STATE OF CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARDCENTRAL COAST REGION

STAFF REPORT FOR REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 23, 2001Prepared on February 20, 2001

ITEM: 27

SUBJECT: Executive Officer’s Report to the Board

Brief discussion of some items of interest to theBoard follow. Upon request, staff can providemore detailed information about any particularitem.

Watershed and Cleanup Branch Reports

REGULATION SUMMARY OFDECEMBER 2000/JANUARY 2001[Corinne Huckaby 805/549-3504 and Maura Mahon 805/542-4642]

OrdersReports of Waste Discharge Received 7Requirements Pending 69Inspections Made 47*Self-Monitoring Reports Reviewed (WB) 258*Self-Monitoring Reports Reviewed (CB) 215Stormwater Reports Reviewed 5

EnforcementNon-Compliance Letters Sent:

NPDES Program 1Non-Chapter 15 WDR Program 9Chapter 15 Program 1

Unregulated 0CAOs Issued 4ACL Complaints 2Notice to Comply (NTC) 0Storm Water (NOV) 5Unregulated (FTS’s – Tanks) 4Storm Water (ACL Complaints) 1

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS[Corinne Huckaby 805/549-3504]

Conditional Certification is appropriate when aproject may adversely impact surface waterquality. Conditions allow the project to proceed

under an Army Corps permit, while upholdingwater quality standards.

The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) hasgiven approval of the “rule making record” andproposed regulations to govern Water QualityCertification. The new regulations effect thefollowing changes:

1. Delegate day to day certification action to theRegional Boards (EO). Multi-Region issues andwater rights issues are still handled by State Board.2. Implement a new fee structure. The new feesare: $500 for standard certification and $1000 peracre (up to 10 acres) for conditional certifications.There are three actions available, StandardCertification ($500), Conditional Certification($1000/acre up to 10 acres), and Denial.3. Revise the petition process to include aggrievedparties, not just the applicant.4. Bring the program into better compliance withCEQA, permit streamlining, the Clean Water Actand Porter-Cologne.

In general, staff recommends “StandardCertification” when the applicant proposesadequate mitigation. Measures included in theapplication must assure that beneficial uses will beprotected, and water quality standards will be met.

Staff will recommend “No Action” when nodischarge or adverse impacts are expected.Generally, a project must provide beneficial use andhabitat enhancement for no action to be taken by theRegional Board. A chart on the following page listsapplications received through February 9, 2001.

Item No. 2 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN DECEMBER 16, 2000 AND FEBRURY 9, 2001

DATE RECEIVED APPLICANT PROJECT DESCRIPTIONPROJECT

LOCATIONRECEIVING

WATER ACTION TAKENDecember 18, 2000 Caltrans Replace existing headwall and

construct energy dissipatorSalinas Bear Creek Standard Certification

December 18, 2000 Monterey CountyPublic Works Dept.

Seismic Retrofit Project DavisRoad

Salinas Salinas River Standard Certification

December 18, 2000 Caltrans Culvert Extension on Highway154

Santa Barbara Co. Hot Spring Creek Standard Certification

December 20, 2000 City of San LuisObispo

Bank Stabilization Project Cayucos Little Cayucos Creek Pending

December 20, 2000 California ArmyNational Guard

Environmental RestorationProject

San Luis Obispo Wetlands, ChorroCreek

Pending

December 21, 2000 San Benito CountyPublic Works

Temporary Seasonal Crossing Tres Pinos Tres Pinos Creek Pending

January 5, 2001 Santa Barbara CountyPublic Works

Dutard-Soloman Trunk SewerProject

Orcutt Orcutt (Soloman)Creek and tributaries

Pending

January 11, 2001 City of Solvang Hans Christian Anderson ParkAdobe Creek Safety Revetment

Solvang Santa Ynez River Pending

January 12, 2001 Caltrans Emergency Project Placementof RSP to Protect Roadway

Piedras Blancas Pacific Ocean andArroyo del Osos Creek

Standard Certification

January 12, 2001 Tower Grove Vintners Irrigation Pipeline Installation Near Ventucopa Cuyama River Pending

January 18, 2001 Paso RoblesVineyards Inc.

