Davis South Campus Superfund Oversight Committee
Rt. 2 Box 2879
Davis, CA 95616
530-753-9446
fax 530-753-8220
e-mail [email protected]
http://www.members.aol.com/dscsoc/dscsoc.htm

April 14, 1998

Remedial Project Managers
UCD-DOE LEHR Superfund Site
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616

Dear RPMs,

Dr. G. Fred Lee, DSCSOC's technical advisor, has prepared his comments, "Inadequate Regulation of UCD's Stormwater Runoff from the LEHR Superfund Site," which I have attached to this e-mail. Dr. Lee, on behalf of DSCSOC, has again raised the issue of UCD's improper monitoring of the stormwater which passes through Landfill #3 to Putah Creek. In the three years since DSCSOC first raised this issue, UCD has not resolved this situation. Now, UCD has promised to address this problem this summer. If UCD fails to keep its promise, DSCSOC will take the actions recommended by Dr. Lee in his comments.

If you have any questions regarding Dr. Lee's comments, please contact him.

Sincerely,

Julie Roth, Ex. Dir.

cc: DSCSOC's Ex. Board
PRPs
William H. Taylor
Jane Riggan

G. Fred Lee & Associates
________________________________________
27298 E. El Macero Dr.
El Macero, California 95618-1005
Tel. (530) 753-9630 � Fax (530) 753-9956
e-mail [email protected]
web site: http://members.aol.com/gfredlee/gfl.htm

via e-mail

April, 1998

Julie Roth, Exec. Director
DSCSOC
Route 2, Box 2879
Davis, CA 95616
Dear Julie:

Recently I have become involved in litigation on behalf of the Sports Fishing Alliance against El Dorado County regarding the pollution of Martinez Creek by the Union Mine Landfill. The Sports Fishing Alliance is attempting to force the County to obtain an NPDES permit for wastewater discharges associated with stormwater runoff from the landfill which contains waste components from landfill seepage and spray irrigation of wastes on the land surface. This situation results in some runoff of waste-derived constituents in stormwater runoff from the area. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board staff has determined that the County stormwater runoff should be under an NPDES permit since the stormwater runoff contains these waste components. However, the County is resisting being subject to an NPDES permit for wastewater discharges as opposed to a stormwater runoff NPDES permit.

At this time, the way the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and, for that matter, other boards are implementing stormwater runoff permits; they are not complying with the regulations of requiring an appropriate monitoring program to determine what constituents in the stormwater runoff are adverse to the beneficial uses of the receiving waters for the runoff. This is exactly the situation that has occurred year after year at the LEHR site where a grossly inadequate stormwater runoff water quality monitoring program has been conducted by DOE and UCD.

The El Dorado County Union Mine Landfill stormwater runoff situation caused me to inquire about whether the stormwater runoff from the UCD campus which passes through exposed wastes at the LEHR site Landfill No. 3 should be under an NPDES permit for waste discharges. I have learned that while the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board staff have known of this situation for some time and agree that it should be under an NPDES permit for waste water discharges no action has been taken to enforce the regulations. This appears to be more looking the other way with respect to regulating UCD's management to wastes where UCD neighbors have had and continue to have to experience UCD's mismanagement of its campus wastes including stormwater runoff.

I also learned that the way that DSCSOC can bring this matter to proper resolution is to file a formal complaint with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board on this issue. As you know, I have been recommending to DSCSOC for over a year that because of the recalcitrant polluter approach followed by the L. Vanderhoef administration and its staff in addressing stormwater runoff matters from the LEHR site, that DSCSOC should file a complaint with the CVRWQCB. Now there is no question that if there is not adequate resolution of proper monitoring of the stormwater that passes through the exposed wastes at Landfill No. 3, that a complaint should be filed to force UCD to get an NPDES permit for waste discharges from Landfill No. 3. This, in turn, would force UCD into a proper monitoring mode to ensure that Putah Creek is more adequately protected from UCD's mismanaged campus and LEHR site wastes.

DSCSOC has provided detailed guidance on the stormwater runoff monitoring program that is needed. The UCD L. Vanderhoef administration and its staff persist with grossly inadequate monitoring compared to that which should have been undertaken years ago if UCD and the regulatory agencies had taken appropriate action when this was first brought to their attention in the summer of 1995. You may recall that at that time you and I were told by DOE representatives as part of our initial tour of the LEHR site, that no water from the ditch that drains UCD stormwater through the top of Landfill No. 3 enters Putah Creek. It was obvious based on the valve structure on the levee that this assessment was incorrect. This was proven with the first stormwater runoff where I photographed water flowing from the Campus Landfill No. 3 ditch into Putah Creek. Now, almost three years later, we still do not have resolution of this situation. While UCD has finally promised to address this problem this summer there remains to be seen whether their promise will be kept.

I suggest that you pass this material to the RPMs, indicating that DSCSOC will take action in this matter if it is not resolved before the first storm of the fall 1998 season.

Sincerely yours,

G. Fred Lee, PhD, DEE

GFL:oh