Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 3, 2008
4. Water Quality
City to get $2 million toward cleanup cost - San Francisco Chronicle
PERCHLORATE:
State funds sought for perchlorate cleanup - Riverside Press Enterprise
OIL SPILL LEGISLATION:
Inland water spills focus of new bill - Woodland Daily Democrat
CLEANING UP THE RESERVOIR:
PID cleans up Dogtown Road - Paradise Post
City to get $2 million toward cleanup cost
San Francisco Chronicle – 3/3/008
By Cecilia M. Vega, staff writer
An insurance agent for the owners of the container ship that crashed into the
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the payout is part of an early settlement reached in a lawsuit his office filed against Regal Stone Ltd. of
Herrera called it an initial payment.
"It's like a down payment on what we've been able to document so far," Herrera said. "It's a great first step."
The total cost of the Nov. 7 spill - including damage to Bay Area beaches, businesses, marinas and boats, as well as cleanup efforts - is estimated to exceed $100 million.
Herrera named Regal Stone, several affiliated companies and the ship's pilot, John Cota, in his lawsuit, which seeks compensation for the cost of responding to the oil spill, as well as the harm the spill did to recreation and fishing.
A spokesman for Regal Stone could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Herrera said the $2 million the city will receive as part of its agreement with Hudson Marine Management Services, which is acting on behalf of Regal Stone, will be a reimbursement for some of the taxpayer dollars spent on response efforts. Those expenditures include overtime pay for city employees, the cost of creating a command post at
The city may still recover more money it lost when beaches, parks and city facilities were forced to close in the spill's aftermath, Herrera said.
And, Herrera said, "in no way are we giving up on environmental claims that we have as part of our ongoing litigation."
Sejal Choksi, the program director for the environmental group San Francisco Baykeeper, said the environmental impacts caused by the oil spill are still not entirely known.
Herrera's suit claims the spill killed and injured at least 2,200 birds and other marine life.
"Oil has been seen in a lot of places along the Marin shoreline and along
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/03/BA3CVCE3F.DTL&hw=water&sn=011&sc=236
PERCHLORATE:
State funds sought for perchlorate cleanup
Riverside Press
By Jennifer Bowles, staff writer
The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board voted Friday to send a request to the state for $3 million to help
The State Water Resources Control Board issues grants for cleaning up waste or to deal with a public health threat from an account funded by court judgments and civil penalties. The board allocates the money on a case-by-case basis.
The plume of perchlorate, an ingredient of rocket fuel and fireworks, has stretched six miles under
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_R_perch01.3fb01db.html
OIL SPILL LEGISLATION:
Inland water spills focus of new bill
Woodland Daily Democrat – 3/3/08
Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Solano, introduced a package of bills to improve the state's response to oil spills, including legislation requiring the state to create a strategy to prevent and respond to oil spills in inland waters.
"Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 75 percent of oil spills in
Specifically, AB 2912 requires the state Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to plan for prevention of and response to oil spills in inland waters - and requires that fines and penalties for inland spills be raised to the same levels authorized for marine spills.
"Any oil spill in
"Current law doesn't grant Fish and Game the power it needs to confront inland spills in the same way they respond to ocean spills. This bill corrects that."
Wolk is also authoring AB 2911, which requires advanced recruitment and training of specialists and volunteers to collect oiled wildlife and birds, whose survival depends on rapid treatment.
"After the Cosco Busan spill, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,600 birds, including endangered and sensitive species, the state had to turn away many concerned citizens who offered to volunteer to help search and collect oiled birds and other wildlife because they lacked the required training and expertise. This bill requires the state to plan ahead and have volunteers ready to provide prompt response in the event of an oil spill," Wolk concluded.
In 2004, Wolk introduced legislation after the owner of a ruptured pipeline that spilled 84,000 gallons of diesel fuel in the Suisun Slough did not report the spill to the state until the next day. Her bill, which was signed into law by the governor, requires pipeline oil spills be reported immediately to the Office of Emergency Services.
Her current legislation is part of a package of bills introduced by Assembly Democrats to improve the state's emergency response to oil spills. #
http://www.dailydemocrat.com//ci_8436218?IADID=Search-www.dailydemocrat.com-www.dailydemocrat.com
CLEANING UP THE RESERVOIR:
PID cleans up Dogtown Road
By Paul Wellersdick, staff writer
For years the Paradise Irrigation District has periodically cleared yards of rubbish from the side of
Jim Ladrnini PID maintenance supervisor walked along Dogtown Friday morning shaking his head at the irony that the same people who paid to drink water from the reservoir would pollute it with their trash.
"In my mind, as a ratepayer, there's no point to contaminate the water, then have to pay guys to come in here and clean it up," he said.
Between the road and inmate fire crews clearing brush from the shores of the reservoir, sat paint cans, TV sets, dog houses, carpet, linoleum, bicycles, trash bags, dead animals, boxes of motor oil, cans, plastic cups and yard waste.
All the trash sat on a steep eastern slope that drains water into the reservoir. The concern PID has with the mess is that the pollutants may make their way to the water the Ridge drinks.
A couple of years ago the district pulled two or three five yard dump trucks of trash from the illegal dumpers, Ladrini said. The district is fortunate this year's harvest should be less, he said.
PID crews were taken from their jobs fixing leaks and laying pipe to clean the trash, using the district's equipment. Cleaning the trash is a dangerous job.
Trash bags tossed off the road may have dirty hypodermic needles used for intravenous drug use, Ladrini said.
"Getting stuck with a needle is awfully dangerous," he said.
Not only are there health dangers with needles but crews have to climb down the steep hill over loose rocks. Once crews make it to the distant, heavy items they have to attach ropes to the junk to be hauled to the top and put into dump trucks with backhoes. Because the heavy equipment has to be used, it also costs the district money that could otherwise be spent elsewhere.
"It's a Catch-22 because you have to provide water but you can't have pollution."
Other vandals have cut illegal paths through the brush to make it to more remote areas, Ladrini said pointing to a narrow, rogue trail cut across barriers the district formed.
"There's no way to stop people from walking down there, but we obviously don't want vehicles," he said. "It's discouraging because it's clearly domestic drinking water."
Many red signs posted along the road warn what the water is for. The district also spends man-hours trying to keep trespassers out.
"I'd love to get more employees up here, but we've got other priorities." 3
http://www.paradisepost.com//ci_8412077?IADID=Search-www.paradisepost.com-www.paradisepost.com
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