Install irrigation pipeline underHuerHuero Creek

Paso Robles HuerHuero Creek Pending

January 24, 2001 Monterey County Dredging Sediment from OldSalinas River Channel

Monterey Co. Salinas River Pending

January 25, 2001 Venoco Maintenance of access road totwo offshore wells along coast

Goleta Wetland; Ocean Pending

January 25, 2001 City of Atascadero Atascadero RecreationalVehicle Park

Atascadero Salinas River Pending

February 1, 2001 Rancho Latigo Long-Term RestorationProgram

Santa Ynez Latigo and CorralesCreeks tributary toSanta Aqueda Creek

Pending

February 1, 2001 San Benito CountyDPW

Low Water Crossing Dredgingfor Southside Road

Hollister Tres Pinos Creek Pending

February 8, 2001 Caltrans Fish Passage ImprovementProject

Chorro Valley San Luisito Creektributary to ChorroCreek

Pending

Item No. March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

3

(Watershed Branch Reports continued)

STATUS REPORTS

Morro Bay National Estuary Program(MBNEP) Grant Proposal [Bill Hoffman805/772-3834]

Under the Executive Officer’s authority, theCentral Coast Regional Water Quality ControlBoard is proposing to enter into a grant withthe U.S. EPA for approximately $60,000 insupport of the Morro Bay National EstuaryProgram (MBNEP). The Central CoastRegional Water Quality Control Board hasreceived grant funding for the support of thisprogram since 1995. Additional funding forthe MBNEP is provided through a separateEPA grant to the Bay Foundation of MorroBay.

Over the last five years, the MBNEP has beenpreparing a comprehensive conservation andmanagement plan (CCMP) to identify thewater quality and natural resource impacts,and the corrective actions required to improvethese resources. The CCMP has recently beenapproved by Governor Davis and the EPAAdministrator in Washington D.C. TheMBNEP is now initiating the implementationphase of the CCMP, which will start to correctsome of the water quality and natural resourceimpacts. The MBNEP anticipates makingsubstantial progress on implementing thesecorrective actions over the next 5-10 years,however full implementation will take longer.

The Executive Officer recommends supportingthese much needed, ongoing implementationefforts and anticipates future grant fundingrequests to EPA for this support.

General Waste Discharge Requirements in LosOsos [Sorrel Marks 805/549-3695]

At its March 31, 2000 meeting, the Boardapproved General Order No. 00-12, WasteDischarge Requirements for Residential On-site Wastewater Systems within the BayviewHeights and Martin Tract Areas of Los Osos,

San Luis Obispo County. Since adoption ofGeneral Order No. 00-12, nine single-familyresidential projects have filed Notices of Intent(applications) for coverage under the GeneralOrder. Each of the applicants’ projectscomplies with the criteria specified in GeneralOrder No. 00-12 and has been approved forcoverage under the Order.

Los Osos Wastewater Project [Sorrel Marks805/549-3695]

Following is a brief summary of newinformation relating to the Los Ososwastewater project since the status reportprovided during the Board’s October 27, 2000meeting.

The Los Osos Community Services District(CSD) submitted its quarterly status report onJanuary 11, 2001. The report is included asAttachment 1. The report indicates significanteffort continues on the project, howeverpotential project delays are also documented ina February 5, 2001 letter (Attachment 2).Reasons for the potential delays are due to lateand substantial comments received on the draftEIR from the Coastal Commission andCalifornia Department of Fish and Game. Thelater comment letter is particularly worrisometo Regional Board staff as Fish and Game staffhave requested substantial habitat mitigationwithout sufficient justification. Thisrequirement may be particularly onerous andcostly to the CSD and may jeopardize theeconomics of the wastewater project.

During the past few months, the CSD hascirculated the draft Environmental ImpactReport and draft Facilities Plan for publiccomment. Staff reviewed both documents andprovided comments (Attachments 3 and 4).The documents summarize a technically,environmentally and economically soundproject and include thorough evaluation ofalternatives. In short, staff supports the projectproposed by the CSD.

Item No. 4 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

Time Schedule Order No. 00-131 (adopted bythe Board in November, 2000) includes thefollowing compliance dates:

Task CompletionDate

Circulate draft EIR 12/15/00(done)

Final CEQA document 04/01/01

Form assessment district orcomparable financing forwastewater system 07/29/01

Complete approved design plans 07/15/02

Submit County Use andCoastal Development permits 07/15/02

Begin construction 09/06/02

Complete construction 08/30/04

Status Reports due two weeks after each abovedate.

