spring 2007 california runoff rundown newsletter

8/3/2019 Spring 2007 California Runoff Rundown Newsletter

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inspection that month had foundconcrete washout water dischargedto a nearby citys stormwater con-

veyance system. And a later inspec-tion found continued dischargeof sediment-laden stormwater, thestate agency staff member said.

The Central Valley Board wantedthe Whitney Ranch developmentto provide a work plan, includingmeasures to eliminate the sedimentdischarges.

This is a construction runoff storywith a successful ending. Thedeveloper, Newland Communities,produced what Berchtold in 2007

A N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E W A T E R E D U C A T I O N F O U N D A T I O N

CONTINUEDONPAGE 4

Spring 2007

BY RYANMCCARTHY

I

t was an aerial view of a 1,296-acre development site andfrom the plane Dannas

Berchtold was concerned aboutwhat she saw.

Large disturbed soil areas re-mained unstabilized at the WhitneyRanch residential project in subur-ban Rocklin outside of Sacramento,reported Berchtold, an engineeringassociate for the stormwater unit ofthe Central Valley Regional WaterQuality Control Board (CentralValley Board). Stormwater from thedevelopment was being dischargedto tributaries of Orchard and Pleas-

ant Grove creeks. A Rocklin city

official who saw the site from theground said the stormwater lookedlike a lot of chocolate milk travel-

ing into a creek tributary and toopen space near a private university.

It was a very muddy mess, saidKent Foster, public works directorfor the city of Rocklin, an upscalecommunity of 50,920.

The Dec. 9, 2004 plane rideBerchtold took to view WhitneyRanch from the air had followed herearlier on-the-ground inspectionsof the site. The property lacked bestmanagement practices (BMPs) tocontrol erosion and sediment, shed

reported in October. A follow-up

In This Issue

Tax to Improve Stormwater

Treatment Wins in

Santa Monica ...................... 3

Empire Strikes a Gold Mine

of Water Issues ................... 8

Nonpoint Source News ...... 10

TMDL Roundup ................. 13

Urban Runoff News...... ...... 14

Turning a Mess into a Model:Projects Develop Better Construction Sites

Spring 2007

Turning a Mess into a Model:Projects Develop Better Construction Sites


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Editors

Rita Schmidt SudmanSue McClurg

WriterRyan McCarthy

Editorial Assistance

Diana Farmer

PhotosHeal the BaySue McClurg

Newland CommunitiesCity of Rocklin

Thomas L. Taylor, ENTRIX

Design and Layout

Curt Leipold,

Graphic Communications

The Water Education Foundation thanks

all the sources and experts who reviewed

this newsletter for balance and accuracy.Water Education Foundation

717 K St., Suite 317Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 444-6240Fax (916) 448-7699e-mail: [email protected]

Web page: www.watereducation.org

President

Michael Armstrong

Executive Director

Rita Schmidt Sudman

Laurel Ames, California Watershed Network

Grant Davis, The Bay Institute

Dennis Dickerson,Pima Association of Governments

Steve Fagundes, State Water Resources Control Board

David Guy, Northern California Water Association

Jake Mackenzie, City of Rohnert Park

Daniel Merkley, State Water Resources Control Board

Michele Stress, San Diego County Department of Public Works

Sam Ziegler, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The California Runoff Rundown is published

by the Water Education Founda tion. The

mission of the Water Edu cation Foun dation,

an imp artial, non-profit organization, is to

create a better und erstanding of water issuesand h elp resolve water resource problems

through educational programs. The

California Runoff Rundown is publishedthrough a grant from the State Water

Resources Control Board w ith fund ing from

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

under the Federal Nonpoint Source

Pollution Control Program (Clean Water Act

Section 319). Its contents do not represent

position s of the State Board or U.S. EPA, and

neither organization has end orsed the

contents.

Em ail yo ur story ideas to Ryan McCarthy,

rmccarthy@w atereducatio n.o rg

2 THECALIFORNIA RUNOFFRUNDOWN SPRING 2007

Construction site runoff is a major nonpoint source pollution prob-lem in California. Stormwater runoff from such sites can wash dirtinto nearby streams and rivers, hurting the ecosystem. State water

quality officials rely on best management practices (BMPs) undertaken bybuilders to help control such runoff with mixed results.In this issue ofThe California Runoff Rundown, our new writer, Ryan

McCarthy, profiles a major housing project near Sacramento that wentfrom mess to model when a new construction manager took action toimplement BMPs to control erosion and sediment from the 1,296-acredevelopment site. These are exactly the examples we like to feature in thisnewsletter so that others can learn about pressing pollution problems and how to address them.

Ryan joined us in January after a long career as a reporter at severalCalifornia newspapers including the Tribune in San Luis Obispo Countyand the Mountain Democrat in El Dorado County. He is a quick studywhen it comes to water quality and this issue ofThe California Runoff

Rundown also includes a feature on efforts to combat runoff at EmpireMine State Park as well as two articles about efforts to combat stormwaterrunoff from a voter approved tax in Santa Monica to stricter restrictionsin San Diego. x


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SPRING 2007 THECALIFORNIA RUNOFFRUNDOWN 3

Voter approval in Novemberof a tax for urban runoffmanagement in Santa

Monica along with the earlierpassage of a $500 million bond inthe city of Los Angeles for storm-water projects show that thepublic is prepared to pay for such

measures, says a consultant to theballot proposals.

Its significant any time youget a two-thirds vote, said DennyZane, a former mayor and councilmember in Santa Monica whoworked as a consultant for thestormwater measures. Both theNovember ballot proposal and the2004 vote in Los Angeles passedthat required threshold.

