Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 9, 2007
4. Water Quality
PERCHLORATE:
City strategy in lawsuit questioned - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
WASTEWATER ISSUES:
Colfax seeks to avoid dirty water suit; Treatment plant violations cited in notice to city - Auburn Journal
Pipeline progress raises concern about water quality at Lake Hodges - North County Times
ALGAE BLOOMS:
Potentially deadly algae blooms in Siskiyou County lakes - Associated Press
Water cops face board member shortage - North County Times
Deal may not end pain for lake residents; Settlement over Berryessa sewage woes could come at a hefty price - Napa Valley Register
SUISUN FLEET ISSUES:
Suisun fleet breakup plan vexes officials - Associated Press
Editorial: Ship-disposal discord - Contra Costa Times
PERCHLORATE:
City strategy in lawsuit questioned
By Jason Pesick, staff writer
To City Attorney Bob Owen, it's like David and Goliath, with
It might take more than a slingshot to do the job, though.
It might take $300 million to clean up contamination discovered in 1997.
Thus
City leaders say they're on a righteous quest, but some water-cleanup experts and others who have dealt with similar challenges call it folly.
Taking on the likes of the Defense Department, Goodrich, and Black and Decker during the past decade has already cost the city the equivalent of the Police Department's annual budget.
Critics want to know what that money has bought beyond constant delays in court and before state regulatory boards. They also want to know why the city didn't seek the help of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as other communities with similar problems have.
"It's just beyond imagination how much money they've spent on this thing," said Anthony "Butch" Araiza, general manager of the West Valley Water District, which also serves water to
Owen said the city has spent about $18 million on lawsuits, legal investigators, water treatment, public relations and community meetings.
It sounds good to say the city shouldn't spend so much on attorneys, Owen said, but the city would have to pay much more to clean up the mess.
"Everybody hates lawyers," he said. "We know that."
Residents foot the bill
The surcharge starts at $6.85 a month and rises based on usage. The city water agency serves about half of
West Valley Water and the Fontana Water Company serve the rest.
If
The council also has allocated $5 million from General Fund reserves to escalate the legal effort last year.
The board could order three suspected polluters, Goodrich, Pyro Spectaculars and Emhart Industries, which the city says is really Black and Decker, to remove the contamination.
"There's been a wealth of evidence that's been generated as a result of
But the companies' legal maneuvers have delayed those hearings numerous times. The state water board took over cleanup efforts because the
"It's gone from bad to worse to untenable," said Michael Whitehead, president of the San Gabriel Valley Water Company, which owns Fontana Water.
Whitehead and Araiza have publicly talked about the benefits of bringing in the EPA to take over the cleanup.
The hearing delays have upset environmentalists as well.
"The corporations know how to use the legal system," said Penny Newman, executive director of the
She defended the city's strategy and the amount of money it has spent.
"When you've been harmed, you go after the person who harmed you, which can be difficult for people of limited income," she said.
The idea is simple: Polluters should clean up their messes.
"Is it an Erin Brockovich scenario? You bet," Rialto City Administrator Henry Garcia said at a council meeting.
But "Erin Brockovich" is the wrong movie to emulate because the contamination is too complicated, Whitehead countered. He suggested watching "A Civil Action," in which the EPA takes over because the case costs too much money to put on in court.
"It's a very conventional legal strategy. It's also a failed legal strategy," Whitehead said.
He and Araiza recommend using the model the
Comparing situations
To remove perchlorate discovered in 1997 from
Wayne Praskins, an EPA Superfund project manager, said that if a polluter refuses to follow an EPA cleanup order but is found responsible in court, the polluter faces penalties of three times the cleanup cost.
"I think going with EPA and the Superfund program is probably the strongest mechanism a city or community has I'm always amazed that people - communities - shy away from that," Newman said.
But the EPA doesn't have super powers. The
"It's a tough comparison," Praskins said. "It took a long time to reach agreements in the
To Owen, the city attorney, comparing the
"And that was simply unacceptable to us."
The EPA has followed the case but hasn't yet decided whether to take over, Praskins said.
A combination of factors kept the EPA from taking the lead from the get-go.
EPA officials also thought state regulatory agencies could handle the case.
