Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 16, 2007
4. Water Quality
OIL-SPILL:
Oil-spill cleanup notification called faulty -
CONTAMINATION:
Boeing meets deadline, provides cleanup schedule for field lab; The firm was ordered to specify a timeline for the decontamination of the old Rocketdyne site - Los Angeles Times
SEWAGE SPILL:
Rainbow water district sewer spill larger than reported;
WASTEWATER PLANT GRANT:
City receives $5.5 million grant for a water plant; Official says facility should end taste, smell complaints -
WATER QUALITY VIOLATIONS:
$135,000 in water-quality fines for OPUD - Marysville Appeal Democrat
ARSENIC:
Walton’s water woes a worry to residents - Marysville Appeal Democrat
OIL-SPILL:
Oil-spill cleanup notification called faulty
By Paul Rogers, staff writer
The president of one of the two leading companies called out to contain last week's oil spill said Thursday that his emergency crews acted fast but could have done more if they had been told the true size of the spill sooner.
"In a nutshell, if we're told it's a five-alarm fire, we'll respond with the assets for a five-alarm fire," said Steve Benz, president of the Marine Spill Response Corp., based locally in
"If we were told it was a stove fire, we'll respond to that. In this case, we were told it was a stove fire. We can only operate on the basis of the information that we have."
Benz's account added another layer to a week's worth of accusations, explanations and investigations into what went wrong last week in
Meanwhile, at a hearing in Emeryville on Thursday, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-El Cerrito, vowed to introduce legislation in January that could require double-hulled fuel tanks for cargo ships, increased tugboat escorts, additional dedicated emergency response personnel and enhanced involvement by shoreline cities.
Benz said a replacement pilot, who boarded the Cosco Busan shortly after the spill, first called MSRC at 9:17 a.m. - 50 minutes after the ship hit the
The company's first skimmer boat, the Spill Chaser, arrived at the spill site 33 minutes later.
That boat did not have absorbent boom, however, Benz said. The first few MSRC boats carrying boom arrived about 10:45 - one hour and 28 minutes after the call. But by that time, oil had been in the water for two hours and 18 minutes, in currents that were moving at about 3 mph.
Benz denied charges from the longshoring workers union a day before that his company had too few employees.
It wasn't until 1 p.m., Benz said, that MSRC learned the spill was larger.
Until then, he said, MSRC had 20 people working on the spill and eight boats skimming oil and laying boom. When word came the spill was much bigger, the company brought in its largest spill ship, the 193-foot Pacific Responder from
"We very much had enough staff to man the response," Benz said, "not only to the amount of oil we were told was discharged, but well beyond it."
If the Coast Guard, ship's captain or pilot had told MSRC sooner that more than 400 gallons had spilled, Benz said, it could have called the Pacific Responder sooner.
MSRC has about 400 employees nationwide, the same as in 1992, even as the number of spills nationwide has dropped steadily, he said.
Calls to the other company that helped to lead the cleanup, National Response Corp., were not returned Thursday. Both companies are employed by the ship's owner, Regal Stone of Hong Kong.
Also at Thursday's hearing, Hancock called for the creation of a pre-certification process that would allow cities to train volunteers in cleanup procedures, as well as stockpile necessary equipment. Many have criticized the state's inability to quickly put to use hundreds of volunteers because of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules requiring hazardous materials training for oil cleanup.
Of particular concern to Hancock and some environmentalists is a little-known provision of state law that allows oil-spill cleanup companies up to six hours to respond to oil spills from cargo ships in
"That's insane. If your house catches fire and you wait six hours to call the fire department, your house is a charcoal briquette," said Warner Chabot, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy in
Until 1996, when another ship, the
But Pete Bontadelli, the former head of the state's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, said the administration of Gov. Pete Wilson set the six-hour rule after negotiations with shipping firms.
He said it was designed to ensure that a company didn't store cleanup equipment only in
Asked if the time requirement should be reduced, Bontadelli said that because the state divides the coast into large zones where shippers are required to provide coverage, it would be impractical to store enough gear to reach every ship faster than six hours.
As of Thursday, hundreds of people continued to clean oil and wildlife and nearly 1,000 birds had died. #
CONTAMINATION:
Boeing meets deadline, provides cleanup schedule for field lab; The firm was ordered to specify a timeline for the decontamination of the old Rocketdyne site
By Gregory W. Griggs, staff writer
Boeing Co. and its operating partners at a former nuclear research and rocket engine testing facility near
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control required Boeing, majority owner of the Santa Susana Field Lab, and the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA to submit by Wednesday their tentative schedule for complying with a consent decree issued in August.
