Water discharge standards on hold

Alicia Robinson

Cities in the San Diego Creek and Newport Bay watershed have, for the

time being, escaped stricter standards on what can be in the

groundwater they discharge into Newport Bay.

The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board decided at a

meeting Friday it will give staff members at least until its next

meeting in November to discuss alternatives with stakeholders and

possibly overhaul the proposed new standards, instead of adopting the

new permit requirements.

The water flows that would be governed by the new permit include

groundwater pumped out of construction sites, swimming pool drainage

and water from household sump pumps. They often contain nitrates,

which cause algae blooms, and selenium, which can be harmful to birds

and other wildlife. A permit isn’t required for those releases now,

though they do fall under existing limits on what can be discharged

in the watershed.

The board agreed to delay the higher permit standards in response

to a report from some groundwater dischargers that said the proposed

limits are unfeasible. Among those who signed off on the report were

the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach, as well as the

Irvine Co. and Caltrans.

The report instead proposed that those entities continue following

current guidelines while monitoring their discharges, studying water

treatment methods and working with the board to develop more specific

standards.

Some environmentalists worried that a delay in adopting the new

standards would further compromise the health of area water bodies.

The dischargers’ alternate proposal doesn’t do much except study

alternatives, said Jack Skinner, a Newport Beach environmentalist who

attended the meeting.

He added that nitrogen and selenium would continue to flow into

Newport Bay during the five years before tighter standards become

mandatory.

Outside the meeting, Bob Caustin of Defend the Bay said he was

disappointed that the board chose not to adopt the proposed permit

with tougher water-release standards.

Defend the Bay threatened a lawsuit eight years ago that led to

the establishment of the existing standards. Caustin said the

dischargers want more studies so they can put off new standards that

will cost them more to comply with.

“They’re looking for the cheapest way of getting us off their

back,” he said.

Caustin said he was surprised that Newport Beach signed off on the

report asking to delay higher standards because the city is generally

proactive about water quality. Newport Beach Assistant City Manager

Dave Kiff said the city had unanswered questions, such as whether

homeowners will still be able to pump selenium-laden water out of

their basements under the new permit.

“We generally agree with the whole concept and where the board’s

headed, especially as it would apply to big groundwater discharges,”

he said. “We probably do want tougher standards, and that’s why maybe

signing on to that [report] doesn’t appropriately say that.”

Newport Beach officials are amenable to seeing some new standards

proposed for adoption in November, but they may not want to wait much

longer than that, Kiff said.

“That seems like an appropriate time period,” he said, adding, “we

may be at a point in November be where we agree that they should

adopt the permit and then the standards will follow.”