The special tax in Santa Monicawill fund improvement and envi-ronmental restoration of the citysstorm drainage system, accordingto the attorney for the municipality.It also will pay for stormwatermanagement systems, storm drainconveyance system upgrades, andcapital improvement projects toreduce urban flooding and runoffpollution, the city attorney said inan analysis of the ballot proposi-tion.

The ordinance establishes anannual tax of $84 for each parcelwith one single family detachedresidence, the city attorney stated.Rates for multi-family and com-mercial properties vary dependingupon parcel size and a runofffactor representing the amount

of average storm drainage from aparcel for a particular land usecategory, according to the cityattorneys analysis. Measure Vpassed with 19,568 yes votesand 9,630 no votes.

Zane said Santa Monicas MeasureV benefited by the citys environ-mental ethic and its location nextto the ocean. It would certainlybe more of a challenge inland, hesaid of winning public approval forstormwater measures. You donthave the same history, the samesensitivity to the beach and ocean.But Los Angeles County, whichincludes vast inland areas, is consid-ering such an undertaking, henoted.

Michael Drennan is an engineerand vice-president of Brown andCaldwell, the Los Angeles environ-mental engineering and consultingfirm that wrote the watershed

management plan for Santa Monicaidentifying work Measure V willundertake. Drennan said that justinland of the coastal city the San

Gabriel and Los Angeles rivers facewater quality problems because oftoo much bacteria. He said thebenefit Measure V received becauseof Santa Monicas location next tothe beach is unlikely to be repeatedwith the Los Angeles River, a con-crete-lined waterway. Hollywoodmovies including the car chase inthe film Terminator 2 and drag racein Grease were filmed there,Drennan noted.

Don Gray, of Santa Monica-based

Bay Smart, an opponent of MeasureV, said the proposal lacked a yard-stick of how to measure success.Gray said, There were absolutelyno standards in the ballot proposi-tion detailing how the measure willimprove water quality. The scienceitself doesnt exist, he said. Theballot issue benefited by usingpopular buzzwords about environ-mental issues and had little publicreview in a city where You cantput up a stoplight without three

town hall-style meetings, Gray said.Consultant Zane countered that,

The most aggressive way to seekpublic input is to put it before avote for direct approval. The elec-tion is the strongest forum ofresident voter participation.

Mark Gold, executive director ofSanta Monica-based Heal the Bay,which backed the ballot measurein the city, said of Grays statementsthat, Im ecstatic that Dons oppo-sition didnt sway the voters. Gold,who has a doctorate from the UCLASchool of Public Healths Environ-mental Science and EngineeringProgram, said residents dont likethe beaches closed because ofcontaminated waters.

When you tie it to publichealth, people really care, Goldsaid of winning support for theparcel tax. Our beaches look likelandfills after every rain. x

Tax to Im proveStorm water Treatm entWins in Santa Monica

Tax to Im proveStorm w ater Treatm entWins in Santa Monica


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yearly to monitorconditions. His tripto the freewayproject in 2006 lefthim impressed.

After several

years of progressiveimprovements, Iwould regard it asa model for howCaltrans shouldapproach storm-water managementat other construction sites, he saidof Caltrans controlling stormwaterrunoff at the site of the project, setfor completion early this year.

Edward Cartagena, a publicinformation officer for the state

transportation agency, said of theproblems the state first faced severalyears ago at its San Diego site that,Our eyes were kind of slammedopen it was a wake-up call for us.

Chiara Clemente, a senior envi-ronmental scientist for the SanDiego Regional Water QualityControl Board (San Diego Board),said conditions at the highwayproject definitely have improved.But she wasnt prepared to say the

Turning a Messinto a Model

CONTINUEDFROMPAGE 1

called one of the best programsIve seen to deal with constructionrunoff after the initial reportedproblems. The residential develop-

ment opened in 2006.A similar turnaround took placein San Diego on Caltrans $176million highway project dubbedbypass surgery at The Merge,where Interstates 5 and 805 meet,Rich Horner said.

The first year I saw it, it wasterrible, Horner, a consultant andassociate professor appointed by afederal court to monitor CleanWater Act compliance issues includ-ing stormwater at the Caltrans

transportation site, said of his visitin 2003. Horners work came afterthe environmental group San DiegoCoastkeeper had sued the state overuntreated stormwater from highwayconstruction and other matters.

Slopes near a series of lagoonsshowed erosion at the Caltransconstruction site, recalled Horner,who teaches at the University ofWashington in Seattle and traveledto the southern California site

site is now amodel for runoffcontrol.

Constructionsites and the oil,grease and heavy

metals that candrain from themare among majorsources of waterpollution. Undermeasures thatdate back in

California to 1992, developers mustprepare stormwater pollutionprevention plans that inventorymaterials that can contributepollutants.

What Horner says happened with

the San Diego freeway project andwhat officials say took place atWhitney Ranch outside Sacramentosuggests the difference a commit-ment can make in improvingconstruction runoff measures.

The resident engineer on the jobjust decided to do it right, consult-ant Horner said of how constructionrunoff control at the San Diegofreeway project went from terribleto quite satisfactory. It requiressomebody who has authority to

push it. No technological break-throughs are needed to provide newmethods of controlling runoff, hesaid. It requires planning, Hornersaid. And following the plans.

Central Valley Board staff mem-ber Berchtold traced early problemsat Whitney Ranch outside Sacra-mento to the developer delegatingconstruction runoff issues to aproject manager who was unfamil-iar with such matters and didnt seethem as important. When BMPsshould have been sought to dealwith runoff, Berchtold said, theoverall project pushed forward.

