California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
The city of Sutter Creek recently reached a settlement agreement with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) for alleged stormwater violations and has agreed to pay $86,112 and to comply with the permit requirements ensuring that no additional environmental damage takes place.
The settlement action revolves around alleged stormwater and water quality certification permit violations at the city’s Badger Street Bridge construction project. The bridge replacement project had been enrolled by the city in the statewide General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities. They obtained a Water Quality Certification to allow the city to disturb the waterway, but failed to comply with the requirements to protect local water quality and the environment.
CVRWQCB staff inspected the bridge project on Oct. 28, 2016, during a rainstorm. Staff found contractors hired by the city had not installed sediment or erosion control measures as required. Sediment-laden runoff was flowing directly into Sutter Creek. In addition, a diversion dam had failed and upstream water was flowing directly through the construction site, causing additional sediment to be transported downstream.
Sediment discharges can cloud the receiving water and can reduce the amount of sunlight reaching underwater plants. Sediment discharges can also clog fish gills, smother spawning areas and aquatic habitat, and transport other materials such as nutrients, metals, oil and grease, which often negatively impact aquatic life and habitat.
In addition to the October inspection by the Water Quality Board staff, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) inspected the site on Nov. 3, 2016 and found that construction work at the site was much like what the CVRWQCB had found the prior month — a significant amount of sediment was being discharged into the creek and insufficient sediment and erosion controls were noted by the CDFW staff.
“Stormwater runoff at construction sites is a serious issue. Not having the proper control measures in place to prevent sediment-laden runoff can lead to serious environmental impacts,” said Andrew Altevogt, assistant executive officer for the Regional Water Board. “We take these types of violations very seriously, which is why we initiated this fast track enforcement approach to help sites such as Sutter Creek’s get into compliance quicker and limit any further environmental damage.”
The fast track enforcement approach is a streamlined process to quickly resolve the alleged violations. The streamlined approach was provided to the city of Sutter Creek, located in Amador County, to quickly resolve the alleged violations impacting Sutter Creek.
The state’s General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities requires, among other things, that the owner hire a “storm water professional” to design and install an effective combination of erosion and sediment controls to prevent discharges of sediment-laden stormwater. Owners of any construction site greater than one acre in size must enroll in this General Permit process.
