Klamath Riverkeeper Asks Siskiyou County to 'Get Their Crap Together'

Klamath Riverkeeper Press Release | For Immediate Release

Contact: Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper, office: (530) 627-3311, cell: (530)340-5415, erica at klamathriver.org

October 14, 2009

KRK TAKES ACTION ON SISKIYOU COUNTY'S ILLEGAL SEPTAGE POND
Local watchdog group demands that County comply with environmental laws

Yreka, CA--If septic waste or toxic chemicals from the aging Siskiyou Airport septage pond northeast of Montague were seeping into groundwater, Oregon Slough or even the Shasta River, no one would know it, said a letter the watchdog group Klamath Riverkeeper sent to Siskiyou County this week.

That's because the County doesn't monitor its unpermitted septage pond for groundwater pollution or report waste discharges to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board as state law requires, said Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence, even though it's widely acknowledged that rainwater percolates through the sludge in the pond and into the porous material below.

Riverkeeper's letter, dated October 13, demanded that Siskiyou County comply immediately with its mandatory duties under California's Porter Cologne Water Quality Act, and noted that the group plans to seek court-ordered compliance if the County does not correct the problem within 30 days. The Porter Cologne Act is California’s version of the Clean Water Act and states that anyone discharging waste must report and obtain the appropriate permit.

"Siskiyou County has been well aware of problems with the septic pond since 1995, and has been on notice by the Water Board since 2003, so they've had plenty of time to get their crap together and do something about it," Terence said. "Literally."

The pond, which was constructed in 1972, now accepts about 1.5 million gallons of septage waste each year, according to County records. The facility receives partially treated waste from all County residents’ septic tanks and from port-a-potty services. Old oil cans and other potential pollutants have also been dumped at the site. Files at the County's Public Works and Public Health divisions also indicate that the pond has no attendant, and keys to the locked cable gate are given out on an "honors system."

"Lax security and a total lack of monitoring or oversight for almost 40 years point to an accountability gap in sewage management in this county," Terence said.

Although the County decided at a July 14, 2009 Board of Supervisors meeting to close the pond and move the waste to an appropriate facility, no time schedule, funding sources or implementation plan have since been put forward, Terence pointed out.

The County needs to conduct regular waste discharge reporting until the pond is fully closed and the waste there has been responsibly removed, transported and remediated, Riverkeeper insisted.

"Repeatedly ignoring this festering problem puts residents’ drinking water at risk, and calls into question Siskiyou County government’s commitment to represent the interests of the public." Terence said. She added, “It’s a shame when so many people are working hard to restore the Shasta watershed and Siskiyou County is just not holding up their end of the deal.”

Terence also noted that Riverkeeper is not the only one to make a stink about the pond, which neighbors have repeatedly complained about as a potential breeding ground for disease, a hazard to wildlife and a groundwater contaminant risk.

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