APPEAL FACES HURDLES; T.O. MAY CHALLENGE FINE FOR SEWAGE SPILL.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

City attorneys would have to prove serious misconduct by state water regulators if they decide to follow through with an appeal of a $2.3 million fine imposed for a February sewage spill.

Only a handful of appeals filed with the California Water Resources Board are granted a second public hearing, spokesman Robert Miller said Wednesday.

``The city would have to prove an abuse of discretion on the part of the regional board. That's the standard our office would use in assessing an appeal,'' said Miller, whose agency oversees regional water quality agencies statewide.

``The regional board would have had to do something very wrong or fairly egregious,'' he said. ``That's a pretty tough standard to meet.''

On Aug. 3, the Los Angeles division of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board unanimously approved a $2.3 million fine for Thousand Oaks after finding the city liable for an 86 million gallon sewage spill.

The city had until Sept. 3 to decide whether to appeal the fine. With the City Council in recess through August, however, the city's attorneys went ahead and filed an appeal to give officials more time to decide what they really want to do.

``It's called an appeal, but really it just preserves our right to appeal. It was a simple thing to do to give us a little more time to discuss this,'' said Councilwoman Judy Lazar.

Members of the city's high-powered legal team also refused to discuss the appeal.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a copy of the appeal had not yet arrived at the state agency's Sacramento office, nor had city officials released a copy to the public.

Miller concurred that the city can retract its appeal, but said it will undergo rigorous scrutiny if it is pursued. He said it could take up to a year for the state to decide whether a second public hearing is justified.

While there was no processing fee to file the appeal, the city's legal team charges by the hour.

City officials have refused to say how much has been spent on legal fees, although the city already has set aside more than $500,000 to defend the city and an additional $100,000 to pay for separate attorneys for Councilwomen Linda Parks and Elois Zeanah.