In order to precipitate dialogue and communicatewith the CSD, during the past few months staffhas participated in the following:

November 13th: Meeting with Los Osos CSD,County Supervisor Bianchi, County Planningand Engineering, Coastal Commission, Fish andGame, Fish and Wildlife, and CongresswomanCapp’s staff to discuss status and agency issuesregarding the wastewater project.

December 7th: Meeting of the Los Osos CSDBoard of Directors discussing draft EIR.

January 4th: Meeting with California Dept. ofHealth Services and Los Osos CSD regardingprobable waste discharge requirements for thewastewater facility.

January 22nd: Lunch meeting with Los OsosCSD and various agencies and individualsregarding funding sources to help offset theexpense of the wastewater project upon local

residents. Subsequently a meeting was heldwith Los Osos CSD, County SupervisorBianchi, County Planning and Engineering,Coastal Commission, Fish and Game, Fish andWildlife, and Congresswoman Capp’s staff todiscuss status and agency issues regarding thewastewater project.

February 15th: Meeting of the Los Osos CSDBoard of Directors discussing draft FacilitiesPlan.

San Luis Obispo Creek Bacteria [BradHagemann 805/549-3697]

We have received a number of inquiriesconcerning high coliform counts in San LuisObispo Creek near the Mission Plaza area. Inthe summer months, the Mission Plaza area ofSan Luis Creek is frequently used by childrenfor contact recreation. The inquiries andRegional Board responses are as follows:

1. What are the historical bacteria levels in thearea?

Staff Response: Our initial review indicatesthat we do not have much historical bacteriamonitoring data for the Mission Plaza area.The County Health Department has conductedsome recent sampling that has confirmed theindicator bacteria levels are above Countywater contact recreation standards. As wedevelop the bacteria Total Maximum DailyLoad (TMDL) for SLO Creek, we willdevelop a significant amount of data.

2. One commentator, a biologist, stated thatthe problem has been known for some timeand that the probable cause was leaking pipesbeneath the city since Cuesta Park (about onemile upstream) had low coliform counts.

Staff Response: The City has done extensivework looking for discharge lines, storm draincross connections and other illegalconnections and have eliminated all knownsources. We suspect a possible new source isdue to homeless living along the creek banks.Homeless people have been documented as a

Item No. 5 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

high bacteria source in southern Santa BarbaraCounty creeks.

3. What is being done to identify potentialsources?

Staff Response: Along with the City andCounty Health Department actions, we areinitiating a bacteria TMDL for San Luis Creekthis Spring. This will involve collating andreviewing as much historical data as possible,and additional sampling by Regional Boardstaff in the short-term (at least this springthrough 12/01). Additionally, Regional Boardstaff will continue working with City andCounty staff to establish on-going coordinatedmonitoring for the longer-term. We are alsocurrently working with upstream landownersto improve manure management practices tokeep manure run-off out of the creek.

4. What action is being done in the area andelsewhere in the watershed to protect thepublic?

Staff Response: The County HealthDepartment has concluded that they shouldpost the creek in this area. They are workingon wording and logistics. County Healthexpects the signs to be up by the end ofFebruary in order to offer warnings prior to thespring and summer heavy recreational use.

City of San Juan Bautista [Matt Fabry805/549-3458]

Provision E.2 of Waste DischargeRequirements Order No. 00-006 (NPDESPermit No. CA 0047902) for the City of SanJuan Bautista (City) requires submittal of aReclamation Report (Report) by February 5,2001. The Report was to evaluate reclamationoptions and feasibility for the City’s treatedwastewater. On February 2, 2001, the City’sconsultant, Bracewell Engineering submitted arequest for an extension to June 5, 2001.Bracewell Engineering’s letter (attached)details the City’s progress in developing acooperative reclamation effort with the SanBenito County Water District. Reclamation

efforts include construction of a watertreatment plant to treat imported surface waterfor blending with the City’s existing wellsupply, construction of reclamation facilities atthe City’s wastewater treatment plant, andconstruction of a reclamation distributionpiping system. The San Benito County WaterDistrict retained the consulting firmMontgomery Watson to prepare a conceptualapproach and cost estimates for waterreclamation in the San Juan Bautista area. TheCity, in preparing the required Report, willutilize Montgomery Watson’s report, whichshould be completed by mid-April 2001.

