Ability to Pay and Ability to Continue Business. The Settling Respondents own approximately 546 acres of land in unincorporated Napa County. The complete assets of the Settling Respondents are unknown; however, at a minimum, it is known that the Settling Respondents produce about 6,000 cases of cabernet wines and 1,000 cases of white wines each year, which sell from $32 to $150 a bottle in restaurants, stores and by mail order.
Ability to Pay and Ability to Continue Business. Given its assets, it is presumed that the Discharger has the ability to pay. The Prosecution Team has not received any substantiation from the Discharger of its inability to pay.
Ability to Pay and Ability to Continue Business. The Water Code and Enforcement Policy requires the Water Boards to consider a discharger’s ability to pay and continue in business when imposing administrative civil liabilities. In this matter, the Discharger is an ongoing public entity with the ability to raise revenue to satisfy the proposed liability through the imposition of fees and taxes. In addition, a review of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts’ 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report shows that the Discharger has a net position of over $1.9 billion; as of April 30, 2023, the Discharger has $466 million in total cash and investments. Based on publicly available information, the Discharger has the ability to pay and continue in business.
