Sludge Watch ==> Barstow Calif - sludge and septics - contaminated groundwater lawsuit

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

http://epaper.desertdispatch.com/Default/Skins/DesertDispatch/Client.asp?Skin=DesertDispatch&Daily=VDD&AppName=1



   Suit filed over Soap Mine Road development


     Neighbors say city ignored existing pollution problems


       By SCOTT SHACKFORD Editor in Chief



BARSTOW — After the City of Barstow agreed in January to sell land on the 
east side of Barstow to a developer to build around 300 homes, some nearby 
residents spoke out, concerned that the septic tanks proposed for the 
development and the high water table could lead to groundwater pollution.
When Christina Byrne, who lives half a mile from the proposed project, began 
investigating she discovered their concerns came too late — the groundwater 
at the development area is already contaminated.
Now Byrne and other neighbors, who have organized a group called Soapmine 
Road Area Citizens for Responsible Development, have filed suit against the 
City of Barstow, claiming the city ignored the existing pollution problems 
on the site in its report for the project and demanding a new environmental 
study.
“The City of Barstow has been getting away with this stuff for a long time,” 
Byrne said. “They finally picked the wrong neighborhood to pick on.

*From golf course to dumping ground

*The land involved, 150 acres near Soap Mine Road, was bought by the City of 
Barstow in the 1990s. The original plan for the land was to develop a golf 
course, but that plan never materialized.
The city subsequently turned the land into alfalfa fields, and spread 
treated sewage from the sewage plant onto the field. In 2004 the Lahontan 
Regional Quality Control Agency ordered the city to stop dumping waste on 
the land and other areas in town.

The problem, Lahontan determined, is that the city’s sewage system was 
contributing to nitrate pollution in the Mojave River. The city agreed to 
stop spreading waste on the field and to work on a plan to reduce water 
groundwater pollution in the Barstow area by 2009.

High nitrate levels in water can present a health hazard to infants. As 
nitrates work into an infant’s body, it can block the blood from properly 
carrying oxygen, potentially a fatal situation if untreated.
According to a report from Lahontan Regional Quality Control Agency, the 
nitrate levels in the groundwater of the proposed housing development are in 
some areas nearly three times the maximum amount they prefer, based on tests 
from August 2005.

The lawsuit contends that city staff used an environmental study meant for 
the original golf course, and ignored the subsequent groundwater pollution. 
A study by the Planning Department for the proposed development by Pacific 
Holt prepared in November 2005 makes brief mention of the previous 
wastewater use on the land, but does not mention the nitrate levels or the 
Lahontan order.

*Septic tanks and pollution levels

*City spokesman John Rader said the city had not yet received a copy of the 
lawsuit and therefore could not comment.
Speaking for the city and the project, Community Development Director Scott 
Priester said, regardless of the previous use and pollution of the site, the 
Pacific Holt development project meets the Lahontan water agency’s 
guidelines for septic tank use, so the city shouldn’t forbid it.
“If it qualifies for septic tank use, then why shouldn’t we (allow it)?” 
Priester said.
Priester also said that, while the city recognizes a role in contributing to 
high nitrate levels in the area, there are pollution levels beyond their 
control, as the water flows up the Mojave River from parts south. The 
pollution, Priester said, is coming from dairies — and septic tank use 
elsewhere.
“We’ve provided (Lahontan) with videotape of dairies cleaning out their 
dairies and depositing waste into the (Mojave) river,” Priester said.

Priester added that the city is upgrading the treatment plant to help reduce 
nitrate levels in the groundwater. The Lenwood sewer project, completed in 
2005, also should reduce nitrate levels, he said.

*Lack of notification alleged

*In the lawsuit, the Soap Mine Road group also alleges the city didn’t 
properly provide relevant agencies with information about the development, 
nor did they properly inform the public. Priester has said the city sent out 
letters to the appropriate parties.

However, both Barstow Fire Protection District Fire Chief Darrell Jauss and 
Lahontan agency engineer Cindi Mitton said they didn’t receive a copy of the 
report in advance to give comment. Both Jauss and Lahontan have since sent 
letters to Priester expressing concerns about the development.
“We didn’t feel that they had done enough evaluation of the project on the 
septic tanks,” Mitton said. “They had not taken into account the actual 
conditions of the site. We believe they would need to do further evaluation 
to know how it might truly impact it.”

Byrne said she spoke to some property owners who have land near the 
development site who said they hadn’t received notification from the city 
about the project.

The lawsuit was filed in Barstow Superior Court on May 2, but Byrne said the 
case will probably be heard in Victorville, where the judge for Califor nia 
Environmental Quality Act cases presides.