expended on a supplemental environmental project may not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) plus 50 percent of the penalty amount that exceeds fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(2)
For the purposes of this section, a “supplemental environmental project” means an environmentally beneficial project that a person agrees to undertake, with the approval of the regional board, that would not be undertaken in the absence of an enforcement action under this section.
(3)
This subdivision applies to the imposition of penalties pursuant to
subdivision (h) or (i) on or after January 1, 2003, without regard to the date on which the violation occurs.
(m)
The Attorney General, upon request of a regional board or the state board, shall petition the appropriate court to collect any liability or penalty imposed pursuant to this section. Any person who fails to pay on a timely basis any liability or penalty imposed under this section shall be required to pay, in addition to that liability or penalty, interest, attorney’s fees, costs for collection proceedings, and a quarterly nonpayment penalty for each quarter during which the failure to pay persists. The nonpayment penalty shall be in an amount equal to 20 percent of the aggregate amount of the person’s penalty and nonpayment penalties that are unpaid as of the beginning of the quarter.
(n)
(1)
Subject to paragraph (2) and Section 1551, funds collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account.
(2)
(A)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, moneys collected for a violation of a water quality certification in accordance with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or for a violation of Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1341) in accordance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) that are not subject to Section 1551 shall be deposited into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund and separately accounted for in that fund.
(B)
The funds described in subparagraph (A) shall be expended by the state board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to assist
regional boards, and other public agencies with authority to clean up waste or abate the effects of the waste, in cleaning up or abating the effects of the waste on waters of the state or for the purposes authorized in Section 13443.
(o)
The state board shall continuously report and update information on its internet website. The state board shall report annually on or before December 31 regarding its enforcement activities. The information shall include all of the following:
(1)
A compilation of the number of violations of waste discharge requirements in the previous calendar year, including stormwater enforcement violations.
(2)
A record of the formal and informal compliance and enforcement
actions taken for each violation, including stormwater enforcement actions.
(3)
An analysis of the effectiveness of current enforcement policies, including mandatory minimum penalties.
(p)
The amendments made to subdivisions (f), (h), (i), and (j) during the second year of the 2001–02 Regular Session apply only to violations that occur on or after January 1, 2003.

Legislative History

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 401, Sec. 25. (AB 1520) Effective January 1, 2026.