Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 12, 2009
4. Water Quality –
Accused polluter sent back to San Diego from Malta
L.A. Times
Ports to look at water pollution guidelines
Long Beach Press Telegram
Broken pipe prompts Oceanside beach warning
San Diego Union-Tribune
Project to stop landfill leaching into river advances
Ventura County Star
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Accused polluter sent back to San Diego from Malta
L.A. Times-8/11/09
A boat worker who fled to Malta while being investigated on water pollution charges in San Diego has been returned to face charges under a new extradition treaty between the United States and that island nation in the Mediterranean.
Robert Fred Smith of San Diego was charged in 2007 with violating the federal Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into San Diego Bay while repairing a 150-foot fishing boat.
The new treaty became effective July 1. Smith surrendered to Maltese authorities July 25 and was returned to the U.S. He appeared in federal court Monday.
A second defendant, Joseph O'Connor, the boat owner, also surrendered in Malta and is awaiting extradition, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The two were discovered in Malta by Interpol.#
Ports to look at water pollution guidelines
Long Beach Press Telegram-8/11/09
By Art Marroquin
First, the goal was to reduce emissions from trucks, ships and equipment used at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Now, the focus is on cleaning the foul waters lapping at the harbor's shoreline.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions are poised today to consider a series of guidelines aimed at controlling sources of water and sediment pollution at the nation's busiest port complex.
The proposed Water Resource Action Plan, or WRAP, calls for improving the maintenance of fueling and cargo handling areas, along with expanding stormwater, dust and litter control programs at the twin ports.
The plan also calls for examining upstream sources of pollution that are washed from storm drains, the Dominguez Watershed and the Los Angeles River into San Pedro Bay.
"When it comes to water quality, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are in the challenging position of needing to address the pollutants that enter our harbor from upstream sources as well as from port operations," said Cindy Miscikowski, president of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners.
"That's why it's so important that we take this action to create a solid plan to guide us to even better water quality."
Officials at both ports designed the plan with input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, environmental groups and the maritime industry.
While no specific benchmarks are included in the plan, the collaborative effort comes as regulatory agencies prepare to impose tougher guidelines aimed at reducing the amounts of fuel, metals, pesticides, waste and other contaminants dumped into the water.
"We've worked closely with the ports and local partners to identify key actions that will reduce water pollution and protect San Pedro Bay," said Laura Yoshii, the EPA's acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "The EPA looks forward to continuing these efforts as the ports implement their plans to protect public health and the environment in Southern California."
WRAP comes nearly three years after the twin ports adopted the Clean Air Action Plan, which aims to significantly reduce diesel emissions from port activity. With some of those measures already under way, including the Clean Trucks Program, attention has now shifted to cleaning the port's water.
Both ports have spent several decades trying to improve water quality by dredging channels, removing contaminated sediment and monitoring pollution levels, but problems remain with inflows of polluted storm water, vessel discharges and terminal operations.
"We managed to improve the water quality separately, but this is noteworthy in that this will be the first time that the ports have come together for a clean water strategy for the San Pedro Bay," said John Pope, a Port of Long Beach spokesman.
"We're trying to get ahead of these strict guidelines coming down the pipeline," Pope said. "We're also hoping that we will get more accomplished by working together."#
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_13041592
Broken pipe prompts Oceanside beach warning
San Diego Union-Tribune-8/11/09
Swimmers and surfers were warned not to go in the ocean near Oceanside Pier because of sewage that poured from a broken pipe, according to the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.
County officials said about 3,120 gallons of “gray water” — such as wastewater from washing dishes — spilled from a broken pipe from Ruby's restaurant at the end of the pier.
County officials said in a statement yesterday that the spill started at 1 p.m. Thursday and ended at midnight Sunday, when a crew from the Oceanside Water Utilities Department repaired the pipe.
The county posted signs on the beach warning of contamination 500 feet north and 500 feet south of the pier.
They will be removed in 72 hours or when water samples show the water is safe for swimming.#
Project to stop landfill leaching into river advances
Ventura County Star-8/11/09
By Kathleen Wilson
A project aimed at preventing a closed landfill in Oxnard from polluting the Santa Clara River in a disastrous flood moved ahead Tuesday when a critical environmental study allowing its construction was approved.
In a unanimous vote, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors OK’d the study despite calls from environmental groups for a more exhaustive analysis.
The $7.5 million erosion project calls for lining 1,300 feet of the river bank with rock and building a series of stone revetments that would extend into the channel.
Officials said the project will protect the waterway if contaminants should leach out of the old Santa Clara Landfill, which lies under the River Ridge Golf Club.
Steve Bennett, chairman of the board, said he did not want to delay.
“I have not seen a project yet that you can’t make a case for more work and more study to be done,” he told representatives of the Wishtoyo Foundation and the Friends of the Santa Clara River. “A big storm hits and all of a sudden we do have landfill material washing into the river.”
Norma Camacho, director of the county Watershed Protection District, said she was asking for the approval of the study but not permission to build. That won’t come until the full funding picture is known, she said.
By September, she plans to return to the board with a report on which construction projects should take precedence. By then, she may also know if other parties will cover the $6 million cost of construction for the erosion project.
Camacho is asking the Oxnard City Council and the board of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which monitors the landfill, to split the bill. Both bodies are due to consider the matter in September.
A pressing issue for owners of 1,800 homes in the area is the state of a levee system along the river protecting them from flooding. It could cost $25 million to $30 million to bring it up to federal standards, officials said.
Supervisors also approved spending up to $784,000 on a preliminary engineering study for the levee project, which they said is a matter of public safety.
Meanwhile, county Public Works Director Jeff Pratt urged the board to move ahead with the erosion project so it could be “shovel ready.”#
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/11/project-to-stop-landfill-leaching-into-river/
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