CITY ADMITS LIABILITY FOR SEWAGE SPILLS.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

The city of Los Angeles announced Tuesday that it is accepting liability for more than 3,600 raw sewage spills during the past decade, but critics charge that the city still won't commit the money and time needed to dramatically cut leaks.

The city's agreement is part of an ongoing lawsuit with the Santa Monica Baykeeper, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. The groups sued the city in 1998, alleging that it was not doing enough to prevent the unusually high number of sewage spills.

While city officials said the liability agreement is another step toward improving its sewage system, Bureau of Sanitation Director Judith A. Wilson said the case centers on what penalties the city should face for leaks.

The city has already agreed to build $650 million worth of new sewers to correct the problem, as a well as step-up programs to remove the grease, oil and tree branches that clog or damage sewage pipes, Wilson said.

``There comes a time when you have to say, 'Look we're doing the best we can,''' she said. ``I'm not suggesting that any of this is OK, but remember we're carrying 450 million gallons a day (of sewage).''

But Baykeeper and EPA officials said the city can and should do more to cut the number of sewage spills and that they intend to continue pursuing a January 2004 trial with the city.

``There's well over 600 spills a year,'' said Steve Fleischli, executive director of Baykeeper. ``We want a measurable reduction in spills.''

EPA attorney Hugh Barroll said the city needs to replace more old pipes, enact tougher regulations to cut grease and fat disposal from restaurants, and be more aggressive in cleaning pipes.

``If you have a raw sewage spill in front of your house on your block in front of your business, it's not a small problem,'' Barroll said.