State regulators have reached a settlement with the Goleta West Sanitary District for the 2024 spill that released more than 1 million gallons of raw sewage into the Goleta Slough and the Pacific Ocean.
Goleta West entered into the settlement agreement with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board on Friday, including paying a $1.55 million civil penalty.
Investigators attributed the February 2024 spill to external corrosion on a section of underground pipe.
On Feb. 16, 2024, a broken force main owned by the Goleta West Sanitary District released more than 1 million gallons of raw sewage. The discharge continued for roughly 14 hours before district staff identified and stopped it, sending wastewater into an unnamed tributary to Tecolotito Creek, the Goleta Slough State Marine Conservation Area and the ocean.
Initial reports underestimated the size of the spill, with the full extent not being recognized until days later. Ocean waters at Goleta Beach were officially closed on Feb. 22, six days after the spill occurred, and remained closed for 22 days.
The settlement agreement’s civil penalty will be applied through Supplemental Environmental Project funding of the Santa Barbara County Point of Entry and Point of Use Pilot Project. The sanitary district said the pilot project will provide well water sampling for drinking water quality with priority for under-represented and disadvantaged communities in Santa Barbara County.
The final agreement comes after the proposed penalty drew scrutiny late last year from environmental watchdog Santa Barbara Channelkeeper. In December, the group questioned the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s decision to apply the minimum $2 per gallon penalty to the settlement and called for a clearer explanation regarding communication delays immediately following the spill.
The district said the water board prosecution team found that the spill was about 1.07 million gallons of untreated wastewater and impacted beach recreation while posing a potential risk of harm to human and aquatic health. The water board also found that the pipe failure was caused by external corrosion and may have been damaged during installation. According to Goleta West, the prosecution team found that the district did not delay maintenance or cause the spill through negligence.
In a statement released after the settlement agreement, Goleta West listed voluntary actions that the district has taken since the spill that include upgrades to flow metering and alarm systems, expanded force main condition assessments, an updated maintenance plan, and changes to mutual aid coordination and communications.