Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 23, 2009
4. Water Quality –
Judge refuses to limit fine for bay oil spill
Barrel of crude oil spills into sea off
Plugged valve leads to creek sewage spill
Las Vegas water agency spots positive test for E. coli bacteria, but supply 'never compromised'
First E. coli advisories of year issued at Presque
Mercury News
Comment sought on pollution plan
Kayakers give back, combine paddling with trash collection
Marine environment under threat
Gulf Times
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Judge refuses to limit fine for bay oil spill
Bob Egelko
The company that operated the container ship that struck the Bay Bridge 18 months ago and spilled 53,000 gallons of fuel oil lost a bid Monday to limit its fine to $400,000 on criminal charges of negligently polluting
Even after Fleet Management Ltd. offered to plead guilty to two misdemeanors last month, federal prosecutors were entitled to file amended charges that carry a potential fine of $40 million, said U.S. District Judge Susan Illston. She put her ruling on hold until Friday so the company can decide whether to appeal or go to trial on the charges.
Fleet Management operated the Cosco Busan, a 901-foot vessel that hit the second tower of the bridge west of Yerba Buena Island in thick morning fog on Nov. 7, 2007. Oil pouring from a gash on the ship's port side reached the bay shoreline and ocean beaches in Marin and
The ship's pilot, John Cota, has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of negligently polluting the waters and killing birds. His plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of two to 10 months and a fine of between $3,000 and $30,000.
Fleet Management is charged with the same two misdemeanors, for its management of the ship and training of the crew, and with six felonies for allegedly concealing the ship's navigation plans and fabricating plans to obstruct a federal investigation. The company is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 14 on the felony charges, which are unaffected by the dispute over its potential sentence for the misdemeanors.
When Fleet Management first offered to plead guilty on May 11, the misdemeanor charges carried fines of up to $200,000 each. On May 26, the day before the company was scheduled to appeal in court, prosecutors obtained a new grand jury indictment accusing the company of causing $20 million in losses and invoking a law that allowed it to be fined twice that amount.
Fleet Management accused prosecutors of manipulating the system and argued that it should be allowed to plead guilty to the earlier charges with the lower maximum fine. The company cited a past case in which prosecutors were barred from seeking increased sentences after defendants had admitted their guilt in court but had not yet formally pleaded guilty.
But Illston said Fleet Management had made no such courtroom confessions before the prosecution raised the possible sentence. The company also said a $40 million fine for unintentional harm would be excessive, but Illston said the argument was premature because prosecutors haven't yet announced what penalty they will seek.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/23/BAPL18BS4O.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Barrel of crude oil spills into sea off
Cause of oil spill may be natural seepage
A barrel of crude oil has spilled or seeped into the sea at offshore Platform Holly two miles off
Coast Guard Petty Officer Cory Mendenhall says the guard’s Los Angeles-Long Beach sector received a
The cause hasn’t been disclosed.
Clean Seas has been contracted for clean up. The Coast Guard says containment booms are keeping the oil from spreading and clean up has begun. Venoco vice president Michael Edwards says the platform is shut down and natural seepage may be to blame. Edwards says 150 barrels of crude seeps in the area each day.#
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/breaking_news/story/760182.html
Plugged valve leads to creek sewage spill
By Trina Kleist
A plugged valve caused a sewage spill into
An estimated 10,000 gallons spilled at the
Signs have been posted in the area warning of bacteria in the creek, and contact with the water should be avoided. Creek water will be tested in a few days for fecal bacteria, and spring water flows are expected to dilute the pollution in a few days, county Environmental Health Director Wesley Nicks said.
“The partially treated sewage that was discharged may contain bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms that can cause illness in humans and animals,” according to a county's statement.
When the water is safe again, the signs will come down, Nicks added.
The effluent spilled over the top of a large cement tank and drained into the creek nearby, and what remained on the ground was neutralized, City Engineer and Public Works Director Tim Kiser said.
The plant was working properly when workers left at midnight Sunday, but others coming in at 7:30 a.m. Monday discovered the spill and unplugged the valve, Kiser said.
A pump moves partially treated sewage into the holding tank, and the valve allows some to drain into another area for the next step in treatment. The pump should have moved through eight or nine cycles overnight, and it was unclear when the valve became plugged, Kiser said.
