State regulators have proposed a $1.55 million settlement with the Goleta West Sanitary District for last year’s spill that released more than 1 million gallons of raw sewage into the Goleta Slough and the Pacific Ocean.
In October, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board released a proposed Administrative Civil Liability order to resolve alleged state and federal water quality violations tied to the February 2024 spill.
According to the proposed order, the $1,551,145 liability would be paid through a four-year Supplemental Environmental Project that supports well sampling and provides replacement water or treatment systems for households with unsafe drinking water in Santa Barbara County.
The draft agreement has drawn scrutiny from Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, which raised concerns during last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting about how the liability amount was calculated.
Channelkeeper science and program manager Molly Troup told the supervisors that the spill raised important concerns for the community.
“There are several big issues with this incident,” she said, “including that the notice of the spill took several days to reach appropriate public health and conservation staff of the county and state.”
On Feb. 16, 2024, more than 1 million gallons of raw sewage spilled from a broken force main owned by the Goleta West Sanitary District. 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.
The spill was caused by external corrosion on the pipeline, and a 12-inch rupture.
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.
Troup told Noozhawk that she spoke at the meeting to update the supervisors on the enforcement case.
She said Channelkeeper reviewed Goleta West’s spill response reports and submitted comments to the Water Board, but that the proposed order does not fully reflect those issues. One example, she said, is the board’s decision to apply the minimum $2 per gallon penalty despite having discretion to assign a higher amount.
“We think the board should start with a higher per-gallon value and then work backward with a clear rationale for reducing it,” Troup said.
Troup said Channelkeeper also wants the Water Board to more fully explain what led to the spill and the communication delays that followed.
“Our hope also was that the board would provide more clear details about what happened before, during and immediately following the spill to help the community understand the changes that are necessary to prevent future sewage spills and delayed public notification,” she said.
A Water Board spokesperson told Noozhawk that the established window for public comments on the proposal closed in November, but members of the public will be able to offer verbal comments when the Water Board takes up the settlement agreement at its Feb. 26-27 meeting.
Goleta West leaders say that the spill and the response has led to operating updates, improvements in communication and mutual aid activation, and regularly testing force mains.