Rocklin Public Works DirectorFoster recalled the project managersresponse when rains came in 2004and problems arose. It was,Everythings fine, Foster said.The original project managerplanned to pump stormwater andsprinkle it on the ground. The hard


Wildcat Boulevard in Rocklin, Calif. shows uncontained, untreated runoff atdevelopment site before improvements.

They w orked w ith

us. They u nder-

stoo d the chal-

lenges we h ad. We

responded to theirsuggestions.

Jeff Smith, Newland

Communities


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Merton Cap soil in Rocklin, namedfor the granite quarries that wereonce a major industry in the com-munity, wouldnt hold the water.Its almost like trying to sprinkleit on concrete, Foster said of the

stormwater runoff from the site.Berchtold said an enforcementorder by the Regional Board spurredthe developer to undertake aggres-sive measures to correct runoff-related problems, including hiringa new construction manager.

He had an attitude we liked,Kyle Masters, vice-president ofoperations for Newland Communi-ties, said of Jeff Smith.

Smith said he took a roll-your-sleeves-up and get to work ap-

proach to construction site runoff.Its not so much the methods,he said of erosion and sedimentcontrol measures, which dont varywidely for development sites.

Smiths well-do-it-right approachmatched the corporations commit-ment to resolving constructionrunoff issues, Masters said. Weregoing to fix this. Were going tolearn how to do this, Masters saidof Newlands response to runoffproblems at Whitney Ranch. Were

going to do everything we can tofigure it out.

Central Valley Board officialsproved to be a helpful partner inthat goal, said construction man-ager Smith. They worked with us,Smith said of the state agency.They understood the challengeswe had. We responded to theirsuggestions. Smith said showingthe state regulatory agency thatWhitney Ranch would do what itsaid it would do to control runoffwas a key. When you followthrough on your promises, henoted, you have a greater levelof cooperation.

They turned that site around,Public Works Director Foster said.They did everything they said theywould do.

Not every development site'sconstruction runoff problems endthe way Whitney Ranch and the

Caltrans freeway project did. TheCentral Valley Board executiveofficer issued a complaint in 2006to the operators of a 1,678-acre

construction project in Roseville,Calif., next to Rocklin, for what theRegional Board said were violationsthat included discharging sediment-laden stormwater into a vernal pooland creek. Not properly training siteemployees and inadequate erosionand storm control saved the projectabout $240,000 in costs, the CentralValley Board said. The complaintwas settled for $375,000.

The Central Valley Board execu-tive officer also issued a complaint

in 2006 to the operators of a sepa-

rate 1,484-acre project in Rosevillefor repeated discharges of sedimentladen stormwater and other pollut-ant into nearby waters, according to

the Regional Board. The developerfailed to provide adequate oversightover their contractors, the boardsaid. The complaint was settled for$700,000.

In El Dorado County, Calif., thedeveloper of a residential project forseniors reached a $300,000 settle-ment with the District AttorneysOffice after construction site grad-ing sent sentiment into CarsonCreek. An attorney for the devel-oper said more than $1.8 million

CONTINUEDONNEXTPAGE

Before improvements, sediment-laden stormwater runs into detention area.

Builder improvements show culvert with clean water.


6/16


was spent for erosion controlmeasures and that extreme weatherled to the stormwater violations.

Most construction projects dontface legal action by a DAs office orsix-figure assessments by a water

quality control board. Many devel-opment sites deal with more day-to-day issues, including correctlyusing measures developed to con-trol runoff.

Bob Costa, public works managerfor Placer County which reachesfrom its border with Sacramento toLake Tahoe, and in the past decadehas consistently ranked among thefive fastest growing in California,said wattles, the fiber rolls of strawused to capture sediment at build-

ing sites, are often misused. Wattlesshould be imbedded, properlyanchored on the ground, and usedin appropriate areas of a develop-ment, Costa said. But theyre oftentossed on top of the soil, and usedinefficiently in the wrong places.

Most contractors know the rulesand play by the rules, he said. And,Costa added, some contractors tryto avoid the rules to reduce con-struction costs. Most water qualityproblems, the public works man-

ager said of control-ling constructionrunoff, are theresult of improperuse of a best man-agement practice

technique.Sherryn Haynes,president of Cali-fornia Straw Works,which provideswattles, agreed withCosta that the product can bemisused. I see it all the time,Haynes said. Classes showing howwattles are correctly placed at aconstruction site mean theresalmost no excuse for not knowingproper procedures, she added. But

Haynes said workers at some devel-opment sites just put wattles on theground. If nobody inspects, shesaid, they can throw them outthere.

Carol Thornton conducts work-shops in the Bay Area on erosionand sediment control measures andsaid some contractors remainuneasy with undertaking runoffcontrol work such as using wattles.Theres still resistance and peoplewho say they dont know why they

need to do this,said Thornton, asenior environ-mental plannerfor the SanFrancisco Estuary

Project, whichseeks to protectwater quality andnatural resources.Still, she recalledone contractor

who was initially skeptical oferosion control measures but wenton to help conduct classes. He sawthe financial advantagesof doing it the right way at thebeginning, Thornton said.

The more than $1 million spent

to control construction runoff atWhitney High School, next to theresidential development of the samename outside Sacramento, was afinancial issue for the RocklinUnified School District. The landand construction costs for the highschool that opened in 2005 totaledabout $85 million.

The requirements for mitigatingstormwater runoff are quite severe,Sue Wesselius, director of facilitiesconstruction for the Rocklin school

district, said of state runoff regula-tions. And the associated cost isvery expensive.

