Immediate Release                                                                                               Contact: Roger Briggs
September 18, 2007                                                                                                         (805) 549-3147

Regional Water Board Gets Lawsuit Challenging Cease and Desist Orders Thrown Out

SAN LUIS OBISPO - A San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge threw out a lawsuit which challenged cease and desist orders that the Central Coast Regional Water Board issued to a group of Los Osos residents because it was ambiguous and unintelligible.

The Water Board orders require the residents to cease violations of state regulations prohibiting the use of septic systems in Los Osos/Baywood Park.

On September 10, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Barry T. LaBarbera signed an order tossing out a lawsuit filed by PZLDF (Prohibition Zone Legal Defense Fund) and others, calling it “uncertain.”

The state’s objection to the legal claim argued that the lawsuit filed by PZLDF, the Los Osos CSD and others, was a “kitchen sink” pleading, and legally defective on a number of substantive and procedural grounds, said Michael Hughes, a deputy attorney general. 

The current lawsuit by the Los Osos dischargers has been rejected by the court and the petitioners have until October 1, 2007, to file an amended petition (against the Water Board only) correcting the defects stated in the order, if they can. 

If the petitioners fail to file an amended petition, the lawsuit is over.  

The court summarily rejected the petitioners’ request that the court reconsider their request for interim relief.  The petitioners had illegally filed the request without notice to the Water Board.

The preliminary court ruling a few weeks ago was incorrectly reported in the press as a victory for Los Osos petitioners, leading to some public confusion.  The final ruling is available at the following link: www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/los_osos/documents/ordersustainingdemurrer.pdf

This legal ruling in favor of the Water Board continues a string of court victories over many years against challenges to the Water Board’s actions to obtain compliance with water quality laws.