Water quality board fines Balboa Bay Club

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- A regional water agency has fined the Balboa Bay Club

$60,000 for 20 separate violations of raising sulfide levels in nearby

waters beyond acceptable limits.

The high sulfide levels in the bay waters near the club are caused by

construction work, said Gary Stewart, chief of surveillance and

enforcement for the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Stewart explained that ground water at the site has been pumped out to

allow the construction of some underground facilities of the club. The

water, which has high levels of hydrogen sulfide caused by the natural

decomposition of plant and animal life, has been routinely pumped into

the bay near the club, Stewart said.

“What they should have been doing is putting the water through a

treatment process,” said Stewart, whose agency has imposed a

$3,000-per-violation fine for all 20 violations. Bay Club management can

contest the fines; if they choose to appeal, a hearing would be held May

31.

David Wooten, president of the club, did not return phone calls for

comment Monday.

The violations span the period between February 2001 and January 2002.

They were first called to the regional board’s attention by Orange County

CoastKeeper crews that were performing algae studies nearby.

“You could smell it before you’d see it,” said Garry Brown, executive

director for CoastKeeper. “The discharge was virtually black.”

Since the regional board was notified of the situation, bay waters

near the club have been tested weekly, showing the club operations in

violation an average of 2.5 weeks each month. The regional board’s policy

is to give violators time to correct the problem before imposing fines.

“This means they were polluting the bay and not taking care to

properly treat the water -- I’d call that an unacceptable neighbor,” said

Bob Caustin, founding director of environmental group Defend the Bay.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .