City of Brentwood v. Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board

Opinion

GEMELLO, J.

The City of Brentwood challenges the imposition of $243,000 in mandatory minimum penalties for violations of the city’s waste-water discharge permit. We construe two provisions of the mandatory minimum penalty statute. We hold that the discharger bears the burden of proving that the exceptions in Water Code section 13385, subdivision OKI) 1 relieve it of liability for violations that are subject to the mandatory minimum penalties. We also hold that “period of six consecutive months,” as that phrase is used in section 13385, subdivision (i),' is measured by looking at the…