SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – A nonprofit public benefit corporation alleges a waste water sewage collection system operator in several California cities has unlawfully discharged several thousand gallons of sewage into waterways.
Ecological Rights Foundation filed a complaint on July 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside alleging violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
According to the complaint, the defendant operates a wastewater sewage collection system in five California cities and 65 separate discharges of inadequately treated or raw sewage have been discovered in the last five years. The plaintiff alleges more than 557,103 gallons of sewage have been illegally released and the majority of that was discharged into the Pacific Ocean and Half Moon Bay.
The plaintiff holds Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside responsible because the defendant allegedly discharged untreated or partially treated waste water in violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
The plaintiff seeks judgment against defendant for declaratory and injunctive relief, pay civil penalties of $37,500 per day per violation, costs and fees and further relief as this court may deem appropriate. It is represented by Andrew L. Packard and William N. Carlon of Law Offices of Andrew L. Packard in Petaluma, California and Brian Gaffney of Law Offices of Brian Gaffney APC in Pacifica, California.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case number 3:18-cv-04413