Stockton Denies Illegal Polluting: It Says Ammonia Discharges into River Not Violation
By Alex Breitler, The Record, Stockton, Calif.
Oct. 18–Six San Joaquin Valley communities violated their wastewater discharge permits in 2005, sending potentially dangerous pollutants into waterways that drain to the Delta.
But federal data suggesting Stockton was one of the most frequent illegal polluters among all California cities are inaccurate, city officials said Wednesday.
The data were publicly reported last week by environmental group U.S. PIRG in advance of today’s 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The group examined Environmental Protection Agency records for thousands of cities and reported that more than 3,600 — about 57 percent — violated the Clean Water Act at least once in 2005.
Stockton was alleged to have committed 50 violations, with ammonia levels in its treated wastewater exceeding its permit by anywhere from 23 percent to 1,245 percent.
“It looks bad,” said Steve Gittings, deputy director of the city’s Municipal Utilities Department.
But the permit that Stockton stands accused of violating doesn’t take effect until August, Gittings said. So while it’s true that ammonia was discharged into the San Joaquin River, it was not illegal, he said.
In 2002, the state issued Stockton a new permit with more stringent ammonia limits. The city sued; that lawsuit was ultimately dropped and implementation of the permit delayed. For now, the city operates under a 1994 permit that does not cap ammonia.
In the meantime, officials have finished a $42 million upgrade at the wastewater plant near the Port of Stockton and are preparing to take over operations from waterworks company OMI-Thames next year after a judge threw out the city’s privatization agreement.
The plant’s upgraded equipment uses bacteria to eat up ammonia before treated wastewater is released into the river, Gittings said. As a result, the 2002 permit levels will be met, he said.
Ammonia has long been a problem in the San Joaquin River. It sucks oxygen out of the water and contributes to frequent fish kills.
“Obviously, I was surprised” to see the number of violations noted in the report, said Mark Madison, Stockton’s director of Municipal Utilities. “I’ll get with EPA and see if it can be rectified.”
An EPA spokeswoman did not respond Wednesday to a request to explain the federal government’s numbers.
The questionable data are disconcerting, said Christy Leavitt, who authored the environmentalists’ report.
It does not change the report’s central claim, she said, that the goals of the Clean Water Act have not been realized and that enforcement of violations has been lax.
Eighty-one facilities nationwide exceeded their permits every month of the year. More than 600 violated permits at least six months of the year.
A range of potentially dangerous substances was discharged up and down the San Joaquin River.
Lodi was pegged for nine violations, including discharging chlorine and fecal bacteria. A city spokesman called these single episodes and said no fines were levied by state regulators. The city plans $31 million in upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.
Manteca recorded 10 violations, most of which are “pretty minor,” said Phil Govea, the city’s Public Works Department deputy director.
Still, he said, “We’re not just shrugging our shoulders and saying, ‘Oh, well.’ We’ve taken all of these exceedences and violations seriously.”
Even minor violations add up, said Stockton Delta watchdog Bill Jennings.
“We’re still increasing the mass loading of pollutants into these waters,” he said.
The U.S. PIRG report does not consider pollution from smaller facilities or farms, which also contribute to fish kills at the Stockton Deep Water Channel.
Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com.
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