Memo 9 Oct 08

California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region Karl E. Longley, ScD, P.E., Chair Linda S. Adams

11020 Sun Center Drive #200, Rancho Cordova, California 95670-6114 Phone (916) 464-3291 • FAX (916) 464-4645 http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralvalley

Secretary for Environmental Protection

Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor

TO:

Wendy Wyels Supervisor Compliance and Enforcement Section

FROM:

Oscar Biondi WRC Engineer NPDES Compliance and Enforcement Unit

DATE:

9 October 2008

SIGNATURE:

SUBJECT:

REVIEW OF 17/18 JULY 2008 LAKESHORE SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW, DISCOVERY BAY, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY OSCAR BIONDI

BACKGROUND The Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District (DBCSD) owns a wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal system, and provides sewerage service to the community of Discovery Bay. The treatment facility is operated by Southwest Water Company (formerly ECO Resources, Inc.) under contract with DBCSD. The DBCSD’S collection system is currently regulated under Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) Order R5-2003-0067 (NPDES No. CA0078590) and Order 2006-0003-DWQ, Statewide General WDRs for Sanitary Sewer Systems, as revised by Order WQ 2008-0002EXEC. On 17 July 2008, the DBCSD experienced a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) from its collection system at the residential community of Lakeshore. The SSO was a result of a pump station malfunction after a power outage. The SSO had a duration of approximately 11 hours and 20 minutes. The volume of raw sewage spilled was calculated by the DBCSD’s engineer to be between 77,000 and 111,000 gallons. The SSO originated from a sewer cleanout and entered a storm drain that discharges to a 37 million gallon manmade lake at the Lakeshore community. All the wastewater spilled is assumed to have reached the lake. On 14 August 2008, the Central Valley Water Board conducted a site investigation of the 17/18 July 2008 Lakeshore spill and provided the DBCSD with an inspection report dated 28 August 2008. The inspection report included a California Water Code (CWC) Section 13267 Order for Information (13267 Order), signed by the Executive Officer, requiring the DBCSD to submit technical reports by 10 September 2008 that were needed by Central Valley Water Board staff to complete its SSO investigation. On 10 September 2008, the Central Valley Water Board received DBCSD’s response to the 13267 Order. The DBCSD did not fully comply with the 13267 Order, and has failed to comply with several provisions of WDRs Order R5-2003-0067 and General Order 2006-0003-DWQ.

California Environmental Protection Agency Recycled Paper

Wendy Wyels

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9 October 2008

VIOLATIONS SUMMARY Central Valley Water Board staff has reviewed the events during and after the 17/18 July 2008 Lakeshore SSO, including the information supplied by the DBCSD, and determined that the DBCSD did not comply with WDRs Order R5-2003-0067 or General Order 2006-0003-DWQ as follows (each item describes the limitation, followed by a discussion of the violation of that limitation): 1. Order R5-2003-0067, Prohibition A.1. – Discharge of wastewater at a location or in a manner different from that described in Finding No. 2 is prohibited. The 17/18 July 2008 SSO was not treated or discharged at an authorized waste discharge location, in violation of the Prohibition. 2. Order R5-2003-0067, Prohibition A.2. – The bypass or overflow of untreated or partially treated wastes to surface waters is prohibited… Order 2006-0003-DWQ Prohibition C.1. – Any SSO that results in a discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater to waters of the United States is prohibited. The 17/18 July 2008 SSO discharged into a private lake that has an outflow, and is therefore hydraulically connected to the Delta, a water of the United States. The discharge violated both Prohibitions. 3. WDRs Order R5-2003-0067 Standard Provisions A.21. - A copy of this Order shall be maintained at the discharge facility and be available at all times to operating personnel. Key operating personnel shall be familiar with its content. The DBCSD’s key operating personnel, including the wastewater treatment plant chief plant operator and the DBCSD’s general manager, were unaware of all the reporting requirements included in the Order. This is a violation of WDRs Standard Provisions A.21. 4. WDRs Order R5-2003-0067 Standard Provisions B.1. - In the event the Discharger does not comply or will be unable to comply for any reason, with any prohibition, daily maximum effluent limitation, or receiving water limitation of this Order, the Discharger shall notify the Board by telephone (916) 255-3000 [Note: Current phone numbers for all three Regional Board offices may be found on the internet at http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb5/contact_us.] within 24 hours of having knowledge of such noncompliance, and shall confirm this notification in writing within five days, unless the Regional Board waives confirmation. The written notification shall state the nature, time, duration, and cause of noncompliance, and shall describe the measures being taken to remedy the current noncompliance and, prevent recurrence including, where applicable, a schedule of implementation. Other noncompliance requires written notification as above at the time of the normal monitoring report. The DBCSD did not comply with the requirement to submit a written report within five days of the spill. This is a violation of WDRs Standard Provision B.1. The report was not submitted until 10 September 2008, 53 days after the spill.