Regional Board staff can not revise the duedate for the Report. Based on the City’sprogress and timely request for a deadlineextension, Regional Board staff does notrecommend enforcement action for failure tosubmit by the February deadline. Staff’sresponse to the extension request is alsoattached, in which the City is required tosubmit a report by April 20, 2001,documenting appropriate progress in meetingthe June 5 timeframe. (See Attachments 5 and6).

Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (SCBI),Stephenson Ranch, Santa Cruz County, OrderNo. 99-007 [Howard Kolb 805/549-3332]

Regional Board staff has reviewed datacollected by SCBI during January 2001. Fivesamples collected at station SW-1 fromJanuary 8, 2001 through January 26, 2001were analyzed for fecal coliform. The fecalcoliform log mean for station SW-1 of 14,875MPN1/100 ml, which exceeds the CentralCoast Region Water Quality Control Planwater quality objective for water contactrecreation. (The standard is a minimum of notless than five samples for any 30-day period,shall not exceed a log mean of 200 MPN/100ml, nor shall more than ten percent of totalsamples during any 30-day period exceed 400MPN/100 ml). Samples collected andanalyzed from stations SW-2 and SW-7 have

1 MPN = most probable number

Item No. 6 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

also exhibited elevated fecal coliform levels.However, there have not been sufficientsamples collected to determine compliance.The elevated fecal coliform level at stationSW-1 violates Waste Discharge RequirementsOrder No. 99-007 water quality protectionstandards.

On February 22, 2001, staff issued a Notice ofViolation (NOV) to SCBI stating the recentviolation demonstrates a need to implementadditional measures as quickly as possible toprevent further impacts to water quality andassociated beneficial uses. The NOV directedSCBI to submit a report to the Regional Boardby March 8, 2001, documenting an assessmentof potential sources of bacteria, a descriptionof management measures to address reductionof the potential sources of bacteria, adescription of management measures to beimplemented, detailed drawings ofmanagement measures to be implemented, asite plan showing were management measuresare to be implemented, and an implementationtimeline for proposed management measures.

Staff will provide the Board with a summaryof SCBI’s response to our Notice of Violationand any additional recommended enforcementactions at the March 23 Board meeting.

Adventco Holding Corporation, PasatiempoInvestments, Pasatiempo II Investments, andRichard S. Gregersen, The Inn at Pasatiempo,Santa Cruz County [Howard Kolb 805/549-3332]

At the September 15, 2000 Regional Boardmeeting, the Board discussed AdventcoHolding Corporation, Pasatiempo Investments,Pasatiempo II Investments, and Richard S.Gregersen, The Inn at Pasatiempo (collectivelyknown as Dischargers), failure to comply withthe revised timeline for installation of anenhanced onsite wastewater treatment system(system). The Regional Board directed theDischargers to report to the Board by October27, 2000, with a signed contract forinstallation of the system and a date for wheninstallation will be complete.

On October 27, 2000, the Dischargerspresented the Board with a signed contract forinstallation of the system and a date of January15, 2001 for installation of the system. OnDecember 6, 2000, Regional Board staffinspected the facility and observedconstruction had begun. On December 14,2000, the Dischargers submitted a letterconfirming excavation for system installation.The system began operation on January 31,2001. On February 21, 2001, Regional Boardstaff inspected the facility and collectedsamples (analytical results pending).

Due to piping and siting limitations, 75% ofwastewater produced at the facility is beingtreated by the enhanced onsite wastewatertreatment system. The other 25% continues tobe treated using a conventional septic system.Staff has revised the Monitoring andReporting Program No. 99-136 to ensure datacollected is representative of wastewaterdischarged. Staff will continue to closelymonitor plant operation activities to ensurecompliance with Waste DischargeRequirements Order No. 99-136.

Cleanup Branch Reports

LOW THREAT DISCHARGES

This section is for dischargers who haverequested approval to discharge water thatposes insignificant threat to water quality orfor sites recommended for case closure (lowrisk sites where no further regulatory action isrequired). Consequently, we conditionallyapproved of these proposals. Conditionscommon to each approval are:

1. If you, the Regional Board, object to theproposal, an NPDES permit or wastedischarge requirements will be preparedfor the Board’s consideration.

