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The
energy challenge facing California is real.
Every Californian needs to take immediate action
to reduce energy consumption
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For
a list of simple ways to reduce demand and cut
your energy costs, see the tips at: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/news/echallenge.html
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Claremont
Board and Care
On
September 2, 1997, the City of Claremont filed a
petition with the Superior Court, County of
Los Angeles, to seek Injunctive Relief against the
Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control
Board (Regional Board). The petition requested the
Court to overturn this Regional Board's Waste
Discharge Requirement Order No. 97-114, and Cease
and Desist Order No. 97-115, for the Claremont
Board and Care Facility, adopted on August
25, 1997.
Underground Storage
Tank Section
As of August 1, 1997, the Underground Tank Section
consists of three units. The units are designated
as the Los Angeles River, the San Gabriel River
and the Ventura and Coastal. The cases assigned
to units and the assignments within the units are
based upon geographical areas. We expect individual
staff members to correlate data on adjacent
cases to maximize knowledge with the minimum expense
to the responsible parties. Reassignment of
staff assigned to cases has caused a reduction in
productivity in the section during the past month.
This was expected and should only be temporary.
Board staff has completed production of a series
of 145 maps that cover the entire Region.
The maps are of eight mile square areas produced
on 11 by 17 inch sheets of paper. These maps
allow the staff to make better determinations of
which tanks sites may impact which drinking
water wells or may be the cause of upstream problems
at any particular site. This is now the best information
available to provide service to the public at large
and the various potential responsible parties associated
with underground fuel tanks. The ultimate
goal is to have a completely interactive Geographic
Information System (GIS) for all tank activities.
We do not expect that to be achievable with existing
resources for many months, but we hope to complete
the task before the end of the fiscal year.
Disagreements between Mobile and the City of Santa
Monica continue to hinder progress on the
remediation at the Arcadia Wellfield. The most recent
dispute occurred during the initial hours
of a pump test by Mobil on the City of Santa Monica's
Arcadia Well # 4. Mobil took action to get
different data than had been previously reviewed
and approved. This was done without prior
notice to the City or the Board of their intent
to change procedures. When the City found
out the actin had been taken they immediately cut
the power to the test pump which was located on
their property. The dispute has now been settled
and the test pumping is expected to proceed the
week of September 15, 1997.
NPDES Permit Meeting with USEPA
Senior staff from USEPA met with senior Regional
Board staff in their continuing efforts to
coordinate with staff responsible for managing water
quality and NPDES permitting programs. USEPA
requested an update on the Watershed Management
Initiative (WMI), especially as it relates
to basin planning and NPDES permitting. Other topics
of interest were streamlining of the permit
process by using general permits, Chloride Policy,
mixing zones, 208 consistency, and the City
of Long Beach appeal of the Los Angeles County Municipal
Stormwater/Urban Runoff NPDES Permit. One of the
revelations at the meeting was that USEPA
is again going to do periodic NPDES program reviews
at the Regional Boards. They will probably
begin with the Central Valley Region later this
year, the Los Angeles and San Diego Regions
early next year, and the other Regions later in
the year. The review will cover the major
NPDES dischargers and will probably focus on procedures
for determining compliance and on appropriate and
timely enforcement actions.
Septic Tank Workshop
Regional Board staff is planning a workshop
in December 1997, to solicit ideas from interested
parties concerning the development and implementation
in this Region of a policy regarding the use
of septic tanks.
Chloride and Salinity Issues
During development of the Chloride Policy, many
parties expressed concerns over a salt imbalance
in Region 4 and the resulting risk of salt accumulations
in inland surface and ground waters. Accordingly,
the Regional Board incorporated salinity tracking
measures into the Chloride Policy, to better
assess significant sources of salts. As follow-up,
Regional Board staff sponsored workshops for publicly-owned
treatment works (POTWs) and water suppliers,
on September 11 (Ventura) and September 12 (Monterey
Park). Tracking measures should be implemented
by early 1998.
Drinking Water (MUN) Policy
Staff will be conducting a second set of informal
planning sessions in late October. During
these sessions, concerned parties will attempt to
reach consensus on designations of drinking water
that currently apply to several waterbodies, including
the Los Angeles River and Malibu Creek. Using
comments and ideas from concerned parties, staff
will brief the Board on a draft Drinking Water
Policy prior to initiating formal public (CEQA)
review.
