Amador County Dollar General construction site settles stormwater violations

Arizona-based developer, SimonCRE Raylan III LLC, has settled with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board for $55,297 for alleged stormwater permit violations at a Dollar General construction site in Pioneer, CA, some 60 miles southeast of Sacramento. The developer has enrolled the Dollar General retail store project in the statewide General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities, but failed to comply with the permit’s requirements to protect local water quality and the environment.

Regional Water Board staff has inspected the construction site on Oct. 28, 2016 and found that SimonCRE had not installed sediment or erosion control measures (known as best management practices or BMPs) and that sediment-laden runoff was flowing from the site to a tributary of the Mokelumne River. A subsequent inspection on Nov. 2, 2016, found that SimonCRE still had not installed appropriate BMPs.

“We take these violations very seriously and we want construction sites across the Central Valley to know we are investigating complaints and taking action to stop further environmental damage,” said Andrew Altevogt, assistant executive officer for the Regional Water Board.

Any construction site greater than one acre in size must be enrolled in the General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities. This permit requires 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. Sediment discharges can cloud the receiving water thereby reducing the amount of sunlight reaching aquatic plants. These discharges can also clog fish gills, smother aquatic habitat and spawning areas, and transport other materials such as nutrients, metals, and oil and grease all of which can negatively impact aquatic life and habitat.

The settlement reached between the developer and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board was a streamlined process that provided SimonCRE an opportunity to quickly resolve the alleged violations that threatened a tributary to the Mokelumne River.

“We initiated this fast track approach after SimonCRE or its contractors made a conscious decision not to comply with the basic requirements for the protection of surface waters from their construction activities,” said Altevogt. “This streamlined approach will allow us to take swift action against owners and their general contractors who attempt to gain an economic advantage by ignoring water quality protections.”