Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 16, 2007
4. Water Quality
New River could go underground for new port - Imperial Valley Press
LOS OSOS:
Judge rules no refunds for those who paid for failed Los Osos sewer; A bankruptcy judge rules against hundreds of property owners, leaves an opportunity for claims to be refilled - San Luis Obispo Tribune
WASTEWATER REGULATION:
Prison will not fight wastewater fine; Vacaville receives assurance - Fairfield Daily Republic
SEWAGE SPILL:
Damaged sewer dumps 'thousands of gallons' -
By Victor Morales, staff writer
CALEXICO — The U.S. government is considering covering a portion of one of the most polluted rivers in the nation that flows parallel to the downtown Calexico Port of Entry.
The “toxicity” of the New River has officials at the U.S. General Services Administration concerned as it plans to build a new port of entry on the banks of the binational river that is made up of mostly urban and industrial waste from
“Quite simply, the whole status of the New River at Calexico is of course an exceedingly complex issue … with many other agencies and groups that need to be involved in a resolution,” GSA Public Affairs Officer Gene Gibson said.
The GSA, which provides office and other workspace services to the federal government, has not decided on how exactly it’s going to prevent exposure to government employees and border crossers working and crossing the nation’s third-busiest land border with
Remedies the agency may be considering range from providing a bridge to piping the river.
Gibson said the GSA will be commissioning a study to come up with options. It has no timeline on when those options could be considered.
The Calexico New River Committee, a local nonprofit organization seeking to have the federal government take the brunt of responsibility for cleaning the New River, has already drawn up a comprehensive plan that includes encasing the river from the border to Highway 98 in Calexico, about three miles.
The GSA is considering only the area “adjacent” to the border for a project, but how far that is has not been determined.
The New River Committee hopes the possible project will at least reach just beyond the
Even if the project does not reach any of the New River Committee’s objectives, such a project that addresses decreasing exposure to the river will be welcomed, said the New River Committee executive director Miguel Figueroa
“Something needs to ignite the project. It’s just going to make it easier to get the rest of project to come through,” he said.
Having the federal government deal with the river also means a government-paid environmental impact report that would be available for future projects, Figueroa said.
“That will save a lot of dollars,” he said.
Proponents for cleaning the river have been getting good signs from the federal government recently. On Sept. 24, the U.S. Senate passed the renewal of the Water Resources Development Act, which could allocate $10 million to help clean the river.
Additionally, a bill that would authorize grants for local governments in border regions was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 4. #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/10/16/news/news01.txt
LOS OSOS:
Judge rules no refunds for those who paid for failed Los Osos sewer; A bankruptcy judge rules against hundreds of property owners, leaves an opportunity for claims to be refilled
San Luis Obispo
By Sona Patel, staff writer
Hundreds of Los Osos property owners who filed claims last year to get money back after paying a tax used to start a now defunct sewer project won’t be refunded in the town services district’s bankruptcy proceedings, a judge ruled Monday.
But the attorney representing some of those property owners said bankruptcy court Judge Robin L. Riblet’s decision signaled that those claims could be filed again if the court does not approve a bankruptcy plan for the Los Osos Community Services District.
Hundreds of Los Osos property owners began filing claims late last year to get money back from an increased property tax they have been paying since 2002 to repay almost $18 million in bonds sold to fund property purchase and design on the district’s sewer project.
Property owners approved the levy in a May 2001 mail-in election.
The assessment for each single-family home was $3,895, or $252 a year for 30 years when interest is added. Property owners could choose to pay one lump sum of $3,340.
The services district — which has been taxing the property owners — filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in August 2006 to stave off creditors while it tried to figure out how to pay an estimated $40 million in debts.
The debts mounted after a recall election in 2005 changed the majority of the district’s five-member board of directors, who then halted work on the contentious, multimillion-dollar project.
The services district’s bankruptcy attorney, Jay Michaelson, believes state law precludes property owners from recouping their prepaid assessments.
“The law says that if you go out and you assess and you use the money for what you said you were going to use it for … that’s good enough,” Michaelson said. “You don’t have to deliver a completed project.”
Since September 2006, the citizen group Taxpayers Watch has been advising property owners who paid their assessments in lump sums to file claims in bankruptcy court based on the letter from the former board.
Claims could range from $800 to $15,000 (for owners of multiple properties).
Recalled district board member Gordon Hensley, who was one of the first property owners to file a nearly $3,300 claim last year, said the decision Monday wasn’t the most favorable but gives him hope that he and other property owners may be refunded if there is no successful bankruptcy plan.
Property owners cannot file claims again in bankruptcy court, under Riblet’s ruling. Future claims would have to go through San Luis Obispo Superior Court. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/167719.html
WASTEWATER REGULATION:
Prison will not fight wastewater fine;
By Ian Thompson, staff writer
Vacaville City Attorney Gerald Hobrecht got the announcement in a call last week from the Department of Corrections attorney's office. The department indicated it will not contest the fine and that the prison is making efforts to reduce the amount of wastewater discharge from the prison, Hobrecht said.
The Department of Corrections official who is handling the matter could not be reached for comment Monday, according to the Department of Correction's Public Affairs Office.
As for limiting the amount of wastewater the prison will generate in the future, prison officials have told
"The flows have been lower," Vacaville Public Works Assistant Director David Tompkins said. "Things are going in the right direction and we continue to work with the Department of Corrections."
Vacaville City Councilman Curtis Hunt added, "They have a handle on it. They have put in hardware in the prison to control the wastewater."
Earlier this year,
Wastewater dumped into sewer pipes during dry weather routinely exceeded that limit for the past three years and increased the risk of a sewage overflow in pipes not large enough to handle that amount.
In February, the city fined California State Prison Solano $41,250 and the Department of Corrections appealed the matter to the Vacaville City Council.
The council unanimously upheld the fines in an August hearing. Prison officials defended themselves at the hearing, saying the excessive wastewater use was because the prison was overcrowded with more inmates that it was designed to handle.
Hunt, who represents
"We certainly encourage them to keep trying to reach that goal they agreed to in the contract," City Councilwoman Pauline Clancy said. "We look forward to their cooperation in the future." #
http://local.dailyrepublic.net/story_localnews.php?a=news06.txt
SEWAGE SPILL:
Damaged sewer dumps 'thousands of gallons'
Redding Record Searchlight – 10/16/07
By Jim Schultz, staff writer
A broken sewer main Monday spilled "thousands of gallons" of untreated sewage into
But the sewage spill into the river should not pose a threat to local public health or the environment because the water volume and velocity will flush it downstream, said John Tasello,
"It's not going to have an impact," he said.
Nevertheless, signs have been posted near
The tests could take about a week to complete, he said.
The break happened about 3,400 feet from the
The broken sewer main, which runs through a greenbelt and is suspended on concrete pillars, was discovered about 1:15 p.m., west of
A nearby resident reported that he heard the aboveground sewage main rupture and "we discovered it pretty early," he said.
Crews were able to stop the sewage flow -- approximately 100 gallons a minute -- about 3:40 p.m., and the sewer main was repaired about 6 p.m., he said.
Tasello said the sewer main was installed in the 1950s and was due to be replaced next year.
A variety of environmental health and other agencies, including the state Department of Fish and Game and the California Water Quality Control Board, were notified of the spill, he said. #
http://www.redding.com/news/2007/oct/16/damaged-sewer-dumps-thousands-of-gallons/
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