Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 10, 2008
4. Water Quality
RUNOFF CONTROL:
Transit district gets orders to clean up its act; Water board wants pollution stopped - San Diego Union Tribune
SEWAGE PROJECT:
County halts sewer project; Residents will have to start over on plan for wastewater plant after officials balk at cost - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
OIL SPILL:
Crews work to clean up 25,000-gallon oil spill near Los Olivos - Associated Press
BUELLTON OIL SPILL:
Energy Company didn't discover Jan. 5th oil spill for 13 hours; Firm has a history of environmental violations - YubaNet.com
RUNOFF CONTROL:
Transit district gets orders to clean up its act; Water board wants pollution stopped
By Michael Burge, staff writer
The California Regional Water Quality Control Board has ordered North County Transit District to show how it will control pollution along the new Sprinter passenger train line, or else.
The board's
The district must stop the pollution immediately and show how it will fix the problem by Jan. 31, or face possible fines or legal action, according to the order.
The transit district agreed to pay a $160,000 penalty last month for falsifying inspection reports and failing to prevent runoff along the track between
The violations date to February 2007, according to water quality control board inspection documents, and are ongoing.
“They continue to have violations,” said Chiara Clemente, a senior environmental scientist with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Inspectors filed reports citing violations once in October, twice in November and three times in December.
The inspectors' Dec. 3 report alleged violations at the following locations: the Escondido Transit Center; Washington Avenue and Nordahl Road in Escondido; along Barham and Shelly drives in San Marcos; California State University San Marcos and the San Marcos Civic Center; the Buena Creek station and the Mar Vista storage yard in Vista; Vista Transit Center; and Crouch Street and Coast Highway in Oceanside.
The violations include unfiltered silt running down storm drains, and ultimately into streams, lakes, lagoons and the ocean.
“Failure to meet these deadlines may subject you to further enforcement actions by the Regional Board, including administrative or judicial proceedings for the assessment of civil liability of up to $5,000 per day per violation; referral to the State Attorney General for injunctive relief; and referral to the District Attorney for criminal prosecution,” says a Dec. 31 letter signed by Michael McCann, assistant executive director of the
Don Bullock, the Sprinter construction project manager, said he is meeting with a district team to devise a plan and will meet with regional board representatives this month.
“We're brainstorming what's the best way to do this,” Bullock said.
Asked about the threat of criminal penalties, Bullock said, “It's designed to get your attention and it certainly has.
“By no means are we ignoring this issue,” he said. “We're confident we can come to a mutual understanding on how to address (the problems).”
Bullock said the district has spent $3 million on erosion control, twice what was originally budgeted.
The $477 million Sprinter project entails reconstructing 22 miles of freight track to a combined freight-passenger line.
“The issue really that makes it difficult is when you have a project that's 22 miles (long) . . . each time you make a change to earthen forms you have to go back and redesign and re-implement control measures,” Bullock said. “Over that long a corridor it's a monumental effort.
“That's not an excuse,” he said. “That's just reality.”
Bullock said the issue will not further delay the startup of the Sprinter service, which was scheduled for Sunday but has been delayed indefinitely while the line undergoes safety inspections.
On Monday, business owners blamed the transit district for causing flooding from the tracks onto their properties bordering the rail line along
Bullock said yesterday the district will open a channel in the creek to improve drainage tomorrow if it gets approval from environmental agencies.
The regional water board's McCann said Tuesday the flooding may entail pollution violations, but is not part of the cleanup order. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080110/news_1m10order.html
SEWAGE PROJECT:
County halts sewer project; Residents will have to start over on plan for wastewater plant after officials balk at cost
Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 1/10/08
By Bleys W. Rose, staff writer
Monte Rio residents who want a wastewater treatment plant are going to have to come up with a new plan now that Sonoma County supervisors have pulled the plug on their proposed sewage facility.
Supervisors officially sent the project down the drain this week, just days after their advisory panel, the Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee, voted against using redevelopment money to fund the facility.
Monte Rio residents mounted a last-ditch attempt to keep the project alive by arguing that the project was ready to go out to bid immediately and that the county's construction estimates were too high.
"It rocks my faith in the county," said Preston Smith, who owns nine Monte Rio homes that cater to low-income residents. "You will condemn Monte Rio to remain a slum."
However, county planning officials recommended that supervisors halt all the design work and stop searching for grants because construction estimates had soared from $11.1 million in 2003 to $20.6 million. About $462,000 has already been spent on the project and much of that can't be recouped, officials said.
"We received new cost estimates that put it $2.6 million over available funding," said Pete Parkinson, director of the Permit and Resource Management Department. "This does not mean that there is no need to resolve wastewater issues in Monte Rio."
Sewage treatment in
But sources of the problem are difficult to pinpoint because it could be coming from failing septic systems of river-area residents, run-off from farms, cities upstream or dumping by the city of
Supervisor Tim Smith noted that during the search for solutions in the past decade, Monte Rio residents were divided while cost estimates continued to mount. Intense opposition scuttled a county attempt to turn the Guerneville plant into a regional wastewater system, which led to the go-it-alone Monte Rio plan.
"I caution people against pointing fingers, but sometimes things just don't work," Smith said.
Ted Walker, the county's project manager on the Monte Rio sewer system for 11 years until he retired last year, told supervisors that the county planning department may have been ill-equipped to develop the project when neither the Public Works Department nor the Water Agency wanted to handle it.
"We did the best that we could do," said Walker, who suggested Monte Rio residents consider an on-site wastewater management zone like one serving Sea Ranch residents.