Berchtold speculated that Whitehead and Araiza might be pressing for an EPA takeover because the state would probably not order cleanup of some
A fault separates those wells from the
Whitehead says the board is in over its head.
Despite the fault, Araiza prefers a regional approach and said
"I just don't understand being that territorial about this."
Owen said he's just looking out for
The newest councilman, Joe Baca Jr., thinks there should be.
"I'm concerned about there being a blank check out there for the attorneys," he said.
He said he can't even find out how much the city has spent.
"We have to look at it as a regional approach," he said.
Owen, on the other hand, doesn't want to change course now.
"This city's involved in possibly its largest legal battle ever in its history," he said.
"Now is not the time to blink."
What is perchlorate?
Perchlorate is used to produce such explosives as fireworks and rocket fuel.
It flows from industrial sites on
It's not clear how dangerous perchlorate is, but a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last year says even low concentrations of perchlorate can affect the thyroid gland. Treatment systems remove perchlorate from the water before it reaches residents. #
http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_6330114
WASTEWATER ISSUES:
Colfax seeks to avoid dirty water suit; Treatment plant violations cited in notice to city
Auburn Journal – 7/8/07
By Michael Athhouse, staff writer
COLFAX - Colfax City Manager Joan Philippe is hopeful that the city can avoid costly litigation in a potential federal lawsuit against the city.
City Attorney P. Scott Browne has not had a chance to fully examine a 60-day notice of intent to sue by Allen and Nancy Edwards and the Environmental Law Foundation, Philippe said recently.
The Edwards own a farm just outside Colfax city limits and downstream from the wastewater treatment plant. The Environmental Law Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of human health and the environment.
The notice, received by the city on June 26, indicates that the plaintiffs intend to sue the city of
A press release dated June 22 from the plaintiffs' attorney, Daniel Cooper with Lawyers for Clean Water, Inc., states that the city committed "approximately 1,200 violations at the treatment plant in the past five years."
Cooper said a federal lawsuit is necessary.
"We have lost confidence in the state's willingness to enforce the law," Cooper said in a June 25 interview.
Edwards referred questions last Monday to Cooper.
"Ultimately, we don't want that water on our land," Cooper said.
Philippe said Monday that receipt of the 60-day notice is among the steps that must be taken before a suit is actually filed.
"They indicated that they would like to settle," she said. "But the effluent limitations are already being met."
Mayor Sharon Gieras is afraid that defending against a lawsuit will hurt residents.
"Any lawsuit will only cost the city sewer ratepayers more," Gieras said Monday. "I don't understand why now. We're finally getting started on the new plant and they're filing a suit. We need to get the plant done and, hopefully, this won't stop us."
According to a June staff report from the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board, the regulatory body that oversees the Colfax wastewater treatment plant, the plant has a checkered past.
There have been many violations and a $351,000 penalty levied against the city in 2003 for non-compliance.
However, Central Valley Water Quality Control Board Assistant Executive Officer Kenneth Landau acknowledged that the city has made great strides toward compliance. 
"For Colfax, recently they have been complying," Landau said. "It's much better than it used to be."
According to a June staff report, there have been no violations this year and only four since July 2006.
The Central Valley Water Quality Control Board still has concerns, however, regarding the permit for the interim plant, Landau said.
In a meeting between water quality control board staff and Philippe, Colfax City Engineer Tom Leland and wastewater treatment plant operator Tom Parnham last week, those concerns were discussed.
"The biggest issue was what volume of flow the city needs to generate," Landau said. "We thought we had it right based on the information we had."
City administrators contend that the amount allowed in the upcoming permit would put the plant into immediate violation.
An administrative decision was made by water quality control board staff to postpone the permit hearing for the Colfax wastewater treatment plant from September to October. This was not only to allow sufficient time for the city to compile the necessary data, but also to give the water quality control board time to review it, Landau said.
To comply with state law, Colfax's Philippe explained Monday, the data would have to be received and posted by the water quality control board before July 10 to be placed on the September meeting agenda.
The primary problem with the proposed permit requirements was that the amount of flow to be allowed from the plant was too low, Philippe said.
"Part of the confusion comes from filing the permit applications for both the interim plant and the new plant," Philippe said.
