Water Quality Boards Subject to Audit of Enforcement Procedures
2012-08-15
Through the successful efforts by MCM Construction, Senator Doug LaMalfa, and testimony from AGC of California and California Alliance for Jobs, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee has ordered an audit of the State Water Quality Control Board and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards and their enforcement procedures. In a number of instances the regional water boards appeared to issue permits with loosely defined restrictions, followed by enforcement claims that held contractors and public works agencies to standards that were never spelled out, nor were reasonable for them to have anticipated. In other cases it imposed standards that drive up the cost of projects without adding any protective benefit to the environment.
Hopefully this audit will not only shed some light on the practices that have been costing California's taxpayers, but also provide the Legislature with some clear direction on what they can do through legislation in 2013 to correct things.
Click here for the article that appeared in the Orange County Register. AGC encourages fellow contractors to share similar experiences with Senator LaMalfa's office (Kevin Eastman - Kevin.Eastman@sen.ca.gov) and Brian Joseph at the Orange County Register (bjoseph@ocregister.com).