Regional Water Quality Control Board finds no fault with the Malibu County Mart’s septic systems. However, the RWQCB is concerned with septic systems overall in Malibu and is working closely with the city to find solutions or alternatives to keep water quality safe.
By Ryan O’Quinn/Special to The Malibu Times
A lawsuit involving the Malibu Country Mart regarding the alleged violation of the California Water Code and the Federal Clean Water Act has been dropped.
A former tenant leasing a space at the Mart filed a lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court on May 21 alleging the landlords were in violation of the code and Clean Water Act due to the discharge of wastewater to the surface and offensive odors in the area of the shopping center. A formal complaint was also sent to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and the City of Malibu with similar allegations of raw sewage being visible, offensive to the senses and “injurious to the health of the entire community.”
Within a month of the filing, the claims were withdrawn.
As a result of the allegations, the RWQCB ordered Malibu Country Mart to conduct daily inspections for sewage overflows and odors during the month of June and present the findings to the executive officer of the board on July 7. Additionally, the Mart’s operators were required to report overflow incidents and odor complaints, and conduct bacteriological quality tests of any overflow.
“There’s no problem. My system works fine,” said Greg Kozak, general manager of Koss, Inc., the firm that operates Malibu Country Mart. “Everything they said was BS.”
Kozak, who was named in the lawsuit, said there had been no other complaints from anyone else and that he was not allowed to discuss the terms of the settlement.
The tenant, Alan J. Baron, sued for damages resulting from breach of lease, gross negligence, fraud, interference with prospective business and retroactive rent abatement among other complaints.
Stephen Cain, a spokesman for the RWQCB, said the board took the letter very seriously and continued with the investigation despite receiving a letter of retraction from the plaintiff on June 18.
“They found no odors and no evidence of sewer spills,” Cain said. “Right before the investigation report was submitted to us, the people who lodged the complaint retracted all the complaints.”
Malibu Country Mart, under the guidance of the RWQCB, conducted the required tests during the month of June. Although the tests proved the Mart was not in violation of the codes, the spokesman for the board said they are concerned with high traffic coastal areas like Malibu.
“The regional board is concerned about the septic tanks,” Cain said. “They do have an impact on water quality, especially those closer to the ocean. The ground water separation is virtually nonexistent.”
Cain also said the board is working closely with representatives from the city to insure that the area is safe and the residents are protected. Earlier this year, RWQCB Executive Officer Dennis Dickerson addressed local business leaders outlining the EPA’s new discharge standards.
The federal standards, along with the city’s standards, will mean many of Malibu’s septic systems will need to be upgraded. Currently, there are four centralized sewage treatment facilities in Malibu. However, the majority of the city’s waste is handled by individual septic tanks.
One solution lies in a proposal to build a water reclamation project on the Chili Cook-off site. There is a debate over the cost effectiveness of building a centralized treatment facility in Malibu versus upgrading individual and commercial septic tanks. The city is considering buying the site at a cost of $25 million. And, at a Watershed Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday evening, Bruce Douglas, of Questa Engineering Corporation, said it would cost between $13 million and $17 million to install a wastewater reclamation system at the site.
City Councilmember Joan House says a centralized plant could simplify the issue of monitoring a number of commercial tanks.
“They would have to buy in to that plant facility,” House said. “Once they are tied in to that plant, that plant would be the only one that would have to be permitted and checked and be upgraded to codes.”
While RWQCB Chair Sharon Cloke recommends issuing one permit to the city rather than processing multiple individual permits, City Manager Katie Lichtig suggests waiting on results from an $800,000 groundwater monitoring study that will be released next year before making a decision.