Landau also has indicated that the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board is also concerned about the ammonia and nitrate output.
"Ammonia is toxic to fish and nitrates are unhealthy for humans," he said. "We've told them (Colfax) to minimize the amount of ammonia, but as the ammonia is reduced, nitrate levels increase."
The new plant's design should provide the means for the reduction in both, Landau said.
Although the plant has not had a violation yet this year, due to "unconventional" tertiary treatment at the plant, Landau cannot say that the effluent is safe even though the available means of measurement would indicate that it is.
Tertiary treatment is a process that disinfects and filters the effluent providing adequate health protection for downstream users.
Landau indicated in one word whether he would be willing to have the effluent from the Colfax facility on his land. "No," he said, adding that landfills, wastewater treatment plants and the like are not usually desired neighbors under any circumstances. #
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/07/09/news/top_stories/02water09.txt?pg=3
Pipeline progress raises concern about water quality at Lake Hodges
By Quinn Eastman, staff writer
DEL DIOS ---- The San Diego County Water Authority's progress in building a pipeline between
The idea of mixing Lake Hodges' sometimes green water with cleaner Olivenhain Reservoir water has posed treatment concerns to water officials for the last few years, but a theoretical problem is about to become a practical one.
Blasting for a 1.25-mile tunnel under
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Construction of the underground pump station that will move
"I think the water-quality issue has become imminent because pump storage is supposed to start in September 2008," said Kim Thorner, general manager of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District, last week.
The pipeline and pump station are part of the San Diego County Water Authority's Emergency Storage Project, designed to move water around the county in case of an emergency such as an earthquake.
The pump station is expected to add 40 megawatts to the region's peak power capacity, enough for 26,000 homes, Water Authority construction manager Jeremy Shepard said Tuesday.
It is also expected to make money ---- $5 million per year, by some estimates ---- by pumping water uphill at night when electricity is cheap and having it flow downhill to make electricity during the day.
But the Olivenhain water district, which includes parts of Encinitas,
Rain washes sediment, oil and fertilizers from 250 square miles into the artificial lake, whose water level has fluctuated widely in the last few years.
A drought in the 1990s left the lake's waters low enough to allow willow trees to grow in shallow areas near Interstate 15, but the wet winter of 2004-05 flooded the trees.
Engineering studies say that upgrading Olivenhain's McCollum treatment plant to handle Hodges water could cost between $40 million and $60 million, Thorner said.
A joint committee of Water Authority member agencies has started work on an operations plan that will say when water can be moved in and out of
A draft plan is expected in November.
The operations plan will probably have "trigger points" for Hodges' water contaminant levels when the pipeline will need to be shut off, he said.
The operations plan will also say how much the level of
Although the city of
State bond money could be available for either the Olivenhain district or the city of
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/inland/22_23_167_7_07.txt
ALGAE BLOOMS:
Potentially deadly algae blooms in
Associated Press – 7/7/07
Potentially deadly algae is blooming in two lakes near the Oregon border, prompting health warnings and calls for the demolition of dams that form the reservoirs along the Klamath River.
The blue-green algae is growing for the third consecutive summer in Iron Gate Reservoir and
Federal, state, local and tribal officials are warning swimmers and boaters to stay away from the algae blooms in the
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warned this week that contact with the algae can produce skin rashes, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea or cold- and flulike symptoms. In rare cases, liver failure or death can result.
Pets and young children are most at risk because they are most likely to swallow or inhale the toxic slime, the EPA said.
The health warning renewed calls from the Karuk Tribe to demolish the dams that form the reservoirs on the
Tribal leaders, along with environmental and fishing organizations, say Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp should destroy the dams to improve declining salmon runs.
PacifiCorp provides more than 1.6 million customers with energy from coal, hydro, renewable wind power, gas-fired combustion turbines, solar and geothermal sources. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/07/07/state/n143400D69.DTL&hw=water&sn=091&sc=132
Water cops face board member shortage
By Gig Conaughton, staff writer
John Robertus, executive director of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, said Friday that the nine-member board has been short three members for six months ---- and down at least one member for more than a year. The board enforces laws on water quality from
Combined with the fact that sitting board members have had conflicts that have forced them to recuse themselves, the lack of members has forced the board to forgo voting on two important issues: approving a new stormwater permit for
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Local environmental leaders said Friday that the governor's office hasn't kept up with its appointments ---- and that the board member shortage was causing delays that could hurt the public. The regional board has nine members appointed to four-year terms by the governor that represent different interests, from government, to industry to agriculture to water quality. They vote on roughly 50 enforcement actions and pollution discharge permits a year.