2. The discharger remains liable for anytreatment system failure that results insignificant discharge of pollutants.

Item No. 7 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

3. We have a “low threat discharges” generalpermit for surface water dischargesavailable, and the discharger may berequired to file for coverage by thatpermit.

Site descriptions and specific conditions arelisted below for each case.

Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements forPetroleum-degraded Soil Stockpiles at theGuadalupe Oil Field, Unocal Corporation, SanLuis Obispo County [Katie Anderson 805/549-3690]

Unocal submitted a report of waste discharge(ROWD) on December 8, 2000, at the requestof Regional Board staff. The ROWD providesdetail for three soil contaminated soil stockpilelocations at the Guadalupe oil field (seeAttachment 7). There are approximately350,000 cubic yards of diluent-degraded soilstored at these locations, generated fromexcavations required by Cleanup andAbatement Order (CAO) 98-38.

These waste management units will have aminimum five-foot separation above thehighest anticipated ground water. A lowpermeability liner (asphalt and/or high densitypolyethylene liner) and runoff collectionsystem currently exist at each location.Unocal will provide regular updates to staffregarding soil inventory at each of thelocations. Unocal anticipates using thesestockpiles for the remainder of the CAOexcavations. We will require proper closure ofthese waste piles after future cleanup actionsare completed.

These potential discharges do not pose asignificant threat to water quality. Staffrecommends a conditional waiver of wastedischarge requirements. Attachment 8 is aproposed waiver letter, which staff will send ifthere is no other direction from the Board.

BP Oil Site No. 11224; 16995 MontereyRoad, Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County [JohnMijares (805) 549-3696]

On January 12, 2001, staff issued a letter ofauthorization to BP Oil to discharge treatedground water to the storm sewer andultimately to Llagas Creek under the terms ofthe Waste Discharge Requirements - GeneralPermit for Discharges with Low Threat toWater Quality (General Permit); Order No.96-04, NPDES Permit No. CAG 993001. Theground water extraction and treatment systemis designed to completely remove petroleumhydrocarbon contaminants including methyltertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) from thecontaminated ground water prior to discharge.

On December 12, 2000, local residents andproperty owners, within 300 feet of thedischarge, were notified and given theopportunity to provide comments on theproposed treated water discharge and coverageunder the General Permit. To date, staff hasnot received any comment objecting to thedischarge.

Petroleum hydrocarbons including MTBEhave leaked to soil and ground water beneaththe BP Oil service station at 16995 MontereyRoad. BP Oil is taking proactive measures toclean up the contaminated soil and groundwater with the installation of a ground waterremoval and treatment system at the site.Ground water containing petroleumhydrocarbons will be removed from thesubsurface via two extraction wells locatedonsite. Contaminants will be removed fromthe extracted ground water via three 1000-pound granular activated carbon vesselsconnected in series prior to discharge. Theinitial treatment system flow rate will beapproximately two gallons per minute and maybe increased in the future to assure plumecontainment and effective ground waterremoval and treatment. Treatment systemredundancy, routine inspection, maintenanceand confirmation sampling ensure thedischarge will pose a low threat to waterquality.

Item No. 8 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

The Executive Officer issued a site specificMonitoring and Reporting Program, requiredby the General Permit, with BP Oil’s letter ofauthorization. The monitoring programrequires continuous monitoring of the volumeand flow rate of the discharge. The treatmentsystem is required to be sampled weeklyduring the first month of operation and bi-weekly thereafter. Representative watersamples are required to be collected prior tothe treatment system, between carbon vessels,and downstream of the final carbon vessel.Water samples are required to be analyzed forTotal Petroleum Hydrocarbons as gasoline,BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene andxylenes), tertiary butyl alcohol, and MTBE.Annually, the discharge is further required to besampled in September, and analyzed for pH,total suspended solids, total dissolved solids,temperature, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. Inaddition, quarterly monitoring of Llagas Creekupstream and downstream of the dischargepoint is required for: floating or suspendedmatter in the water; discoloration of the water;bottom deposits; visible films, sheens orcoatings; fungi, slimes, or objectionablegrowths; and potential nuisance conditions.Quarterly reports are required to be submittedon the 30th day of January, April, July, andOctober.

