Op-Ed: SYRCL: A Victory for the South Yuba on Donner Summit

Published on May 6, 2009 - 6:55:01 AM

By: Jason Rainey, South Yuba River Citizens League

NEVADA CITY, Calif. May 6, 2009 - We recently had a victory for the South Yuba River thanks to the efforts of Jerry Bloom, Karen Cox, Katie and Joe Gray, Don Harkin, John Leonard, Evelyn Soltero, John Timmer, Linda Waddle, James Wofford, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), and Olivia Diaz, Barbara Rivenes and the Sierra Nevada Group (Mother Lode Chapter) of the Sierra Club, and Peter Van Zant of Sierra Watch.

For the past year, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) has been actively following Donner Summit Public Utility District's NPDES permit renewal process. This permit allows the wastewater treatment plant to discharge treated effluent into the river at times when there is often little flow in the headwaters region of the South Yuba. Donner Summit PUD was asking the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) for allowances to discharge treated effluent with higher levels of constituents like nitrates and dichlorobromethane.

DSPUD based their request on the presumption there is enough water in the river for dilution of these constituents. SYRCL and the public argued that Donner Summit's flow assumptions were based on flawed data taken from a gauge ten miles downstream of the discharge location. At the April 24th public hearing the regional waterboard agreed with us and approved a permit that did not grant dilution credits to the wastewater treatment plant.

We at SYRCL want to thank all these citizens and groups who not only spoke out by writing comments on the tentative permit but also attended the public hearing in Rancho Cordova at the offices of the CVRWQCB. This victory could not have been accomplished without their support!

Sincerely,

Jason Rainey, Executive Director
Gary Reedy, River Science Director
Susan Snider, Yuba Headwaters Campaign Director
South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)

Website: www.syrcl.org

In the interest of fostering civil and issue-oriented discourse, YubaNet does not publish reader comments identified by anonymous Internet "handles" (fake user ID names like "farfromthinkin"). Your full and real name will be published with your comment. Your email address will not be shown, unless you specifically "uncheck" the box 'Hide my email.' By submitting a comment you consent to our rules.