Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 20, 2007
4. Water Quality
CALLEGUAS CREEK CLEANUP:
EPA orders two property owners to clean up creek; Agency says both violated law by dumping debris - Ventura County Star
GROUNDWATER CLEANUP FUNDING:
Rep. seeks to prolong water cleanup project - Pasadena Star News
SITE CLEANUP:
Residents OK with EPA site cleanup; Officials detail plan for Arvin water remediation - Bakersfield Californian
San Leandro Creek remains closed after sewage pipe break; Public Works testing to be sure of safety before reopening waterway - Inside Bay Area
CALLEGUAS CREEK CLEANUP:
EPA orders two property owners to clean up creek; Agency says both violated law by dumping debris
By Zeke Barlow, staff writer
In recent years, Tom Staben had been hired by the county to remove dirt from Calleguas Creek in order to restore the waterway to its natural flow.
Now, after the Environmental Protection Agency said Staben dumped dirt and debris in the creek on his personal property upstream, the agency is ordering him to clean up the mess he made.
Staben, along with Muranaka Farms on an adjacent property on
Both property owners did so when they replaced land lost after the 2005 floods and built berms to protect their property, said EPA compliance officer Mary Butterwick.
Both have 45 days to respond to the orders that were issued last week and could face $32,500 in fines for each day they are deemed in violation of the orders. Neither party could be reached for comment Monday night.
On Staben's property, about 4.2 acres of land within the federal waterlines were affected, Butterwick said. The Muranaka property had about 11 acres affected, where row crops were planted on the land that jutted into the streambed, Butterwick said.
The agency is mainly concerned with getting the property owners to help restore the land to the way it was before the debris was pushed into the creek, Butterwick said.
Staben has a long history with the county, both as a contractor and as citizen who since 1989 has been cited or investigated more than 20 times for illegally dumping in sensitive areas.
He's held millions of dollars in contracts to do work moving dirt around the county.
In 2005, he was hired by the county to remove sediment from Calleguas Creek, said Jeff Pratt, director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.
In October of the same year, Staben started dumping dirt and debris into the creek near his property, which is upstream from the area he was hired to clean out, according the EPA.
He continued to dump dirt into the creek until November 2006, the EPA said.
At Muranaka Farm next door, debris was dumped into the creek from September 2005 until November 2006.
Pratt said several county agencies are also investigating the activity on Staben's land. #
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/nov/20/epa-orders-two-property-owners-to-clean-up-creek/
GROUNDWATER CLEANUP FUNDING:
Rep. seeks to prolong water cleanup project
By Mike Sprague, staff writer
The project, which began operating in 2003, was designed to clean up polluted groundwater flowing toward
Perchlorate from former aerospace operations and other toxic chemicals in the Valley were discovered in the early 1990s to have seeped into groundwater supplies.
"Adding money for
The $11.2 million was added to HR 123 - written by Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas - that already authorized $50 million in funding for the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund.
"Much has been cleaned up in
"Continuing the cleanup effort will increase our region's clean water supply and protect our communities against drought cycles, global warming and decreasing water supply from the fragile San Francisco Bay Delta," she said.
The bill - with Napolitano's amendment - has been approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources and next goes to the House of Representatives.
"We really are grateful the congresswoman did this," said Art Aguilar, general manager for the Central Basin Municipal Water District, which operates the clean water project.
"She has helped out not just us, but the other cities (
The project, which was paid for with $10 million from the federal government, is nearly out of money.
It has continued to operate with
Since June, the cities have been paying $250 per acre-foot for water cleaned up and thus usable as drinking water.
That is expected to amount to $425,000 for Santa Fe Springs and $600,000 for
Estimated annual cost is $1.2 million.
It's an important project, Aguilar said.
"Until we can be reasonably sure of the water quality in the (
The treatment system includes two water wells in
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/search/ci_7509827?IADID=Search-www.pasadenastarnews.com-www.pasadenastarnews.com
SITE CLEANUP:
Residents OK with EPA site cleanup; Officials detail plan for Arvin water remediation
Bakersfield
By Felix Doligosa Jr., staff writer
Residents didn’t get everything they wanted, but enough to be happy with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to clean a site contaminated by pesticide spills and chemicals.
Part of the EPA’s plan to monitor contamination in the water caused by the Brown and Bryant site is an improvement from initial discussions, said Ingrid Brostrom, an attorney with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.
“We’re glad to see that,” Brostrom said at a public meeting Monday night with the EPA and residents. “We’re willing to work with the EPA.”
About 50 people attended the meeting at the Arvin Veterans Hall where EPA employees outlined the plan to clean up water contaminated by the Brown and Bryant site.
The site, near
Soil and groundwater at the site were contaminated by pesticide spills and improperly handled chemicals.
The EPA’s plan entails relocating the city well, removing contaminants in shallow groundwater and monitoring water in a deeper level, according to Nancy Riveland with the EPA.
“We want to do what’s best for the community,” Riveland said.
Resident Jaime Berumen said he would have liked to have seen a plan that included the removal of contaminants in the deeper water level.
EPA officials said there is not enough water in the deeper zone to pump and treat.
Berumen, who is a member of the Committee for a Better Arvin, presented a report card to the EPA that evaluated the EPA’s plan in cleaning up the site.
He said the plan “is a right step in the right direction.”
The EPA is in litigation with the Santa Fe Railway and Shell companies over who must pay to clean up the site, said Travis Cain, EPA remedial project manager.
The EPA has also applied with its headquarters to help pay for the cleanup, according to Riveland.
Once the equipment is in place, it may take 10 to 15 years to remove pollution from the water, Riveland said. #
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/289953.html
San Leandro Creek remains closed after sewage pipe break; Public Works testing to be sure of safety before reopening waterway
Inside Bay Area – 11/20/07
By Martin Ricard, staff writer
The break inundated the creek area with an undetermined amount of contaminants, according to the city's Public Works Department, but water testing so far indicates that the damage may not have been grave.
"We're testing once a day, and some of the results have been inconclusive," said Public Works Director Mike Bakaldin.
So, "until we're confident that (contamination) isn't an issue and until we can put up the proper signage," he added, "we want to keep it closed."
The Public Works Department was notified around noon Thursday of the pipe break near
The creek was closed to the public over the weekend, and residents were urged to avoid contact with the water until further notice.
While test results remain unclear, Bakaldin did say that Public Works staff have concluded that the sewage pipe burst because of its age.
"It was just an old pipe," he said. "That happens all the time."
The challenge now will be figuring out how much contamination actually reached the waterway. San Leandro Creek's watershed has a 48-square-mile drainage basin. It is already used as a watering hole for many animals that pass through the area as well as some of the homeless people who live near the creek. Then there's all the garbage that gets dumped there every year.
"The problem with urban creeks is they already have a certain amount of contamination," Bakaldin said. "Everything that runs off the sides of the street, that pretty much ends up in the creek."
Public Works staff will be looking into how much contamination the pipe break added to the existing contamination in the creek, he added.
That is bittersweet news to the many residents who live nearby.
But Rick Richards, president of the Friends of San Leandro Creek, said the cleanup effort has assured him everything will be all right.
"I always have a concern when we have a situation like that, and I want to make sure anything that occurs gets remediated," Richards said. "But I have confidence ... that it will be taken care of."
Residents can get updates on the status of the creek by calling the Public Works Department at 510-577-3440 or by tuning in to 1610 AM. #
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