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CSPA Intervenes to Stop Toxic Discharges from McClellan Air Force Base

by Dan Bacher
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) is seeking status as a "designated party" with the Regional Water Quality Control Board to stop increased discharge of toxic chemicals into Central Valley waterways from the decommissioned McClellan Air Force Base. The increased toxic discharge would further imperil collapsing populations of Central Valley salmon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, theadfin shad, striped bass and other species.
Fishing Groups Requests 'Designated Party" Status in McClellan Toxic Waste Disposal Fiasco

by Dan Bacher

In strongly worded letter to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) on September 10 requested status as a "designated party" in the McClellan Air Force Base toxic waste disposal fiasco. CSPA's status as "designated party" would allow for direct input into the renewal permit process to make sure that toxic waste is not discharged into Central Valley waterways from the decommissioned base.

Magpie Creek flows through McClellan and for decades carried the effluents of the Base's domestic and industrial waste treatment plants into the Sacramento River through Steellhead Creek above the mouth of the American River. McClellan is located approximately seven miles northeast of Sacramento in Sacramento County and covers 2,952 acres. Operations at the base involved the use, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials, including industrial solvents, caustic cleaners, electroplating chemicals, heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), low-level radioactive wastes, and various fuel oils and lubricants.

Opened in 1935, for the vast majority of its operational lifetime, McClellan was a logistics and maintenance facility for a wide variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies, primarily under the cognizance of the Air Force Logistics Command and later the Air Force Material Command. Unfortunately, McClellan also became dumping ground for the Air Force's toxic waste.

The Air Force has identified 326 waste areas of known and suspected contamination at the former base. McClellan closed as an active military base in July 2001.

"When the base was decommissioned in the late 90's, it was found that the operations at the facility had created a toxic wasteland," according to Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. "A major cleanup of the facility was put in place before large portions of the base were leased out to commercial enterprises. The base received a waste water treatment discharge permit as part of that clean up effort."

In reviewing the permits application for renewal, CSPA has discovered that the requirements for discharge have been relaxed, allowing for a backsliding in the treatment and isolation of numerous harmful chemicals and other toxins that would be discharged into the valley waterways. "The discharges would be in violation of numerous state and federal standards and would put the valley fisheries at risk," Jennings contends.

In his letter to Mr. Ken Landau, Assistant Executive Officer of the Regional Water Quality Control Board's Central Valley Region, Jennings documented a plethora of violations of state and federal environmental laws in the proposed permit. For example, the proposed permit fails to contain mass-based effluent limits for toxic chemicals including Carbon Tetrachloride, Chromium VI, Dichlorobromomethane, 1,1-Dichloroethane, 1,2- Dichloroethane, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, Tetrachloroethylene, Trichloroethylene, Vinyl Chloride and cis-1, 2-Dichloroethylene as required by Federal Regulations 40 CFR 122.45(b).

The proposed Permit also contains an effluent limitation for acute toxicity that allows mortality to aquatic life that exceeds the Basin Plan water quality objective and does not comply with Federal regulations, at 40 CFR 122.44 (d)(1)(i) or the Clean Water Act.

The release of more toxic discharges into Central Valley and California Delta waterways would only futher imperil collapsing Central Valley chinook salmon and Delta fish populations. Four species of pelagic fish species, including delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad and striped bass, have declined to record low population levels in recent years, due to increased water exports from the Delta, increasing toxic chemical discharges in Central Valley waterways and an influx in invasive species.

The last thing our collapsing public trust fisheries need is for the water board to allow the increased dumping of toxic chemicals into the Sacramento River and Delta!

For the complete letter by Jennings, go to http://www.calsport.org/wq9-10-08b.pdf
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