Preston Smith conceded "there is wide divergence of opinion of what to do next, and I am not sure how many of those ideas are realistic." He said advocates would meet soon to discuss options.
The important thing, he said, is that county officials not "throw away grant money" if it can be redirected to an alternative project.
DeWayne Starnes, a deputy planning department director, said county officials would contact grant agencies to see whether money "can be reprogrammed to other uses."
Advocates within the community of about 1,500 residents said they worry Monte Rio could become "a ghost town."
"Monte
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080110/NEWS/801100354/1033/NEWS01
OIL SPILL:
Crews work to clean up 25,000-gallon oil spill near Los Olivos
Associated Press – 1/9/07
LOS OLIVOS,
At least 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the oak-lined creek Saturday when a tank at an oil-production site about five miles north of Los Olivos overflowed, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The oil and contaminated water spread for more than a mile down the creek, which winds its way through rural farmland and vineyards, California Department of Fish and Game spokesman Lt. Jorge Gross said.
The cause of the spill was under investigation.
The site is run by Greka Energy Corp., a firm that has had a series of recent spills in the area, EPA spokesman Rob Wise said.
A call to a Greka spokeswoman was not immediately returned late Wednesday.
Wise said the contaminated water was a byproduct of pumping for oil. Because oil in the area is viscous, hot water is pumped into wells to help loosen it up, he said.
Gross said cleanup of the spill was more than 50 percent completed. Vegetation along the creek had been damaged and several animals were thought to have been killed by the spill. #
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7925358?nclick_check=1
BUELLTON OIL SPILL:
Energy Company didn't discover Jan. 5th oil spill for 13 hours; Firm has a history of environmental violations
YubaNet.com – 1/9/08
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been on-site since Saturday, assisting the California Department of Fish and Game address the more than 25,000-gallon crude oil spill near
Greka Energy has been responsible for three major, and numerous minor oil spills in the area in the past two years.
"We have significant concerns whenever a company has repeated releases of oil to the environment and this is the second major release from a Greka Energy facility since December 2007," said Daniel Meer, Chief of the Response, Planning and Assessment Branch for the Superfund Division in the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "We will use all available tools under the Clean Water Act to ensure that this company is brought into compliance with all applicable laws and regulations."
On Jan. 5th, oil and produced water, a pollutant and contaminant under the Clean Water Act, first overflowed into the secondary containment of the Davis Tank Battery, but was compromised by an open drainage conduit. The oil and produced water flowed from the secondary containment tank, and migrated through a Santa Barbara Co. maintenance yard, a winery equipment storage yard, and eventually more than a mile down Zaca Creek.
The EPA will continue to work with members of the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Strike Team, and Greka Energy, the responsible party, in containment and clean-up efforts, to prevent further harm to the environment.
While concentrating on clean up efforts at the current spill site, the EPA is also taking action to prevent future Greka spills. At the heart of the EPA's strategy to prevent oil spills from reaching our nation's waters, the Agency requires that certain facilities develop and implement oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasures, or SPCC Plans. EPA is currently inspecting Greka facilities throughout the region to determine what control measures are necessary to prevent future spills at Greka locations.
Updates on the spill: http://www.epaosc.net/site_profile.asp?site_id=3736
On January 5, 2007, an oil spill occurred in the Davis Tank Battery on the Greka Energy Zaca Lease. The spill report stated that 20 barrels of crude oil and 50 barrels of produce water were spilled. The spill was the result of the over filling of a produce waste water tank. The tank overflowed for approximately 13 hours before being discovered. The oil and produce water spilled into the secondary containment of the Davis Tank Battery. The containment of the tank battery was comprimised by an unvalved 12" diameter drainage conduit that allowed the spilled material to exit the secondary containment. The oil and produce water exited the secondary containment and migrated through a Santa Barbara Co. Roads Yard, through a winery equipment storage yard and finally into an unnammed tributary to Zaca Creek. The oil initially traveled approximately 1/2 mile down the creek.
The Santa Barbara Co. Fire Department and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) responded to the spill. The DFG directed Greka to retain a contractor to cleanup the creek. Greka retained Advanced Cleanup Technologies (ACTI). Due to rainy conditions, Greka built to dams to prevent the oil from migrating futher down the creek. On Saturday night, due to flash flood conditions in the creek bed, the dams were compromised and the oil flowed approximately another 3/4 mile downstream.
The initial spill report came into the Region 9 duty officer on Saturday morning. The On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) Duty Officer contacted OSC Robert Wise and notified him of the spill. OSC Wise was also notified of the spill by Santa Barbara Co. Petroleum Office and the DFG. OSC Wise promptly dispatched a START contractor from the
OSC Wise and START arrived on-site late on January 6, 2007. After meeting with the START on scene, OSC Wise assessed the situation in cooperation with START and the ACTI Response Manager.
On January 7, 2007, OSC Wise, START and PST mobilized to the site. OSC Wise met with DFG representatives and formulated activities for the day. At EPA's direction, Greka directed their contractor to work on removing the sources of migrating oil in the County Road Yard and the winery storage area. Greka's employees were cleaning up the Davis Tank Battery and the County Road Yard. ACTI further repaired the dams in the creek and worked on removing the oil and the creek.
As of January 7, 2008, California Department of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) estimates that at least of 600 barrels of crude oil and an unknown amount of water have been released. DFG is currently quantifying the amount of oil released. #
http://yubanet.com/california/Energy_Company_didn_t_discover_Jan_5th_oil_spill_for_13_hours.php
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