A spokeswoman from the governor's office said Friday that it was working with the state Assembly and Senate to find new candidates to appoint.
Activists call delays harmful
Ed Kimura, chairman of the Sierra Club's water subcommittee, said the delays could be costly.
"The environment can only wait so long," he said. "Names have been submitted, we're just waiting to hear from the powers that be in
Meanwhile, Marco Gonzalez, another prominent environmental activist routinely seen at the board's meetings, said delaying action on some issues such as the
He said that because each board member is appointed to represent specific areas, the public is not well represented when the board is incomplete. Gonzalez is co-founder and partner of Coast Law Group, a firm that fights for environmental causes.
The water board is designed to be made up of people with designated areas of expertise. Currently,
Robertus said the regional board's staff is ready to bring the
But the board does not have a quorum that would let it vote in either case. In the Orange County situation, two members recused themselves, Robertus said, because they have ties to Orange County and a city in that region, both of which would be regulated by the new stormwater permit.
In the Bradley Park issue, two members recused themselves because they've had ties to the city of
Robertus said the city of
The regional board has extended its cleanup order twice, the last time in January. But because of the board member shortage and the board members recusing themselves, the board can't vote on the city's request to include the county in the cleanup order.
"We can have a hearing, but we can't vote," Robertus said.
Board has dealt with shortage before
This is not the first time that
In late 2000, the board was missing three members because the governor's office had fallen behind on appointments. At that point, the board faced a shutdown because terms of two more members were to expire. A shutdown was averted when new appointments came on the scene.
The regional board said at the time that if it were left without a five-member voting quorum, the agency's staff would be able to issue lower-level enforcement orders. But major enforcement would have come to a sudden halt, they said.
In 1999, the Lahontan Region 6 board in
"Extremely concerned," Gonzalez said.
"We feel it's a real problem in
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/07/news/top_stories/22_14_427_6_07.txt
Deal may not end pain for lake residents; Settlement over Berryessa sewage woes could come at a hefty price
By David Ryan, staff writer
A lawsuit brought by the state attorney general against a small
In February 2006, then-State Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit against the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District, which is a group of 348 parcels — some developed, some not — on the far northern shore of Lake Berryessa, just east of Pope Valley proper.
The state accused the agency of habitually dumping partially-treated sewage into the
The lawsuit — and $400,000 fine — became a flash point for the county to begin addressing some of the long-neglected needs of the district it had been the steward of for decades. The county’s point man on the district, District Principal Engineer Nate Galambos, devised a plan to both clean up the infrastructure and appease the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control District. The water district rules over the Putah Creek watershed, which includes
Galambos’ plan was to raise water rates, while finding a way to issue a $5.2 million bond to fix the district. Those steps, he hoped, would show the water district that progress was being made.
Unfortunately for residents, the rates rose stratospherically. Water use that would draw a $40 bill under the old rates now cost at least $260. In some cases, residents who normally paid $200 were seeing bills north of $1,000 under the new rate structure.
As unpopular as the new rates were, however, some residents realized there was no other option for the district than to pursue the bond. The Napa County Board of Supervisors, which as the LBRID board of directors runs the district, voted unanimously in February to levy the $5.2 million bond — almost a year after the lawsuit was filed.
Earlier in September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law allowing the water district to roll the cost of the fines levied against them into the cost of repairing infrastructure. For the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District, this would have meant they could have avoided paying the $400,000 fine because the cost of repairs well exceeded the cost of fines.
Yet as the lawsuit moves toward formal settlement, county lawyers say the water agency is being “prosecutorial” in its aim to levy the fine, allowances for repairs be damned.
“This particular board wouldn’t even consider it,” said Janice Killion deputy county counsel.