We had to do a lot, Wesselius,said of undertaking such measuresas erosion control. We have a 50-acre site on a slope with adjacentwetlands.

Containing all runoff on the siteincluded having an excavatedsoccer field as the main retentionbasin to hold stormwater and thegunited school pool as overflowemergency backup, the facilitiesdirector recounted. During stormsa technician stayed around theclock in a trailer to make suremeasures to contain runoff wereworking, Wesselius said.

Rocklin Unified school boardmember Greg Daley said thestormwater issues at the schoolproperty were a surprise. We werefortunate under budget and we

A protected drain inlet uses gravel bags and an internal filter bag to trap sediment.

Th ey turned th at

site around. They

did everythin g

they said they

w ould do. Kent Foster,

city of Rocklin


7/16


had the funds. Otherwise it wouldhave been more difficult, Daleysaid of the cost to the school districtto address the runoff matters.

Jeff Grau, the architect forWhitney High School, said the

$1 million-plus-price-tag to protectwater quality came from publictax funds. We thought it wasextremely high, Grau said of thecost. Did it help the wetlands?the architect asked. Youd be hardpressed to say that it helped thema million dollars worth.

Its very, very difficult to gauge,he added. An event off site fromthe high school, and outside thedevelopments responsibility, endedup contaminating waters that the

project had worked to protect, thearchitect said. All the treatmentwe did really was for naught,Grau said.

Money spent to control construc-tion runoff and what he sees asimprecise measures of the successof such efforts concerns S. WayneRosenbaum, a San Diego attorneywho deals with stormwater issueswhen representing developers. Ithas cost significantly more money,Rosenbaum said of erosion control

and other measures addressingconstruction runoff. He asked, Willthe millions spent make the waterany cleaner? My answer is prob-ably not, the attorney said. Wehave no good science to demon-strate that they really are effective.

Getting hard data to show thedifference construction runoffcontrol measures have made inwater quality is difficult, defendersof the practices say. Pinpointingthe sources of pollution is not aneasy task, said Ed Kimura, waterspecialist with the Sierra Clubs SanDiego chapter. Success, though, ingetting contractors to better controlrunoff is apparent, Kimura added.Theres been a dramatic changearound construction sites, he said.

Central Valley Board staff mem-ber Berchtold said steps to lessensediment are not easily quantified.You cant say this is going to take

out 80 percent, she said of aspecific measure. Environmentalplanner Thornton of the San Fran-cisco Estuary Project agreed that,its very hard to measure thesuccess of erosion control mea-

sures. In the San Francisco region,she said, very little official monitor-ing has taken place. We dontreally have data, Thornton said.

But consultant Horner, whopraised Caltrans turnaround of thestormwater measures for the SanDiego freeway project, said attorneyRosenbaums comments question-ing runoff control efforts overlookexperience. You can predict soilloss, Horner said of the impact ofsediment damage and erosion when

runoff is not controlled. Theresvery good data and understandingof what this soil loss potential is.

In one year of poorly controlledconstruction, a site can dischargehundreds of times as much sedi-ment as it did before disturbance.Where is the data that shows suchhuge changes in water quality dontharm aquatic ecosystems?

Jonathan Deason, a stormwaterconsultant and professor of envi-

ronmental management at GeorgeWashington University in Washing-ton, D.C., said the funds spent on atypical development site are worththe cost. California, as with manyissues, is out front in the effort to

control construction runoff, Deasonadded. Theyre ahead of the game,he said. Usually the rest of thecountry catches up.

Professor Deason likened regula-tory enforcement of runoff controlmeasures at construction sites undertaken even though not everydevelopment can be completelymonitored and inspected to thedeterrent that traffic tickets provide.Its like driving on the highway,Deason said. If youre speeding you

probably wont get caught. But thepossibility of punishment makesdrivers follow speeding laws, he said.

Developers who are sure thatothers have to comply with thesame regulations they face are morelikely to accept the runoff rules,he added. Its not a competitivedisadvantage for the builder,Deason said, if all the buildershave to do that.

CONTINUEDONPAGE 13

Fiber rolls and grass-seeded slopes represent runoff control measures but sediment-laden water still entered the channel from upstream prior to BMPs.


8/16


Em pire Strikes a GoldMine of Water Issues

and experts. The proposed 2007-08state budget provides $4.1 millionand six positions for continuedremediation and treatment mea-

sures at Empire Mine, whosedrainage flows into Sierra foothillscreeks and eventually reaches theSacramento River, the biggest inthe state.

We never operated this mine,Sheryl Watson, a state parks spokes-woman, said of the site in the cityof Grass Valley. We inherited thislegacy. Were doing the right thingby cleaning it up.

Baykeeper, an environmentalgroup that seeks to protect water

from the High Sierra to the GoldenGate, filed its complaint in federalcourt in 2004 contending the statewas violating the Clean Water Act(CWA) by discharging pollutedstormwater from a drain at EmpireMine. State Parks and Recreationalso hadnt filed for a permit orprepared a stormwater pollutionprevention plan for the miningproperty, Baykeeper said in the suit.

The Empire Mine ended opera-tions in 1956 after 106 years of

mining and producing 5.6 millionounces of gold. A total of 46,000tons of tailings from the cyanideplant were taken in the late 1980sto a mining site in northernCalifornia.

This has been a tough anddemanding process, Roy Stearns,deputy director of communicationsfor the Department of Parks andRecreation, said of the agencys $1.2million purchase in 1975 of EmpireMine in the Sierra Nevada foothills.We have learned that while wehave acquired an important part ofCalifornias history that story toldto more than 100,000 visitors yearly along with it have come seriousexpenses and responsibilities forclean up.