Wendy Wyels

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9 October 2008

5. WDRs Order R5-2003-0067 Standard Provisions B.2.b. - Upon written request by the Board the Discharger shall submit a written description of safeguards. Such safeguards may include alternate power sources, standby generators, retention capacity, operating procedures, or other means. A description of the safeguards provided shall include an analysis of the frequency, duration, and impact of power failures experienced over the past five years on effluent quality and on the capability of the Discharger to comply with the terms and conditions of the Order. The adequacy of the safeguards is subject to the approval of the Board. The DBCSD, after receiving a 13267 Order from the Executive Officer of the Central Valley Water Board, failed to submit an analysis of the frequency, duration, and impact of power failures experienced over the past five years. This is a violation of CWC section 13267 and WDRs Standard Provisions B.2.b. 6. Order 2006-0003-DWQ Section C.2. - Any SSO that results in a discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater that creates a nuisance as defined in California Water Code Section 13050(m) is prohibited. WDRs Order R5-2003-0067, Prohibition A.4. – Neither the Discharge nor its treatment shall create a nuisance as defined in Section 13050 of the California Water Code. The 17/18 July Lakeshore SSO created a nuisance as defined in CWC Section 13050 (m). This is a violation of Section C.2. of the General Order, and Prohibition A.4. of WDRs Order R5-2003-0067. 7. Order 2006-0003-DWQ Provision D.5. - All SSOs must be reported in accordance with Section G of the General WDRs; Order 2006-0003-DWQ Provision G.2.- The Enrollee shall comply with the attached Monitoring and Reporting Program No. 2006-0003… Order 2006-0003-DWQ MRP Section A.4. - Category 1 SSOs – All SSOs that meet the above criteria for Category 1 SSOs must be reported as soon as: (1) the Enrollee has knowledge of the discharge, (2) reporting is possible, and (3) reporting can be provided without substantially impeding cleanup or other emergency measures. Initial reporting of Category 1 SSOs must be reported to the Online SSO System as soon as possible but no later than 3 business days after the Enrollee is made aware of the SSO. Minimum information that must be contained in the 3-day report must include all information identified in section 9 below, except for item 9.K. A final certified report must be completed through the Online SSO System, within 15 calendar days of the conclusion of SSO response and remediation. Additional information may be added to the certified report, in the form of an attachment, at any time. The above reporting requirements do not preclude other emergency notification requirements and timeframes mandated by other regulatory agencies (local County Health Officers, local Director of Environmental Health, Regional Water Boards, or Office of Emergency Services (OES)) or State law.

Wendy Wyels

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9 October 2008

The DBCSD did not report the 17/18 July Lakeshore SSO in accordance with the General Order’s Monitoring and Reporting Program Provision A.4. As required under the General Order, DBCSD is required to submit an initial SSO report for a Category 1 spill by entering the information in the California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS) database no later than three business days after being made aware of the Category 1 SSO. Since DBCSD was aware of the SSO on 18 July 2008 at 9:17 hours, the deadline was 22 July 2008 at 9:17 hours. DBCSD entered the initial draft on 11 August 2008, nearly 20 days late. A final, certified report is required 15 calendar days after the conclusion of SSO response and remediation. DBSCD certified that the response was complete on 18 July 2008 at 13:30 hours, however it did not enter the report in CIWQS until 10 September 2008, nearly 39 days late. This late reporting is a violation of Order 2006-0003-DWQ. 8. Order 2006-0003-DWQ Provision D.7. - When a sanitary sewer overflow occurs, the Enrollee shall take all feasible steps and necessary remedial actions to 1) control or limit the volume of untreated or partially treated wastewater discharged, 2) terminate the discharge, and 3) recover as much of the wastewater discharged as possible for proper disposal, including any wash down water. The Enrollee shall implement all remedial actions to the extent they may be applicable to the discharge and not inconsistent with an emergency response plan, including the following: (i) Interception and rerouting of untreated or partially treated wastewater flows around the wastewater line failure; (ii) Vacuum truck recovery of sanitary sewer overflows and wash down water; (iii) Cleanup of debris at the overflow site; (iv) System modifications to prevent another SSO at the same location; (v) Adequate sampling to determine the nature and impact of the release; and (vi) Adequate public notification to protect the public from exposure to the SSO. The DBCSD did not properly clean up wastewater debris collected at the overflow site until requested by Central Valley Water Board staff on 14 August 2008. The DBCSD also failed to provide adequate public notification by not posting signs where the spill originated and failing to report the SSO in CIWQS in the required timeframe. In addition, for this incident, DBCSD failed to properly contain the waste by turning off fountains that were spraying mist. These actions are violations of Provision D.7. of the General Order. 9. Order 2006-0003-DWQ Section G.3. - All Enrollees must obtain SSO Database accounts and receive a “Username” and “Password” by registering through the California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS). These accounts will allow controlled and secure entry into the SSO Database. Additionally, within 30 days of receiving an account and prior to recording spills into the SSO Database, all Enrollees must complete the “Collection System Questionnaire”, which collects pertinent information regarding a Enrollee’s collection system. The “Collection System Questionnaire” must be updated at least every 12 months.

