Marin Independent-Journal:

New legislation that would provide an annual public report card on California sewage agencies was announced Tuesday on the edge of Richardson Bay in Mill Valley, where more than 5 million gallons of sewage was discharged in January spills.

Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, held a news conference on the shore of Bay Front Park to say he was introducing AB 2986, the Clean Water Act of 2008, which he authored with Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael.

Leno said he hopes the bill brings increased public awareness to the problem of aging sewer systems.

"Clearly we need more transparency in our water regulations," Leno said.

Under the bill, the state would issue letter grades - A, B, C, D or F - annually for every sewage collection system and sewage treatment plant in California. The grades would be based on factors including the number of overflows for each 100 miles of sewer line, violations of permit conditions and frequency of untreated sewage discharges.

"These letter grades will shine a bright light on failing systems," said Leno, noting many of the state's systems are in poor condition with failing pipes.

In addition, the bill would require failing systems to install "flow meters" that would measure peak wet weather flow to help identify problem pipes contributing to spills.

"If the residents of Southern Marin knew the high probability that their sanitary systems would release untreated waste into the bay, they would have demanded system repairs," he said.