A monitoring system should have sounded an alarm when the effluent neared a high level in the tank; workers are trying to figure out why that didn't happen, Kiser said. In the meantime, the trigger has been set for a lower level in the tank.#
http://www.theunion.com/article/20090623/NEWS/906229982&parentprofile=search
Las Vegas water agency spots positive test for E. coli bacteria, but supply 'never compromised'
By Henry Brean
Under an ultraviolet light, a bottle of water with none of the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria is shown on the left, while a sample where the bacteria is present is on the right. The samples were viewed at the Las Vegas Water District lab on Monday.
This year's water quality report from the Las Vegas Valley Water District contains a passing reference to dangerous bacteria in the local drinking supply. But district officials and state regulators insist there is no need to start boiling your tap water as a precaution.
Though the district cannot explain exactly why a water sample taken in August tested positive for E. coli, it found no other trace of the bacteria in any follow-up tests.
Water district spokesman Roger Beuhrer said no one was sickened by the bacteria, which is a leading cause of bloody diarrhea and can be deadly, and the water supply "was never compromised."
Officials from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection think the suspect sample might have been contaminated because of a crack in the tap from which the water was drawn.
Division spokeswoman Jill Lufrano said the tap was replaced, and three more samples were taken: one from the same spot and one each from locations "upstream" and "downstream." None of the follow-up tests showed any trace of the bacteria.
"It was addressed immediately," Lufrano said. "There was no risk to the public. It didn't even come close."
According to state records, the incident was the first time E. coli has shown up in a district sample in at least five years. That is one time out of roughly 22,800 water samples, Lufrano said.
"In a district of that size, it is not unusual for a sample to come back positive once in a great while for E. coli or another contaminant," she said.
Pat Sampson, water quality and maintenance engineering manager for the district, said such positive results are extremely rare.
"We've got some of the most sophisticated technology in the world out at our treatment facility. It's state of the art," Sampson said.
The district draws more than 380 water samples each month from almost a thousand different locations throughout its distribution system.
The E. coli sample came from a sampling station at a residence near
With traces of the bacteria, the lab also found chlorine left over from the water treatment process. "That means the water wasn't compromised," Beuhrer said.
The positive E. coli test is mentioned only once, and with no real explanation, in the district's annual water quality report.
The 12-page report is a summary of tests conducted last year for several contaminants, some federally regulated, some not.
Water delivered by the district continues to meet or exceed all standards set by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, according to the report.
The results for 2008 varied only slightly those reported the previous year.
About 90 percent of the valley's water comes from
"The overall message is that we test for everything that's required and some that are not. We not only do the minimum that's required; we far exceed that," Sampson said.
Federal regulations require water utilities nationwide to report their water quality test results by July 1 of each year.
The water district sent almost 500,000 copies of its annual report. Any district customer who has not received one can call 258-3930 or check out the report online.#
http://www.lvrj.com/news/48846157.html
First E. coli advisories of year issued at Presque
Mercury News-6/23/09
Officials at
Monday's advisories affected the water off of five of the parks' beaches.
Swimming isn't banned during the advisories, and beaches remain open. But swimmers who have weakened immune systems or open cuts and sores are advised to stay out of the water.
Water at the park's beaches is tested for the bacteria twice a week. The advisories will be lifted when new tests show the bacteria levels have dropped to safe levels.
E. coli is found in human and animal feces and generally serves as a marker that shiga toxin and other harmful substances are present. The shiga toxin can cause gastrointestinal problems.#
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12670690?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
Comment sought on pollution plan
By Kristopher Hanson
Anyone visiting local fishing spots has seen the signs: "Do Not Eat White Croaker" or "No Coma 'White Croakers."'
If the big red X through an image of the forbidden bottom-feeding fish isn't enough, there's the sobering explanation that consuming it may damage the liver, shock the central nervous system and cause cancer.
Of course, it's not the fish itself that's a problem, but the banned pesticide DDT embedded in the fish's fat.
So alas, decades after the bug-killer was banned, DDT continues wreaking havoc on the fragile ecosystem off our coast.
Last week, after years of study, federal authorities announced a $36 million solution to clean the mess up, but first they need the public's input. A series of hearings this week will discuss that plan and seek input on alternatives.
The hearings are listed below, but first the solution.
The plan is to "encase" about 320 acres of toxic DDT sludge on the ocean floor off Palos Verdes and San Pedro with an 18-inch layer of clean mud.
The chemicals were dumped there between 1947 and the early 1970s by a now-defunct Torrance-based pesticide producer, Montrose Chemical.
