DLC Rocklin Violates Storm Water Rules, Settles with State Water Board for $153,460

Violations of a stormwater permit that occurred between November 2018 and January 2019 by contractor DLC Rocklin has result in a $153,460 settlement between the company and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Although DLC Rocklin had enrolled the Granite Bluff construction Site and project in the statewide General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbing Activities the company failed to protect the site during rain events. By failing to install the necessary barriers water and sediment flowed into nearby ravines, including a tributary of Secret Ravine, an important regional salmon habitat near Red Bluff, CA.

“The owner of this project made a decision to continue work through the winter but did not take the required steps to ensure that sediment-laden stormwater did not leave the site.” said Andrew Altevogt, assistant executive officer for the Central Valley Water Board. “This project was in an environmentally sensitive area and our expectation was that permit holders follow the rules. That did not happen in this case.”

Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board staff inspected the Granite Bluff project several times from November 2018 and January 2019 and found the project lacked the kind of erosion controls required in the permit. The Regional Water Board staff also observed DLC Rocklin’s contractor pumping turbid stormwater to a tributary of Secret Ravine, potentially causing life-threatening conditions for spawning salmon.

However, DLC Rocklin worked quickly to resolve the violations when notified of the issues. By early March, DLC Rocklin installed a stormwater treatment system at the site to prevent additional turbid discharges. A streamlined process was utilized for the settlement after DLC Rocklin completed the required systems.

Discharges of sediment clog fish gills, smother aquatic habitat and spawning areas, and transport other materials such as nutrients, metals, and oil and grease which can negatively impact aquatic life and habitat. Additionally, the sediment can cloud the receiving water, which reduces the amount of sunlight reaching aquatic plants.

California’s General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities requires owners of any construction site greater than one acre in size to enroll in the program in order to avoid discharge of sediment into receiving waters. The permit requires the owner to hire a “stormwater professional” to design and install erosion and sediment controls to prevent discharges of sediment-laden stormwater into nearby waters.