[Water_news] 4. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS -WATER QUALITY-1/28/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

January 28, 2009

 

4. Water Quality –

 

Port of Stockton Tenants Pollute Impaired San Joaquin River

The Environmental News Service

 

Fix Rubicon Trail’s problems or pay fine, water board tells El Dorado County

The Sacramento Bee

 

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Port of Stockton Tenants Pollute Impaired San Joaquin River

The Environmental News Service – 1/26/09

 

STOCKTON, California, January 26, 2009 (ENS) - The U.S. EPA has ordered four industrial tenants at the Port of Stockton to prevent chemicals and trash from polluting the stormwater running off their sites.

 

Two materials recycling companies, a steel products manufacturer and a power plant are required to comply with federal Clean Water Act stormwater regulations or risk potential fines of up to $32,500 per day.

 

Industrial materials such as fuel, oil and debris are carried by stormwater from these facilities, which discharge directly into the San Joaquin River and the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel and also flow through municipal storm drains running to the river, which is already listed as impaired.

 

"Contaminants in stormwater run-off are a significant source of water pollution to the San Joaquin River," said Alexis Strauss, water division director in the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "We'll be working with the Port of Stockton and its tenants, and the Central Valley Regional Water Board, to resolve various compliance issues noted in our inspections."

 

The San Joaquin River is listed on the Clean Water Act 303 (d) list as impaired for elevated levels of boron, chlorpyrifos, DDT, diazinon, electrical conductivity, pesticides, selenium and mercury.

 

The Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel is listed as impaired for dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls.

 

In addition, the Lower San Joaquin River and southern portion of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is listed for low levels of dissolved oxygen. These listings are but several of many recognized water management problems on the river.

 

Given the concentration of industrial facilities at the Port of Stockton and their proximity to the San Joaquin River, in March 2008, the EPA and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board reviewed stormwater management practices and conducted inspections at industrial facilities at the Port.

 

They were seeking to determine tenants' compliance with the state's industrial stormwater permit.

 

"We are pleased to be working with U.S. EPA to enforce the stormwater laws that protect our water resources." said Ken Landau, assistant executive officer, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

 

In March 2008, EPA inspectors conducted stormwater inspections of 25 Port of Stockton tenants in the presence of Port environmental officials.

 

The orders issued by the EPA Thursday require each of the four tenants to fix violations found during the March 2008 inspections, including on-the-ground corrective measures.

 

The EPA has issued orders to four Port of Stockton tenants:

 

• A-Plus Materials Recycling, based in Stockton, is in the refuse services business.
• Alco Iron and Metal Company, a family owned business, provides demolition, recycling, and metal fabrication services and metal sales from Stockton and two other California locations.
• Macsteel Service Centers USA, Inc. is owned by the global steel company, Macsteel Holdings of South Africa. The company processes and distributes carbon steel, stainless and aluminum products.
• Posdef Power Co. LP is a small power company based in Stockton

 

In a letter to Port of Stockton Director Richard Achieris describing the results of the compliance audit, the EPA did not lay blame on the Port. Strauss said the EPA inspectors found Port staff to be cooperative and "knowledgeable and dedicated" and said "many aspects of the Port's stormwater management program are well implemented."

 

Due to their close proximity to major U.S. waterways, port industries' compliance with stormwater requirements has been identified by EPA officials as an emerging national enforcement priority area.

 

Through its Ports initiative, the EPA's Pacific Southwest regional office is evaluating stormwater management other California ports in addition to Stockton. This effort involves both individual inspections of port tenants and audits of the municipal stormwater programs implemented by the ports.

 

The EPA says the initiative is intended to improve water quality by working with facilities to bring them into compliance and collaborating with states to improve stormwater permits for ports.

 

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-26-092.asp

 

Fix Rubicon Trail’s problems or pay fine, water board tells El Dorado County

The Sacramento Bee – 1/28/09

By Matt Weiser

Water quality officials are threatening El Dorado County with enforcement action and fines for allegedly mismanaging the legendary Rubicon Trail off-road vehicle route.

 

In a draft order issued Friday, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board finds that erosion caused by vehicle traffic on the trail threatens fish habitat in the south fork of the American River and its tributaries.

 

The rate of erosion on trail segments examined by the agency is 50 times greater than from dirt logging roads in the same watershed.

 

The order also asserts that pollution from vehicle fluids and human fecal matter deposited by trail users have damaged public waterways.

 

"We received a number of complaints, and that's why we did inspections," said Wendy Wyels, the board's chief of compliance and enforcement. "We definitely found there's a concern about water quality impacts from the sediment coming off the Rubicon Trail."

 

Though it crosses U.S. Forest Service land, El Dorado County years ago asserted ownership of the Rubicon Trail within county boundaries.

 

The 60-mile trail between Georgetown and Lake Tahoe is one of the world's most famous off-road vehicle destinations. It offers four-wheel-drive enthusiasts access to challenging boulder fields and granite slabs.

 

The county obtained state grant funds to develop a management plan for the trail. Among the proposals were erosion-control projects at stream crossings, seasonal closures and a permit system to educate users and collect management funds.

 

But the county halted work on the plan last year, citing budget troubles.

 

Now the county could be forced to adopt many of the same protective measures in the stalled management plan, or be fined $10,000 per day for each water quality violation.

 

"They seemed to think they could get away with just doing no management," said Karen Schambach, a Georgetown resident and California director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "They're very short-sighted."

 

Tom Celio, the county's deputy director of transportation maintenance, said he hasn't reviewed the draft order in detail and declined to comment on specifics.

 

He said that the county has worked hard with volunteer groups to improve the trail. Recent improvements include a new restroom at the trail's Loon Lake access point, and numerous erosion control projects.

 

"We've done a significant amount of planning, a lot of work, over the last couple of years, actually," Celio said.

Randy Burleson, president of the Rubicon Trail Foundation, an off-roading group, said the county and trail enthusiasts have continued to work on many improvements proposed in the unfinished plan.

 

For example, he said, the planning is finished for new bridges over Gerle and Ellis creeks to prevent erosion. Those bridges are among the requirements proposed by the water board to address pollution problems.

 

"I think the county's done a fine job of managing the trail," Burleson said. "I question whether the water quality board has the authority to identify how a county road is to be managed."

 

To develop the order, the water board studied erosion rates on seven trail segments totalling about one mile in August 2008. It found that streambed gravel in Ellis Creek, downstream of a Rubicon Trail crossing, had become unsuitable for trout spawning because the gravel was clogged with sediment eroded by trail use.

 

Other measures in the draft order require the county to submit a trail management plan, which must include specific measures to control erosion and limit vehicle traffic.

 

The water board can finalize the order without a public hearing, said Wyels. Whether to hold a hearing depends on the nature of public comments received by a Feb. 23 deadline. #

 

http://www.sacbee.com/197/story/1578494.html

 

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