Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 5, 2008
4. Water Quality
Cities facing fines for water pollution; State officials hit 20 Southern California towns with fees that could cost thousands of dollars - Associated Press
DAIRIES POLLUTION:
California dairies begin pollution reporting; Cost of testing could put some farms out of business, group says - Inside Bay Area
LOS OSOS SEWER:
Osos sewer plans move ahead; County supervisors approve three contracts for engineering work valued at nearly $1 million - San Luis Obispo
Cities facing fines for water pollution; State officials hit 20
Associated Press – 3/5/08
By Noaki Schwartz, staff writer
LOS ANGELES -- Regional water officials have decided to issue 20 cities and
The move is the culmination of a decades-long effort to clean up the area's bacteria pollution. In 2006, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board finally voted to start fining cities $10,000 a day if the water at their beaches did not meet clean water standards.
Violation notices were to be sent out Tuesday morning.
In an e-mailed statement board chairman Francine Diamond said she could not comment on the specifics of the violations but said "it is critical that water quality laws be followed."
"The health of our residents, visitors, multibillion-dollar coastal economy and environment depends upon it," she said.
The city of
The letter also issues a stern warning to any city that decides to ignore the requirements. In addition to the $10,000 a day fine, the letter also warns of fines up to $10,000 if any requirement in the order was violated. The board could also ask the state attorney general to seek civil liabilities in court of up to $25,000 each day a violation occurs.
Other top polluters included
In a related action, two environmental groups filed suit Monday to force
Mark Pestrella, assistant deputy director for the county Department of Public Works, said the county developed a program overseen by the Regional Water Quality Control Board to pinpoint types and sources of bay pollutants.
"We are committed to keeping our waterways safe and protecting the health" of residents, Pestrella said in a statement.
The ongoing effort to clean up the bacteria pollution stems from a larger plan outlined in a 1999 settlement of a lawsuit between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the environmental groups Heal the Bay and Santa Monica BayKeeper. The federal lawsuit filed by the environmental organizations argued that the EPA had for 20 years failed to ensure the state's waters were clean, as mandated by federal law.
Government officials and the groups worked out a schedule to set limits on a variety of pollutants that end up in
Local governments must meet "total maximum daily loads" or limits on these pollutants that make their way into the county's numerous watersheds. Setting and enforcing bacteria limits was the first of about 100 of the pollution limits that conservationists hoped would eventually be enforced.
But in the near decade since the federal consent decree, however, many of the beaches still aren't clean.
Most contamination happens during the winter when rains overload storm drains and sewage systems, washing waste directly into the ocean. Swimming in such waters can cause gastrointestinal, respiratory and other illnesses.
The cities that encircle
During the 2006 board meeting, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in and urged members to enforce the standards and "demonstrate your strong commitment to protecting beach water quality." #
DAIRIES POLLUTION:
California dairies begin pollution reporting; Cost of testing could put some farms out of business, group says
Inside Bay Area – 3/5/08
By Dennis Pollock,
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, which enforces the regulations, has estimated that the new rules will cost a typical farm $45,000 to $60,000 in the first year and $30,000 to $40,000 per year after that.
Those in the industry say they're trying to comply.
Western United Dairymen, a Modesto-based organization representing dairies that produce more than 60 percent of
"We're trying to help producers contain those costs," said Michael Marsh, CEO of Western United Dairymen. He said the added expenses could otherwise force some operations out of business.
Four laboratories have joined with the Western United service organization to test water-quality samples taken at dairies to prevent pollution from cow manure. The partnerships are with Dellavalle Laboratory Inc. and Agricultural & Priority Pollutants Laboratory Inc. in
Dairy farms for years were exempt from many regulations.
It's not that they were free to pollute. Discharging manure-laden water into a stream or aquifer could bring heavy penalties. But they did not have to do the constant testing that is now required.
Farmers now must frequently sample their manure lagoons. They also will be required to test wells that irrigate their crops and supply their homes with water. They even will have to test the feed crops that they fertilize with manure to see how much of the nitrogen and other components are being taken up safely into the plant tissue.
For years, some
Tom Barcellos has tested water for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the Tipton-Porterville area since at least 2002.
Barcellos and other farmers worked with the
More testing has become mandatory.
Hugh Rathbun, president of Dellavalle, called the new requirements complex.
"It's positive for our business and helps with environmental concerns, to make sure there are proper applications of fertilizer and manure," Rathbun said.
His laboratory also takes well samples for salts and nitrates.
"Some (dairy operators) have monitoring wells or will eventually have to put them in," Rathbun said.
Marsh said the regulations are gearing up by stages. He said the next deadline is July 1, when another report must be filed by each dairy operator outlining how ground and surface water will be protected. #
LOS OSOS SEWER:
Osos sewer plans move ahead; County supervisors approve three contracts for engineering work valued at nearly $1 million
San Luis Obispo
By Sona Patel, staff writer
County officials are proceeding with plans for a sewer in Los Osos after the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved nearly $1 million in engineering contracts.
The contracts are part of the county’s effort to draft a report on the environmental impact that construction of a sewer plant would have on several possible sites in the coastal town.
The contracts approved Tuesday will be paid for with a $4 million loan that the Board of Supervisors approved in February from the county’s general fund.
Homes and businesses in the town of more than 14,000 rely almost entirely on septic tanks to dispose of waste.
County officials took over preliminary design and construction of a sewer in Los Osos in 2007 under a measure brokered by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The draft of the environmental report will analyze nearly two dozen potential sites for a sewage treatment plant—at least four of them in detail.
The trio of contracts totaling $983,940 was awarded to the Wallace Group and Cleath and Associates of San Luis Obispo and Carollo Engineers of Walnut Creek.
The biggest contract is an $830,000 agreement with Carollo to provide technical support for the environmental report and to help county officials in permitting and property acquisition.
The final environmental report— which would identify a proposed project — is expected to be released in early 2009.
Final design work for the project would be done in 2009, with construction planned for 2010, according to county officials.
In late October, the town’s property owners overwhelmingly approved a $127 million assessment to pay for a sewer.
The money for the contracts approved Tuesday, as well as the rest of the $4 million loan, is expected to be repaid next year, according to Paavo Ogren, director of
The county could start selling bonds by September, and property tax assessments will appear on 2009-10 property tax bills, Ogren said.
Part of the $4 million loan will go toward conducting a community survey and establishing a plan to help disadvantaged property owners pay for a wastewater treatment plant.
That plan is part of the county’s effort to secure a $10 million grant from the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Quality Control Board to help offset the cost of the sewer for low-income property owners. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/429/story/295442.html
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