Discolored drainage includinglevels of arsenic, iron, and thalliumwell above water quality standards from the Magenta Drain still flowed

Getting a California goldmine comes at a cost, saysthe state agency that de-

cades ago acquired the richestmining property in the MotherLode and now must deal withmyriad issues including runoff fromthe remains of a cyanide plant builtin 1910 as well as stormwaterregulations for a new project toprovide visitors underground accessto the historic Empire Mine.

Discharge from a drain at the856-acre Empire Mine property 50miles northeast of Sacramentospurred a lawsuit by a San Fran-cisco-based environmental group,Baykeeper, that led to the stateagreeing in 2006 to apply for $5million in budget funds in connec-tion with the mining property, tospend $260,000 in cleanup work atthe Empire Mine and pay at least$205,000 to attorneys, consultants


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off the mining property, accordingto Baykeeper. The drainage, drawingfrom the network of undergroundmining tunnels at the Empire, enters

into an unnamed creek that runsthrough a Grass Valley city parkand near an elementary school,Baykeeper had said. A thick layer offerric iron oxyhydroxide, commonlyknown as yellow boy coats thecreek, Baykeeper said, citing a 2005report undertaken for state parks.

State Parks and Recreation in2006 sought and got the stormwaterpermit and plan. Ron Munson,superintendent of the Empire MinePark, said best management prac-

tices including fiber roles, bermsand rocks are among interimmeasures addressing runoff-relatedissues.

The stormwater plan for the parknotes that only the building foun-dation of the cyanide plant, wheresodium cyanide was once added toseparate gold from crushed rock,remains. While mill tailings nowmay contain contaminants such ascyanide and mercury, lab results donot indicate significant levels of

either substance, states the newstormwater management plan forthe Empire. The cyanide, sensitiveto sunlight, has degraded naturally,according to the state.

Soil testing, including use of anX-Ray Fluorescence spectrometerdescribed by one state official asresembling a Star Wars gun pointedat the ground, was undertaken inthe summer of 2006 at Empire Minepublic trails. About 1.5 miles of thedozen miles of public trails at thepark were closed because of elevatedcontaminant readings after testresults were made public andsubmitted to the State Departmentof Toxic Control Substances.

Michael Miller owns MorningGlory Mines, the company that in2006 completed the 750-foot-longtunnel portion of the undergroundaccess project known as the adit.The second phase is planned to add

the tramway railline taking visitorsunderground.Miller said the site

is safe and takesissue with theconclusion thatthe lesson of thestates acquisitionof the EmpireMine is not toacquire any moresuch properties.

You cannot find one person, onedog, one bird or one insect thatsbeen harmed by this alleged toxiclegacy of mining, said Miller, who

along with Morning Glory Mines ispresident of the Original Sixteen toOne Mine, a working gold mine inSierra County in northern Califor-nia. Miller, awarded the statecontract for the $2 million tunnelproject finished in October 2006,said he spent a half-day at the stateDepartment of Toxic Substancesoffice in Sacramento reading reportsabout Empire Mine. There isabsolutely no evidence of anytoxicity getting in the way of a

humans health, Miler said.Former Grass Valley Mayor

Gerard Tassone said Miller is prob-ably right. There really arent a lotof statistics. But Tassone supportsthe state agencys cleanup efforts atthe park. If I were the state Id erron the side of caution, he said.Thats the smart thing to do.

Carrie McNeil, the former direc-tor of the Deltakeeper chapter ofBaykeeper, said the CWA requiresestablishing that water qualitystandards have been violated nottracking down every example ofpollutions impact or scientificallyproving harm. The beauty of theact is that it recognizes that notonly immediate, but long termexposure to toxins can cause prob-lems, added McNeil, a veterinarian.

Charles Alpers, a research chemistwith the U.S. Geological Survey andauthor of studies on elevated levels

of mercury in fishin Sierra Nevadawatersheds, saidno clear-cut data

base is availablefor the impact ofcontaminatedsediments. Its apretty complexand challengingtopic in environ-mental science.

Diana Winslow lived in NevadaCounty for 23 years and used totake her children to the city parkwhere the creek fed by the pol-luted stormwater Baykeeper cited as

draining from the Empire Mine runs. Winslow said she was sur-prised no warnings were posteduntil last year about the creekscondition. It felt to me like acommunal resource, Winslow saidof Memorial Park in downtownGrass Valley. I used it almostdaily.

People arent dying yet,Winslow said of the impact of themining legacy. But, she added,There isnt any way that the 100

years of mining wouldnt have animpact. Winslow said the statepark should be used to show whathappened due to unregulatedmining. Why not use the site tolook at the kind of things that nevergo away? she asked. Rick Sanger,president of the Wolf Creek Com-munity Alliance in Nevada County,said, Im only starting now tounderstand the level of contamina-tion from this historical mining. Itsstaggering.

The precautionary principle isanother way of approaching envi-ronmental issues, Sanger said.Rather than waiting for humanimpacts to start taking lives anddestroying the environment ratherthan waiting for the science to showthat this is actually occurring weavoid action that might cause thisin the first place, Sanger said.

CONTINUEDONPAGE 13

We n ever oper-

ated this min e,

w e inh erited this

legacy. Were d oin g

the right thin g bycleanin g it up.

Sheryl Watson,

state parks spokeswoman


10/16

Link BetweenWater and

Land Use Setfor Workshops

The Ahwahnee Water Prin-ciples a blueprint linkingwater and land use that draws

its name from the Yosemite hotelwhere such development policieswere first presented is amongworkshop subjects at an April 23forum in Oakland. (See the Fall

2005 California Runoff Rundown formore information on the Ahwahneeprinciples.)

The Sacramento-based LocalGovernment Commission andBay Area Water Forum are present-ing the event at the Harris StateOffice Building, 1515 Clay Street.You can register on the web atwww2.lgc.org/events.