Covering the poisonous mounds would prevent dispersion, and over time, the theory goes, DDT would break down and dissolve into less harmful components. Eventually, everything would return to normal, and man could again happily consume white croaker and other rockfish.
The encasement approach is generally supported by environmentalists, though many want to see the size of the project expanded to 640 acres.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to spend $36 million on the job in coming years - funding culled from a 1990 settlement between Montrose Chemical and the government.
So what do you think?
The hearings are 3-5 p.m. today, Cabrillo Beach House,
Comments can also be submitted through July 15 to C.R. White, U.S. EPA, Region IX,
The cleanup plan is available online at www.epa.gov/region09/superfund/pvshelf.
Authorities hope to get started on the final phase of their clean-up in 2010.#
Kayakers give back, combine paddling with trash collection
By Carlos Villatoro
The banks of the
Laurie Aboudara-Robertson and Elizabeth Pearson, the owners of
“We just got out on the river and we both decided that it might be a fun thing to do,” Aboudara-Robertson said. “We really like the idea of giving back. It’s our home.”
Kayakers first met at the boat launch Saturday morning for some coffee and a brief safety lesson, then were on their way to make the river cleaner.
“I come out here two to three times a week,” he said. “It’s enjoyable (and) fun. I get out with my pooch.”
On Saturday McIntyre also collected a rusty half of a shopping cart, several glass beer bottles and articles of clothing. From the boat-launch area, kayakers paddled to the waterway adjacent to downtown
Volunteers such as Mary Allan, of
“It was a lot cleaner than we thought, except for one part (downtown
Pam Hewitt, of
At the end of the day several tires, an oil drum, articles of clothing, the box-spring, buckets, bottles, cans, shopping carts and bags of garbage were no longer mucking up the Napa River scenery; Kayakers met at Compadres Rio Grill in Napa for a free lunch, provided by the restaurant.
The next Go Green Saturday is planned for Nov. 14, 2009. Anyone who wants to participate or sponsor the event can visit
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2009/06/22/news/local/doc4a3f01674f27d885893865.txt
Marine environment under threat
Gulf Times-6/20/09
By Adam Gonn
The desalination of Gulf sea water to make it fit for human consumption creates waste water that can be harmful to the sea, new studies report.
Countries around the Gulf are increasingly turning to desalination to meet the thirst of their growing populations, but new studies reveal that some of the waste products from the process, such as heavy metals, chemicals and highly salty and unnaturally warm water can harm the local marine environment.
An estimated 420mn cubic feet of water are desalinated in the region every day, the equivalent in size to 4,800 Olympic swimming pools.
“Heavy metals or trace metals are found in the sea naturally in small quantities,” Dr Mohamed Eltayeb, Marine Programme Officer with IUCN - The World Conservation Union, told The Media Line. “If it’s within the level that the sea can absorb, then there is no problem. But if you add more nutria like nitrate and phosphate, which is the base for plankton, it leads to an overgrowth of algae blooming, which can be harmful to humans.”
Currently there are 45 multi-stage flash plants, 32 multi-effect desalination plants, and 41 reverse osmosis plants in the Gulf, according to a recent study by Sabine Lattemann, a researcher from the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), at the
“First of all you have to distinguish between the different desalination processes: on the one hand there are the thermal desalination plants, and on the other hand there are the plants that use the principle of reverse osmosis, which utilises membranes and high pressure to separate salt and water. Depending on the process, you get different waste products. All types of plants produce waste water, which has alleviated salinity concentrations, and if you discharge this concentrate back into the sea, it can be harmful to the marine environment because marine organisms may be sensitive to salinity variations,” Lattemann told The Media Line.
“What you have to do is to dilute the concentrate to bring back the salinity to ambient levels within a very close distance from the plant. Besides the concentrate, which is very salty, there are different kinds of chemicals in the waste water depending on the type of desalination process. These are the main concerns for the marine environment,” Lattemann said.
“In the Gulf, most desalination plants are thermal ones usually located alongside power plants, where the plants produce water and electricity at the same time. These types of plants use a lot of chorine to protect the plants from bio-fouling and as a consequence, a residual amount of chlorine is discharged back into the sea,” she added.
The response to the development varies from country to country. For example, the authorities in
“There is an increasing awareness of the environmental impact and I hope the public will react to these concerns,” Lattemann said.#
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