Calleguas Creek
Watershed
The US EPA solicited proposals for its sustainable
communities grants program last month. Staff
worked with the City of Simi Valley and the Calleguas
Municipal Water District to submit a proposal
for a $250,000 grant which--if awarded--would primarily
be used to coordinate various stakeholder
activities (e.g. flood control efforts, water quality
measures, recreational and habitat restoration efforts)
throughout the watershed over the next three years.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) NPDES Permit - Status of Retrofit Projects
in Operation Segments 1 and 2A
At the May 12, 1997 Board meeting, the Board adopted
a Time Schedule Order that required MTA to
fully comply with all effluent limitations in NPDES
Permit No. CA0064092 by September 1, 1997
for waste discharges into Los Angeles River from
Segment 1 outfalls. In order to comply with
this requirement, MTA designed retrofits for all
Segments 1 outfalls to be diverted into the
City of Los Angeles sanitary sewers. These retrofits
were to be completed by the end of August
1997. Recently, MTA reported to Board's staff that
the discharge outfalls in Segment 1 have been diverted
to the sanitary sewer system on August 9,
1997 thus eliminating all noncompliant discharges
to the storm drain. Consequently, MTA is in
compliance with the Time Schedule Order for Segment
1 outfalls.
Under the same Time Schedule Order, MTA was also
required to comply with all effluent limitations
by March 1, 1998 for waste discharges into Ballona
Creek from Segment 2A outfalls. Currently, MTA is
in the process of retrofiting all Segment 2A outfalls
to be diverted into the sewers. These retrofits
are scheduled to be completed by the end of
February 1998.
Database
Test Status
On September 8, the final test version of the
permit-tracking portion of our new data management
system was installed. This version included a conversion
of the existing Waste Discharge System (WDS) data
to the new system. The final step of the test (scheduled
for September) will consist of entering actual permit
tracking data into both systems and confirming that
the new system will meet our state reporting requirements.
If this test is successful, we will switch to the
new system by the end of September.
Calleguas Creek Watershed
The Calleguas Creek Watershed Management Plan
Habitat/Recreation/Open Space Subcommittee met on
August 19. The California Coastal Conservancy has
been awarded a grant for preparation of a Calleguas
Creek Watershed Wetland Restoration Plan which will
be closely coordinated with the Habitat Subcommittee
and overall management committee. Some members of
the subcommittee participated in a tour of the watershed's
potential wetlands restoration sites on August 27.
The Water Quality/Water Resources Subcommittee is
in the process of drafting a Water Resources/Water
Quality Chapter in the Calleguas Creek Watershed
Management Plan. As a first step, subcommittee members
are developing a list of their goals and objectives
for water quality and water resources. This subcommittee's
next meeting will be on September 26.
The Flood Protection/Sediment Management Subcommittee
met on August 11. The group is developing a list
of flood control/sedimentation considerations.
Another Public Information/Education Subcommittee
meeting has not yet been scheduled. The Management
Plan Steering Committee met on July 30 and is creating
a timeline for watershed management plan development.
The group will meet next in October. The full Management
Plan Committee met on August 6. The meeting included
a number of presentations as well as subcommittee
reports. The next meeting of the full Management
committee is scheduled for November 5 at 9:30 AM
at the Ventura County Government Center. Information
about the management committee and its subcommittees
can be found at "www.calleguas.com".
Staff is waiting for another draft of the Calleguas
Creek Characterization Study workplan from the watershed's
dischargers. It should be available in September.
Los Angeles River Watershed
The Los Angeles/San Gabriel Rivers Watershed
Council met on August 20. The Council is in the
process of finalizing a five-year strategic plan.
Meetings are generally held at the Los Angeles County
Public Works facility in Alhambra at 900 S. Fremont
Avenue. The Watershed Council has a number of committees
including Finance and Representation, Three-Year
Watershed Study (interaction with LA River Task
Force), Stakeholder Programs, Public Education and
Outreach, Projects, and Research. The Finance and
Representation Committee has made a plea for financial
support for the Watershed Council. The Los Angeles
River may be considered for American Heritage River
designation. An additional committee, the Scientific
Advisory Committee, has been formed.
The Los Angeles River Watershed Task Force, which
was formed to deal with flood control issues in
the watershed, met on August 7. A Project Study
Plan (Feasibility Phase) is being developed for
a Los Angeles and San Gabriel River Watershed Study.
Santa Monica Bay Watershed
The Malibu Lagoon Task Force and Advisory Council
met on August 12. The Lagoon Task Force has been
meeting to find a resolution to lagoon water level
problems. The Advisory Council has been in existence
for a number of years and serves as a forum for
discussion of local watershed issues. The Resource
Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains
handed out a draft manual for management of horse
corrals and pastures utilizing best management practices.
The next Task Force and Advisory Council meetings
will be held on October 21. Other Santa Monica Bay
Watershed activities are covered under the Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Project item.