Wendy Wyels

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9 October 2008

The DBCSD enrolled in the SSO Database in 2006. However, the DBCSD did not complete or update the “Collection System Questionnaire” until 10 September 2008. This is a violation of Section G.3. of the General Order. 10. Order 2006-0003-DWQ MRP Section A.7. - If there are no SSOs during the calendar month, the Enrollee will provide, within 30 days after the end of each calendar month, a statement through the Online SSO Database certifying that there were no SSOs for the designated month. The DBCSD has not completed any no-spill certifications through CIWQS. This is a violation of MRP Section A.7. of the General Order 11. CWC Section 13267 states in part: In conducting an investigation specified in subdivision (a), the regional board may require that any person who has discharged, discharges, or is suspected of having discharged or discharging, or who proposes to discharge waste within its region, or any citizen or domiciliary, or political agency or entity of this state who has discharged, discharges, or is suspected of having discharged or discharging, or who proposes to discharge, waste outside of its region that could affect the quality of waters within its region shall furnish, under penalty of perjury, technical or monitoring program reports which the regional board requires. The DBCSD’s response to the 13267 Order did not include all of the information required by the Central Valley Water Board. The DBCSD submitted the 5-day technical report which covered the cause of non-compliance with the spill, measures taken to remedy the current non-compliance with the spill, and measures taken to prevent recurrence of spills. However, the DBCSD did not address the cause, remedy, or prevention of non-compliance due to inadequate reporting. The 13267 Order also required the DBCSD to submit an analysis of the frequency, duration, and impact of power failures experienced over the past five years. This analysis was not included in DBCSD’s report. Finally, the 13267 Order required the DBCSD to submit a technical report of preventive (failsafe) and contingency (cleanup) plans for controlling accidental discharges, and for minimizing the effect of such events. The DBCSD’s technical report did not provide the current preventive and contingency plans for controlling accidental discharges, and for minimizing the effect of SSOs. The DBCSD’s response stated that such plans will be included in the Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) scheduled to be completed in May 2009. The lack of a complete report is a violation of CWC section 13267.

SUMMARY The DBCSD’s response to a Category 1 SSO on 17/18 July 2008 violated several provisions of WDRs Order R5-2003-0067 and General Order 2006-0003-DWQ, as outlined above. DBCSD failed to properly operate its collection system, which contributed to the spill occurring, and then it did not properly report or clean up the spill after it became aware of the problem. In addition, for this incident, DBCSD failed to properly contain the waste by turning off fountains that were spraying mist.

Wendy Wyels

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9 October 2008

DBCSD has violated several provisions of General Order 2006-0003-DWQ as revised by Order WQ 2008-0002-EXEC, by failing to submit required information to CIWQS regarding its collection system by the deadlines provided in that Order. DBCSD is also in violation of Water Code Section 13268 for failing to provide information required pursuant to the Water Code Section 13267 Order, as described in violation 11, above. General Order 2006-0003-DWQ requires that DBCSD prepare an Overflow Emergency Response Plan by 2 May 2009. However, because of the deficiencies observed in SSO reporting and response, the DBCSD should complete and submit the SSMP Overflow Emergency Response Plan as soon as possible.