The operators were ordered to specify when they planned to analyze the levels of chemical and radioactive contamination at the 2,850-acre hilltop site, which has been divided into 10 geographic sections, and conduct the necessary cleanup. The state agency set a 10-year deadline for the soil at the field lab to be cleaned to acceptable standards and for long-term water-cleaning processes to be installed and operating.
"This schedule shows us they understand that there are many steps that need to be completed in order to achieve the 2017 target date," said Norman F. Riley, the substance control department's project director for the field lab cleanup. "They've given us an initial showing of steps indicating they intend to meet that [deadline]. That's a good thing."
Riley said that through the end of this year, his office will review the compliance schedule and will adjust deadlines where needed. Once a final schedule is determined, the timeline will be posted on the agency's website. Riley stressed that throughout the stages of the decontamination process, the public will have opportunities to comment and make suggestions.
Boeing spokeswoman Blythe Jameson said the latest development is an important step for the company and its partners in continuing years of cleanup activities at the site.
Along with rocket and laser testing, federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, conducted nuclear research at the lab over four decades, before ceasing operations in the late 1980s.
The previous owner, Rockwell International, controlled the lab in 1959 during a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor, an incident that was kept hidden for two decades. In an April 1996 plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors, Rockwell International pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal disposal of hazardous waste and one count of illegal storage of hazardous waste and paid a $6.5-million fine in connection with a 1994 chemical explosion that killed two scientists at the lab. Eight months later, Boeing acquired Rockwell International's aerospace and defense businesses.
Boeing has primary responsibility for restoring the property in the
Boeing announced plans last month to donate the 2,400 acres it owns at the site to the state, once the land has been cleaned up, for use as open space and parkland. The company said about 1,000 undeveloped acres along the southern portion of the lab could become open to the public as soon as 2009.
Allen Elliott, NASA's project coordinator at Santa Susana, said detailed individual studies of all 10 sections of the property will be conducted. Once comprehensive cleanup plans are developed, a separate environmental impact statement on those processes will be prepared, with a draft due to state officials in April 2013, according to the compliance schedule.
"Overall, I think it's a pretty aggressive schedule," Elliott said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rocket16nov16,1,5062401.story
SEWAGE SPILL:
Rainbow water district sewer spill larger than reported;
FALLBROOK ---- A sewage spill that could cost the Rainbow Municipal Water District $5 million in fines was much larger than officials first estimated, according to a district staff report to be sent to state water officials today.
On Sept. 4, a blocked sewer line spilled 756,000 gallons of sewage into wetlands on the east side of Interstate 15 ---- 216,000 gallons more than district staff stated in a Sept. 10 report.
Dave Seymour, the district's general manager, said Thursday that the discrepancy occurred because the sewage seeped out for an estimated 10 days before crews contained it.
"We based the original 540,000 gallons on a one-day spill. What actually happened is that the spill occurred over a longer period of time than we thought," he said.
The district is still unable to ascertain whether the blockage that caused the spill was a structural or maintenance problem because less than 70 percent of the pipeline is accessible for inspection, according to the newest report. The cost of the spill is also unknown.
"I don't think we have a clue as to what the ultimate cost of the spill will be,"
After the spill the district installed flow meters and two "smart" manhole covers downstream of the site to alert staff to possible blockages and rises in water levels, both of which can lead to overflows,
The spill, caused by roots blocking the pipes, was discovered on Sept. 4 after an abnormal meter reading. A road stretching 200 feet into the area was constructed so crews could access the site and contain the spill. At that time, District Engineer Brian Lee said that the episode could have been avoided if manholes in the area weren't buried and the district had been able to reach the line for regular maintenance.
But building a permanent access road into the affected area north of
The cost of relocating the line hasn't been determined, but it would probably be comparable to the $2.5 million project to update facilities that Lee recommended in September,
Gene Buckley, the district's interim general manager at the time of the spill, said that any fines levied against the district wouldn't lead to increases in water bills, but
"Ultimately, anything we do affects our ratepayers. That's why we're working so hard to fix this," he said.
It will be several months before the Regional Water Quality Control Board will decide if it will levy the maximum $5 million fine allowed by law, but
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/16/news/inland/fallbrook/20_49_1211_15_07.txt
WASTEWATER PLANT GRANT:
City receives $5.5 million grant for a water plant; Official says facility should end taste, smell complaints
By Sam Richard, staff writer
Vital funding is now available for a nearly $19 million groundwater treatment facility expected to provide better water for thousands of
The City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday night to accept a $5.5 million grant from Proposition 50, which was approved by
The money will help cover the cost of the plant, which will pump and treat groundwater with high levels of iron, manganese and salts, city officials said. The rest of the cost will be paid for out of the city's capital improvement budget.
Vice Mayor Charlotte Craven said the city has received complaints from City of
"We're trying to get it so everybody gets water that tastes good and smells good," Craven said. "Once this thing comes through, I think everybody in town's going to be happy."
"It was out of reach," she said. "This grant will make it possible" to complete the project.
The $5.5 million comes from a larger $25 million grant awarded to the Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County, a group of water agencies, cities and various other entities.
The council's decision authorized City Manager Jerry Bankston to sign an agreement between the city and county to accept the grant. The grant will be used to reimburse the city for money spent on the facility.
Only City of Camarillo water customers — about 12,700 residential and business accounts — will receive the treated groundwater, said Tom Smith, the city's water superintendent.
City officials are testing various technologies at a "pilot plant" to determine what technology the facility should have.
Most likely, the plant could have reverse-osmosis technology, which can effectively dissolve salts, irons and manganese in groundwater, Deputy Public Works Director Lucie McGovern said.
Under terms of the funding agreement, the facility must be fully operational by mid-2012, but it should be built by December 2010, McGovern said.
The facility's site could be on 3 acres near the Camarillo Library on
Officials are negotiating with property owners to acquire the land, McGovern said. #
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/nov/16/city-receives-55-million-grant-for-a-water-plant/
WATER QUALITY VIOLATIONS:
$135,000 in water-quality fines for OPUD
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 11/16/07
By Andrea Koskey, staff writer
Facing $135,000 in penalties, Olivehurst Public Utility district directors voted Thursday night to hire an outside lawyer to respond to 45 alleged water quality violations.
Last month, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board cited OPUD for more than two dozen violations at its wastewater treatment plant related to high levels of coliform bacteria, and several other kinds of infractions, also related to levels of organic materials in the water.
Twelve violations were marked “serious” because of the proportion of effluent that exceeded state limitations during construction of the district’s new plant.
“It’s kind of like the ‘please pardon our dust during construction’ scenarios,” said OPUD General Manager Tim Shaw.
OPUD has until Nov. 30 to respond to the board.
Shaw said many of the violations resulted from building a new plant on top of the old one.
Public health was not threatened, he said.
The new plant was completed in August 2006.
OPUD directors approved a tentative agreement with the Somach, Simmons and Dunn environmental law firm in
“Our goal is to respond and meet with the (water) board and try to mitigate the problem,” OPUD counsel Jeffrey Meith said.
Shaw said during construction, heavy equipment could have possibly crushed some of the existing infrastructure, causing a disinfectant to stop producing and mixing with the wastewater.
“Unfortunately, you wouldn’t even notice (a pipe is crushed) until the dirt was turned over and it came up wet,” Shaw said.
The most recent violation is dated September 2006, but a regional board representative said the district will need to pay for those past violations, even though it is probably in compliance since the new plant’s completion.
“We have mandatory minimum penalties we have to assess,” said Dave Carlson, chief of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System office in
Shaw said some of the violations could be a result of human error.
Testing for biochemical oxygen demand, a procedure that determines how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in water and how much organic material remains, is conducted off site.
Shaw said OPUD also tests for solids and cloudiness in the water. #
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/water_56579___article.html/opud_shaw.html
ARSENIC:
Walton’s water woes a worry to residents
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 11/16/07
By John Dickey, staff writer
Talks between Walton residents and a Yuba City City Council ad-hoc committee trying to sort out area water problems will start at the source – the water-treatment plant.
With several thousand dollars in costs required to fix it or connect with another water source, some residents have started asking whether the plant is really broken. And, if it isn’t, why fix it if?
Dan Mescher, of
“Are arsenic levels too high, and is the system working efficiently or not?” wondered Mescher.
City officials spent two hours Thursday writing down residents’ concerns about the plant, financing and other issues Thursday at an ad-hoc committee session held at
The more than 30 residents who attended came up with 44 issues to discuss. Leading the list was a question about the condition of the Hillcrest water system itself, and the financing plan to pay for either plant upgrades or connections to city surface water for the 3,000 homes in the Walton area that use groundwater from the former Hillcrest Water Co. plant.
Homeowners face costs of from $5,000 to $8,000 for plant improvements or connections with another city plant that draws water from the
Controversy over the issue led to the formation of the Southwest Walton Water Issue Ad-Hoc Committee, comprised of Councilmen Rory Ramirez and Kash Gill, which is supposed to come up with a solution to the problem after talking with residents.
Adding to the confusion are the arsenic levels in the treated water, which have gone up and down. Earlier this year, they shot up above 10 parts per billion, the limits for arsenic levels in drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But they dropped below the limits for the last two quarters after the city put in place what it calls a short-term treatment solution for the arsenic levels.
Arsenic is naturally occurring in some rock formations with
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/water_56578___article.html/city_plant.html
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