Score: -6
(0/0/6)
San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury
• 2008-2009
Polluters: to Fine or Not to Fine
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
All Class 1 violations are not treated the same by a local CUPA official because some violators are administered a formal AEO, while others are cited with an informal NOV.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
To be fair and ensure compliance with health and safety codes, local CUPA officials should address all Class 1 pollution violations through formal enforcement procedures consistent with Cal/EPA and DTSC policies.
F2
The CUPA director does not administer the process for all Class 1 pollution violations consistent with Cal/EPA and the state Department of Toxic Substance Control policies.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The County Board of Supervisors should monitor the local CUPA program on an annual basis to assure the board that fines and permit fees are assessed at a level sufficient to assure that county general funds will not be required to sustain the program.
F3
The result of current enforcement policies suggests the local CUPA program may soon need additional support from the county general fund to continue its enforcement efforts at the current level.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
If total funds being collected are insufficient to assure that the program is self-supporting, the Board of Supervisors should consider convening a task force to study the appropriate mix of fines and permit fees to assure compliance with hazardous material health and safety regulations. _____________________________________________________________________________ 6
Conclusions 1
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CL1State enforcement policy requires all Class 1 CUPA violations be addressed through formal (AEO) enforcement procedures. In San Luis Obispo County, not all Class 1 environmental violators are being issued a formal AEO enforcement order. Nor are the original fines often as large as the amount suggested by state regulatory formulas. Even when an AEO is issued and violators fined, they may have that fine reduced to a minimal amount or totally eliminated by the local CUPA management. The Grand Jury is not in a position to judge the appropriateness of a fine levied in any individual instance. The local CUPA’s policy of focusing on clean-up and _____________________________________________________________________________ 2008-2009 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury 5 ultimate compliance rather than on fines may be the reason for a dramatic drop in the number of serious Class 1 cases. The total of fines collected is also declining. As a result, a local CUPA official has said that under current policies the cost of enforcement could soon use up the reserve of funds from the larger fines collected in prior years.
Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Luis Obispo County
County