Environmental group sues LA over port's stormwater treatment system

An environmental advocacy organization is suing the city of Los Angeles over the Port of L.A.'s stormwater treatment system which they claim is ineffective and leads to ocean water pollution. 

Tuesday, members from Environment California announced the lawsuit in downtown Los Angeles. The group advocates for clean air and water, and protects open spaces for a livable climate, state director Laura Deehan said. 

"When necessary and appropriate, we pursue public interest litigation on behalf of our members," Deehan said. 

At interest is a 53-acre portion of the port on Terminal Island, where stormwater is collected and directed to a wastewater treatment facility. The suit claims the Port of Los Angeles continues to have serious and serial violations of the Clean Water Act related to this facility.   

The environmental group's analysis determined that the Port of LA violated Clean Water Act requirements over 2,000 times since 2019. "That is 2,000 violations, and they are all at one single stormwater outfall," Deehan said.  

Despite regularly paying a mandatory minimum state penalty of $3,000 per violation, the violations have continued unabated, Environment California alleges. 

In a statement responding to the lawsuit, the port says it is working to address the issue. "As it relates to the Port of Los Angeles, the allegations in the lawsuit involve a pump station that discharges groundwater and stormwater in order to keep the roadway at a railway underpass located on Terminal Island dry," according to the Port of Los Angeles.  

"The Port of Los Angeles is working to address the issue at the pump station. It has invested more than $2.5 million in furtherance of those efforts over the past decade and plans to spend an additional $2.6 million over the next three years to further improve the treatment system." 

Deehan said the waterways downstream from the port are impacted by illegal pollution.  

The yearly report "Safe for Swimming?," published by the group, shows that inner Cabrillo beach, located at the edge of LA Harbor and just downstream from the port, posed a risk to swimmers on 44% of the days it was tested in 2022.  

"While the port isn't the sole polluter of these waters, we need everyone to do their part," Deehan said.