That creates a tall order for the
“What’s difficult is it’s a little district with very few residents, so it was very difficult for it to pay the fines and get the repairs done,” Killion said, adding that she believed state regulators are so stubborn in part because of their workload. “We are one of 100 districts that find their way on the board’s agenda. They just take a very aggressive prosecutorial stance rather than work with the districts to come to a solution.”
Killion estimated it could be mid-July before a formal settlement is reached. #
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/07/07/news/local/doc468f2d0136fee004364138.txt
SUISUN FLEET ISSUES:
Suisun fleet breakup plan vexes officials
Associated Press – 7/7/07
By Scott Lindlaw, staff writer
The federal Maritime Administration announced Thursday that it would lift its moratorium next month on disposing of the ships.
A collection of more than 50 troop transports, tankers and other vessels are rusting in limbo northeast of
Such a step would set in motion the towing of some vessels from
That scrubbing causes toxic paint to flake off into the water, and that is what worries environmentalists and state water-quality regulators.
"It looks like they're using
Saul Bloom, executive director of Arc Ecology, a
Bloom said he was disappointed that the agency intended to scrub the warships at
Moreover, Bloom said he was dismayed that the Maritime Administration had not committed to obtaining permits under the Clean Water Act for the scrubbing.
Bruce Wolfe, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, said his agency - charged with enforcing clean-water standards - does not want to demand such permits from the Maritime Administration.
Insisting on permits would slow the removal of the ships from
Still, Wolfe said he had several concerns about the Maritime Administration's announcement.
Just last week, staff for the agency's head, Sean T. Connaughton, had pledged to provide the state with the results of tests the administration had conducted on a contaminant-containment system used on ships in Virginia, he said. The system uses six-foot-wide scrubbers to filter the paint-laden water, Wolfe said.
The Maritime Administration also had promised that hull cleaning in the bay area would start with a pilot program. The project as described in Connaugton's letter makes no provision for a "pause" to study the possible pollution generated by the first few ships, Wolfe said.
Wolfe said he also wants answers about the maintenance of dozens of ships that would remain indefinitely in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. Even under the most optimistic projections, the Maritime Administration only has the budget to move 15 old ships out of three facilities nationwide in the next year, Wolfe said.
That is the same number that Connaughton pledged to move out of
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board was preparing a letter to the Maritime Administration to inquire about those concerns, Wolfe said.
Under a congressional order, the Maritime Administration had a 2006 deadline to dismantle ships in reserve fleets classified as no longer useful. That hasn't happened because of budget shortfalls, a shortage of facilities that can dismantle the giant ships and environmental concerns. #
http://www.thereporter.com/search/ci_6322018
Editorial: Ship-disposal discord
Contra Costa Times – 7/9/07
DESPITE THE THREAT of pollution, the U.S. Maritime Administration will resume cleaning the hulls of ships that have been decaying in
It is long past time that the 74 rusting ships in
Also, communications between the Maritime Administration and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board could be a lot better.
Water board chief Bruce Wolfe said the announcement on ship cleaning by Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton violates a federal promise last week to first give the state the results of tests on pollution containment operations on ships in
Wolfe said Maritime Administration representatives promised state officials that the test results from the
Also, Wolfe said he was promised that hull-cleaning in the Bay Area would start with its own pilot program.
However, Connaughton's announcement Thursday on cleaning the ships implied that there would not be a review of the
The problem with cleaning hulls in the Bay Area is the danger that metals and other pollutants will not be contained and will be allowed to become an environmental threat.
The Maritime Administration says cleaning can be done in a safe manner. Perhaps, but the communication from Connaughton is not reassuring. Nor is there any mention of the environmental threat posed by the ships before they are moved.
Many have been anchored in
Of course, the environmental threats and costs associated with cleaning the hulls locally before the ships are towed to
The Coast Guard insists that the hulls be scraped clean so that possible invasive species on the ships' bottoms are not transported to
Never mind that every year thousands of ships visit
Yet the Coast Guard will not relent on forcing the Maritime Administration to clean the hulls of a mere 53 vessels, which comprise an insignificant percentage of the ships that dock in
Removing the decaying hulks of long-since-useful ships from
There is no good reason why the ships cannot all be towed as they are to
Instead, we have a display by our federal government of a lack of common sense, poor communications and a disregard for regional officials, taxpayers and the environment. #
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_6331904
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