RWQCB Hearing on Ending City Discharge Permits Is Rescheduled

• Date Also Set for Hearing on Lumber Yard Complex

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Regional Water Quality Control Board hearing to consider terminating the memo of understanding that allows the City of Malibu to issue discharge permits has been postponed one week to Thursday, Nov 20. The meeting is set to take place in downtown Los Angeles.
An official hearing notice indicates the staff may be given direction to retain, delegate or rescind elements of the MOU.
The action item on the agenda is also described as an opportunity to allow the board to clarify a shared policy for wastewater disposal with the City of Malibu and future dischargers. “This action may include termination, suspension or renegotiation of the MOU for onsite waste treatment systems for the city,” the notice states.
At the same time, the RWQCB has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 11 in Ventura County to consider discharge permits for the Malibu lumber yard shopping center, which is owned by the city.
There is a 33-page tentative order mandating conditions that must be undertaken to obtain a discharge permit.
The city had originally indicated it would issue the permit, which led to the consideration for terminating the MOU. Municipal officiate now seem to be scrambling to comply with the terms of the RWQCB to avoid a showdown with the agency, which would be case if the state’s regulatory power is challenged.