CSPA Advisory

CSPA Action Alert April 19, 2010 

CSPA Sues Vallejo Unified School District Maintenance Yard

April 19, 2010 -- CSPA filed a lawsuit against the Vallejo Unified School District (Vallejo USD) for massive violations of the state's General Industrial Stormwater Permit. Vallejo USD operates a school bus storage and maintenance facility in Vallejo California. (Attached) A Notice Letter of Intent to Sue was issued 22 January 2010.

The facility stores, maintains and cleans school buses and other vehicles and equipment. Runoff from the site discharges to the City of Vallejo's storm drain system and thence to Austin Creek, the Napa River and San Pablo Bay, the northern extension of San Francisco Bay.

The lawsuit alleges that waste discharges from Vallejo USD greatly exceed allowable standards and benchmarks for numerous pollutants. It further alleges the facility has failed to: 1) develop and implement standard Best Available and Best Conventional Treatment Technologies, 2) develop and implement an adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, 3) develop and implement an adequate Monitoring and Reporting Program and 4) to submit annual reports and falsely certified compliance in annual reports.

The action asks the court to: 1) declare Vallejo USD to be in violation of the law, 2) enjoin defendant from discharging pollutants, 3) enjoin defendant from further violating the substantive and procedural requirements of the permit, 4) comply with monitoring and reporting requirements, 5) prepare a legally adequate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, 6) pay civil penalties for each day of violation and 7) award CSPA the costs of bringing the complaint.

Lozeau Drury LLP is CSPA's attorney in this matter.