Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Monday by Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, that requires the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District to hold board meetings within the district.
“This is a huge win for the ratepayers,” Wilk said. “No longer will citizens have to make a 90 minute trip to Whittier to give input to policy makers. The chloride mitigations required by the regional water board is projected to cost about $130 million. These monumental decisions on how to mitigate TMDLs deserve a robust debate and having those meetings here at home will ensure that. I believe the greater the transparency and public oversight, the better the final decisions will be.”
Assemblyman Scott Wilk
Assembly Bill 951 will requires the SCVSD to hold its Board meetings within the boundaries of the district when policy decisions are being made relating to Total Maximum Daily Loads. TMDLs are pollution levels – compounds that the federal Clean Water Act states have detrimental health effects on humans and are required by federal law to be mitigated. The federal Clean Water Act lists nearly 300 compounds that have regulated levels, so this issue is not likely to be a one-off.
Currently the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District holds their meetings in the city of Whittier, 50 miles from the community they have jurisdiction over. According to Wilk, this discouraged public testimony from ratepayers and hindered their ability to stay informed on issues directly affecting their home values and water rates.
AB 951 takes effect Jan. 1, 2016.
Scott Wilk represents the Simi Valley, northwestern San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley in the state Assembly.
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