The California Water and LandUse Partnership, made up of government agencies, universities and

private groups affiliated to improvewater quality through better landuse planning, will join participantsat the event.

Al Wanger, deputy director of theEnergy, Ocean Resources and WaterQuality Division for the CaliforniaCoastal Commission, works withthe water and land use partnership.Wanger said the group acts as aclearinghouse for low impactdevelopment and resource basedplanning efforts represented bythe Ahwahnee Water Principles.

If you can retain water on site much as the undeveloped landscapewould do youre less likely togenerate polluted runoff, Wangersaid. Youre not changing the localhydrology and reducing pollutionin local waterways.

Clark Anderson, water and landuse planning specialist with theLocal Government Commission in


The site of the California StateFair will reduce pollutantsdischarged from washing

horses, says the settlement of alawsuit filed by the CaliforniaSportfishing Alliance contending thestate property in Sacramento system-atically polluted the American River.

The agreement, reached inDecember 2006, calls for theCalifornia Exposition and State Fairto begin measures including im-proved handling of animal wastesand soiled hays. Urine, fecal matter,litter and other pollutants weredischarged, a problem worsened bystormwater runoff, according to thelawsuit by the sportfishing alliance.

A horse racetrack and stable areasare part of the 350-acre property,where about 900 horses are quar-tered in 26 barns, according to thelawsuit. Horses are washed down atthe end of training.

The Sportfishing Alliancedescribes itself as a public trustadvocate for Californias fisheries.

An order by the State WaterResources Control Board requiredCal Expo to submit a Storm WaterManagement Plan describing aprogram to protect water qualityby reducing pollutants in runoffleaving Cal Expo.

Norbert J. Bartosik, Cal ExpoCEO and general manager, said theState Fair is committed to reducingstormwater pollutants.

We began implementingmeasures to reduce pollutantsfrom stormwater discharges in2001, with the assistance of theCentral Valley Regional WaterQuality Control Board, Bartosiksaid. Since then over $2 millionhas been spent to improve thewater quality of storm waterrunoff. x

State Fair Site to Control Runoff


11/16

NPS News


Tim Lawrence went from oneend of the state to the other

in March talking aboutdevelopment sites that protect waterquality and hell study propertywhere a European-style village willbe built where a high-tech corpora-tion once had offices.

Lawrence, director of the newCenter for Water and Land Use inDavis, Calif., spoke in Eureka innorthern California and later SanDiego.

The half-dozen case studies thecenter will undertake include thesite of the former Agilent Technolo-gies campus in Rohnert Park, northof San Francisco. After Agilentoutsourced operations to Malaysia,the property was auctioned. SonomaMountain Village, an ecologicallysensitive mix of homes and busi-nesses, is planned at the site.

Lawrence said the water and landuse center in Davis, a universitycommunity outside of Sacramento,

Water andLand UseCenter StartsWork

Caviar Farm Wins Permit OKSystem permit at the same timebecause the order includes a compli-ance schedule to meet effluentlimits for Sterling Caviars opera-tion.

The Stockton office of the Cali-fornia Sportfishing Alliance, in aseparate action, filed suit in federalcourt in 2006 over Sterling Caviarsoperations. That lawsuit was settledlast year.

The Sportfishing Alliance saidthe aquaculture facility had oper-ated without a permit.

A United Nations trade ban onmost sturgeon has led to a boomin aquaculture facilities. Poachingthe fish continues to be a problem.The California Department of Fishand Game arrested six people thisyear involving an alleged illegalwhite sturgeon meat and caviarsales operation. The state investiga-tion began after citizens alertedofficials that several anglers wereallegedly taking sturgeons out ofthe Sacramento River daily. Thefish is indigenous to the Sacra-mento River.x

The California site that ishome to whats said to bethe largest caviar farm in the

United States received a cease anddesist order and a permit March

15 after a Central Valley RegionalWater Quality Control Board(Central Valley Board) hearingabout discharge of the facilityswastewater that ultimately reachesthe Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Sterling Caviar, an aquaculturefacility near Sacramento that yearlyproduces 313,000 pounds of whitesturgeon raised for their caviar eggs,also generates algae, silt, fish fecalmaterial and chemicals, accordingto the staff report by the waterquality board.

Wastewater from fish productiontanks passes through drum filtersand a fluidized system beforedischarge to wetlands that are atributary to the Sacramento River,according to the Central ValleyBoard report.

The Board approved the ceaseand desist order and NationalPollutant Discharge Elimination

Sacramento, said cities and countiesin California can align local landuse decisions with sustainable watermanagement efforts using strategieslike the Ahwahnee Water Principles.

There are advocates within cities

and counties who want to do thisstuff elected officials, staff. Peopleare open to new ideas, but we needto take a new approach Andersonsaid. Good planning is part of thesolution, but that also means badplanning is a big part of the prob-lem. We want to get people tothink about the root causes of waterquality issues and what they can doto minimize impacts in futuredevelopment.x

will serve as a clearinghouse forhow to integrate land use and waterwhen building projects.

Development can happen, hesaid. It can happen in a way thathas less of an impact on water

quality and water quantity.Lawrence said plans have to

respect regional differences. Whatworks in Davis, he said, may notwork in Emeryville, a Bay Areasuburb.x


12/16


Barnum Timber have shown thatthere were a variety of scientific andlay opinions placed in the recordduring the regional state boards303(d) listing process for RedwoodCreek.

Zeke Grader, executive directorof the Pacific Coast Federation ofFishermens Associations, disputesPLFs account of how RedwoodCreek was designated as impairedand said the PLF lawyers are not agroup of scientists.

Instead, the Foundation repre-sents landowners around RedwoodCreek who dont want to do any-thing to improve conditions,Grader said.

Redwood Creek runs through theforest near Eureka, Calif. andempties into the Pacific Ocean near

River Shouldnt be Listed

as Im paired, Suit Says

Alawsuit seeks to block en-forcement of Total MaximumDaily Loads (TMDLs) for

Redwood Creek near Eureka innorthern California and set asidea state agency action listing thewaterway as impaired from sedi-ment and water temperature.

Barnum Timber, represented bythe Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF)of Sacramento, contends the riversimpaired designation by the NorthCoast Regional Water QualityControl Board (North Coast Board)stems from a scientific-soundingassertion based only on fishing talesand boosterism.

The state Attorney Generalsoffice opposes PLFs effort, statingin court papers that at most, thelawyers representing landowners

Orick, Calif. The State Water Re-sources Control Board in 2006relisted Redwood as impaired. TheNorth Coast Regional Board had solisted the creek in 2002.

PLF states the listing decreases

the value of the family-ownedBarnum Timber property, imposessevere restrictions on the land andforces the timber company to alterits land management practices.Before the state of Californiacommits itself to imposing multi-million dollar burdens on itslandowners and the public coffers,it should be sure that there is aproblem which needs to be rem-edied, the suit states.

Redwood Creek is not impaired

by sediment and has a healthy fishhabitat with record populations,the suit contends. The creek ishistorically rich in sediment,according to the suit. RedwoodCreek conditions are well withinthe range of the natural dynamicconditions of the stream and thesediment, both natural and humancaused, has no lasting adverseeffects on fish reproduction, thelegal foundation asserts. The riveris regularly flooded, causing large

amounts of sediment to flow intothe waterway, according to PLF.

A state agencys assertion thatthe present salmon and troutpopulation in the river is far belowhistoric levels turns out to be amere collection of misty, watercolored memories and sepia-tonednews prints from long ago days,the PLF states in court papers.Attorneys cite a 1913 newspaperaccount that the fishing on theRedwood Creek was first class, areport PLF says was used to supportclaims of current lower salmonpopulation in the river.

Groups including the HumboldtWatershed Council have counteredthat the TMDL program is animportant tool to assure that log-ging is controlled. The program willreduce the severe water pollutionthe practice traditionally causes,the watershed council says.x

NPS News

River Shouldnt be Listed

as Im paired, Suit Says


13/16

San Francisco Bay (Region 2)

Regional Board approved Jan. 23, 2007 a TMDL for mercury inWalker Creek

Contact Jill Marshall (510) 622-2397

www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/TMDL/walkermercurytmdl.htm

Regional board approved Jan. 23, 2007 a TMDL for sediment in

the Napa River

Contact Mike Napolitano (510) 622-2397

www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/TMDL/

napariversedimenttmdl.htm


Turning a Messinto a Model

CONTINUEDFROMPAGE 7

Ed Hopkins, director of theenvironmental quality programfor the Sierra Club in Washington,D.C., said we are paying for a past

of poor practices in controllingconstruction runoff. Before theregulatory measures that began inthe 1990s, Hopkins said, nothingwas required in most places. Thatshow our water got in the shape itsin, he said.

Kira Schmidt, executive directorof Santa Barbara Channel Keepers,which seeks to protect streams andwatersheds along with the channel,said builders complying with BMPsto control construction runoff is a

major concern of the environmen-tal group. The manuals and hand-books detailing how to deal withstormwater provide developers witheffective measures, she said.Theres a whole world of sciencebehind this that says, These thingswork, Schmidt noted.

Rocklin Public Works DirectorFoster recounted how some builders confronted with runoff controlmeasures aimed at protecting waterquality cite the Sacramento Riverand say its a muddy, brown riverthat still has salmon swimming upit. Experts in fish biology, Fosternoted, counter that when layingeggs salmon need clear water thatprovides sufficient oxygen.

Attorney Daniel Cooper with theSan Francisco-based Lawyers forClean Water took issue with thosebuilders who cite Sacramento Riverconditions when questioning theneed for construction site runoff

control measures. Who is somecontractor to tell me about spawn-ing habitat? Cooper said. Theyjust view environmental regulationsas a hurdle to be jumped over anda cost to be avoided.

Paul Betancourt, a board memberof the Central Valley Board, spoke ata Sacramento conference in Januaryon agricultural water and talkedabout the need for good data tomake good policy. Betancourt, a

Empire Strikes a GoldMine of Water Issues

CONTINUEDFROMPAGE 9

For example, rather than dump-ing mercury, cyanide, PCBs andnuclear waste into the environmentand waiting for someone to noticethe effect, we just dont do it in thefirst place because it might just havean effect. I hear the Indians call thisthe duh principle.

Layne Friedrich, an attorneyrepresenting Baykeeper in the

environmental groups lawsuitagainst the State Parks and Recre-ation Department said of GoldRush-era mining practices that,Back then it was just dump it bythe creek when disposing ofmining byproducts.

State parks spokeswoman Watsonsaid work is underway to developan interpretive message aboutminings legacy to add to the talkEmpire Mine visitors now receive

about the sites history. Theresanother story thats emerging,she said of the impact mining hadon the environment.

Public reaction to the soiltesting and the issue of miningchemicals has been mixed, EmpireMine Superintendent Munsonsaid. Youll find some peoplewho will tell you that theresnothing wrong, he said. Theirfamily has been here for genera-tions without harm from thehistoric mining, the parks super-intendent said. On the other endof the spectrum are people whoare very worried about exposurelevels, Munson added.

Its very complicated, Munsonsaid of the mining property,stormwater regulations, the legacyof mining chemicals and the aditproject. But were dealing with it.We have to. x

family farmer and Fresno areaschool board member who quotedPhillip Howards book The Deathof Common Sense, referred to thedangers of policymaking withoutfacts. He compared such an effortto playing darts in the dark. Itsdifficult and its dangerous,Betancourt.

However, he told The CaliforniaRunoff Rundown that state regulationof construction runoff hasnt

involved shooting darts in an unlitroom. Weve got a system thatworks, Betancourt said. Itseffective. Its a clear set of rules. x


14/16


Stricter Storm water RulesWin OK in San DiegoBY RYANMCCARTHY

Tougher regulations on con-struction sites which build-ers say go too far but environ-

mentalists argue are needed becauseof San Diegos persistent waterquality problems at area beaches have been adopted by the San Diego

Regional Water Quality ControlBoard (San Diego Regional Board).

New requirements includephased grading for construction tominimize the size of disturbed areasand limiting the time that bare soilis exposed to erosion. Other newmeasures are advanced, three-parttreatment for sediment-laden runoff

at construction sites determined tobe an exceptional threat to waterquality. Coagulation, sedimentationand polishing filtration are involvedin advanced treatment.

Ed Kimura, water specialist forthe San Diego chapter of the Sierra

Club, praised San Diego RegionalBoard members for approving thenew stormwater permit Jan. 24.They stuck to their guns in termsof maintaining water quality,he said.

However, San Diego Attorney S.Wayne Rosenbaum, who representsbuilders, said the new rules change

regulations from productive toinfeasible. Rosenbaum said that,As the regulations become moreand more draconian you get moreand more people involved.

Will the new San Diego require-ments have a positive impact on

water quality? he asked. Develop-ers are willing to spend money onsolutions. What they object to arebeing guinea pigs for unproven andexpensive technologies such asadvanced treatment.

That is why many groups haverequested that before these newrequirements are imposed on the

Stricter Storm water Rules

Win OK in San Diego


15/16

region, the San Diego RegionalBoard conduct a California Environ-mental Quality Act analysis,Rosenbaum said. If the Boardrefuses to analyze the environmen-tal impacts of the new require-

ments, the attorney added, I thinkthat the people who are going topay for those requirements, thecitizens of San Diego County, havea right to be skeptical about thecosts.

Michael D. Pattinson, presidentof Barratt American in San DiegoCounty and a past president of theCalifornia Building Industry Associa-tion, said the regulations are anexample of government measureshelping to push the cost of a new

single family home in San Diego to$800,000. It means, Pattinson said,we have more people leaving SanDiego than coming to San Diego.

Brad Barnum, vice-president ofgovernment relations for the Associ-ated General Contractors ofAmerica, San Diego, said schoolbuilders contend the currentstormwater permits add $100,000to the cost of a new elementaryschool and $140,000 to a highschools cost. Were concerned how

much this is going to cost publicagencies, Barnum said of the newmeasures.

Phil Hammer, an environmentalscientist with the San Diego Re-gional Board, said the new require-ments dont apply to school dis-tricts. Pattinsons concerns aboutthe measures and home costs aremisplaced, Hammer said. Comply-ing with the requirements is esti-mated to cost between 1 and 2percent of a projects constructioncosts, he said.

Environmentalist Kimura said ofthe criticism of the new measuresthat, We always hear somebodywho says this is a non-fundedmandate thats going to cost a lotof money. He cited a 2004 reportprepared by professors from USCand UCLA for the Los AngelesRegional Water Quality ControlBoard. The study of controlling


stormwater in Los Angeles Countyconcluded that best managementpractices (BMPs) along with aregional system of wetland andinfiltration facilities are muchcheaper than advanced treatmentplants. Source control is always

cheaper than cleaning pollutants,the report noted.

Ive found that the most peoplewho have criticized the new regula-tions didnt understand what thepermit involved, Kimura said ofthe San Diego measures. San DiegoRegional Water Board membersheard all the arguments of oppo-nents to the new measures and stillsaid, we have to go ahead, Kimuraadded.

Historically it has been difficultto get good water quality data notonly for construction sites but alsofor urban runoff in general, theSierra Club member said. The newmeasures strengthen water qualitymonitoring and reporting andsignificantly improve provisions forconstruction sites including ordi-nance and permit updates, BMPs,inspection, and enforcement,Kimura said.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, inan editorial the day the San DiegoRegional Board met to considerthe new measures, wrote that,Beach closures remain chronic.Some lagoons are getting worse.So now the state agency wants to

ratchet the regulations up a notchor two.

City officials are bracing fornew costs, the editorial read.Most didnt enforce the oldregulations with much vigor. SanDiego Mayor Jerry Sanders says thecity will try harder. Complyingwith the new regulations wouldcost $164 million over four years, atab not covered by proposed hikesin water and sewer rates. If the newregulations give us clean water, itwill have been worth it.

John Robertus, executive officerof the San Diego Regional WaterBoard, said some speakers at theagencys January hearing asked formore time before adopting therevised stormwater measures. Thiswas thoroughly vetted, Robertussaid of reviewing the measures. Wehad already delayed the decision.Were a year late. x


16/16

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contact Ryan McCarthy, Water Education Foundation, at

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