<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Tahoma","sans-serif";">County,
Redding settle for $80,000</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Tahoma","sans-serif";">Redding
Record Searchlight-12/13/10 </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Tahoma","sans-serif";">By
Scott Mobley </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">Shasta
County and the city of Redding have agreed to settle an
environmental lawsuit
for $80,000 and increased pollution control.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
Stockton-based California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
(CSPA) lawsuit
targets stormwater runoff from the West-Central Landfill near
Igo. The county
owns the dump, and the city manages its daily operation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
lawsuit accuses Redding officials of failing to adequately
monitor stormwater
runoff flowing from the dump into Sacramento River tributaries
for pollutants.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
city and county acknowledged no wrongdoing in agreeing to the
proposed
settlement with CSPA. Two federal agencies and the U.S. District
Court still
must approve the agreement.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">As
part of the settlement, Redding and Shasta County will
contribute $30,000 to
the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, an
Oakland-based
nonprofit, for projects to improve water quality downstream from
the dump.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
city and county also will pay $32,500 of attorney fees and
contribute $17,500
for water-quality-compliance monitoring.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">Pat
Minturn, Shasta County public works director, called the lawsuit
a minor
expense that will have no impact on utility rates or tipping
fees at the dump.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">CSPA
claims about 2,000 members who live and fish in California. The
nonprofit
maintains an enforcement wing that looks for stormwater permit
violations that
could lower water quality and damage fisheries in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">CSPA
has filed a couple of dozen suits against private firms and
government agencies
over compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, said Andrew
Packard, a
Petaluma-based attorney representing the group. The
Redding-Shasta County
settlement is fairly typical of agreements the group reaches, he
said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">“In
a sense it’s a win-win,” Packard said. “We can avoid much
more expensive litigation, they are brought into compliance with
the Clean
Water Act and they make a contribution to a third-party water
group that
benefits the environment.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">City
and county officials said they have always monitored stormwater
runoff at West
Central, and no pollutants escape from the dump into nearby Dry
Creek, which
flows into Cottonwood Creek and, ultimately, the delta.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">Still,
the city and county will beef up monitoring at West Central and
take further
steps to keep spills from reaching the Sacramento River under
the proposed
lawsuit settlement, Minturn said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">“We
believe we were in compliance,” Minturn said. “But there is
always
room for improvement and clarification.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">CSPA
had zeroed in on the transfer station at the dump as a potential
source of
river contamination. Customers throw their trash into four bins
there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">Local
officials have agreed to create berms around the transfer
station directing
storm runoff to a sampling station that will monitor for any
oil, paint or
other types of spills, Minturn said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">Officials
will install a litter filter and water-oil separator at the
monitoring point to
catch any potential contaminants from the transfer station, he
said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">“The
landfill’s larger program took care of these spills, and they
never went
into the creek,” Minturn said. “But we felt there was an
opportunity to tighten up that operation. We were willing to
make improvements
to address (CSPA’s) concerns.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
county already has built the berms around the transfer station,
Minturn said.
The water-oil separator will cost about $10,000.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
agreement requires stormwater monitoring beyond the lab testing
already
performed, Minturn said. Officials must sample runoff during
four storm days
each year and meet with CSPA officers from time to time to
discuss results
during the next five years to ensure compliance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";">The
settlement also calls for added erosion control at the dump and
directs
officials to remove windblown trash from the transfer station
twice a week.#</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"><a
href="http://www.redding.com/news/2010/dec/13/county-redding-settle-for-80000/">http://www.redding.com/news/2010/dec/13/county-redding-settle-for-80000/</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></p>
</body>
</html>