Former Chevron Service Station; 4000 PortolaDrive, Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz County [BobHurford (805) 542-4776]

Staff recommends the discharge of treatedground water from the subject facility beregulated under Order No. 96-4, NationalPollutant Discharge Elimination System(NPDES) No. CAG993001, Waste DischargeRequirements, General Permit for Dischargeswith Low Threat to Water Quality (GeneralPermit) adopted by the Board on October 18,1996. The proposed discharge must complywith Regional Board standards, prohibitions,and requirements to protect water quality.

Formerly the location of a Chevron ServiceStation, the site is developed commercialproperty. A basement dewatering sump exists

beneath a commercial building on theproperty. Operation of the dewatering sumpprevents flooding of the building’s basementduring periods of high ground water. It wasdiscovered that petroleum was released to thesubsurface as a result of underground storagetank (UST) and product distribution systemspills and leaks related to the former ChevronService Station. There is most likely acommingled contribution of petroleum fromUSTs formerly located at 4001 Portola Drive,across the street.

Chevron proposes to treat the sump dischargeby filtering through three carbon canisters anddischarge the treated ground water to thestorm drain which ultimately drains toMonterey Bay. Treatment system redundancy,routine inspection, maintenance andconfirmation sampling ensure the dischargewill pose a low threat to water quality. Staffhas revised Monitoring and ReportingProgram (MRP) No. 00-102 to includemonitoring and reporting requirements for thetreatment system and discharge. MRP No. 00-102 will be used in conjunction with theGeneral Permit MRP No. 96-4 to ensure theprotection of water quality. Extracted groundwater will be treated to drinking waterstandards prior to discharge and no adverseeffects are expected.

A notification requesting comment regardingthis discharge was sent on January 26, 2001,to all interested parties living or owningproperty within 300 feet of the dischargelocation. Staff has received no comment as ofFebruary 16, 2001. We sent a letter to thedischarger on February 16, 2001, statingdischarge may begin under terms of thegeneral permit.

CASE CLOSURES FOR ABOVE ANDUNDERGROUND TANKS (UGT), ANDSPILLS, LEAKS, INVESTIGATIONSAND CLEANUPS (SLIC)

This section is formatted to easily identify siteswhere staff is recommending case closure

Item No. 9 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

concurrence from the Board. Case closuresgenerally fall into two categories - cases wherecleanup goals have been met and cases wherecleanup goals have not been met. In the firstcase, staff generally sends the responsibleparty a letter stating the case is now closedsince cleanup objectives have been met and nofurther action is needed. Unless the Boardobjects, staff will continue to send closureletters and simply report these cases by way ofthe Executive Officer’s report.

The second situation occurs where cleanupobjectives are not yet met, but for variousreasons, staff is recommending closure. Thesecases will be reported to the Board in moredetail. For example, staff has discovered thatsome sites have a plume of contaminationconfined to a defined area. Groundwatermonitoring may show the plume is decreasingboth in concentration and size, and does notthreaten probable beneficial uses. Otherspecific circumstances may exist such as theplume may be confined to a shallow portion ofthe aquifer with no actual or expected uses ofthe groundwater. The reasons for staffrecommending closure will be explained witheach case.

We are presenting these closures in a mannersimilar to the way we present waivers of wastedischarge requirements. That is, the case willbe discussed and if the Board does not objectto a case or wishes more information, the issuemay be discussed at the Board meeting wherewe can provide clarification or the Board mayreject our recommendation for closure.

Abbreviations commonly used for these cases:TPH - Total Petroleum HydrocarbonsTPHd - TPH measured in the carbon range ofdieselTPHg - TPH measured in the carbon range ofgasolineBTEX - Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene,Xylene (components of gasoline)MTBE - Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (gasolineoxygenate additive)DCA or 1,2, DCA - dichloroethane (gasolineadditive)DCE - dichloroethylene (gasoline additive)

PCE -tetrachloroethylene or perchloroethylene(perc - a solvent)TCE - trichloroethylene (a solvent)TCA - trichloroethane (a solvent)

Corrective Action Plan Approvals

Mission Linen Supply, 121 East GabilanStreet, Salinas, Monterey County_[Wei Liu805/542-4648]

Mission Linen Supply submitted a CorrectiveAction Plan (CAP) on November 30, 2000,for cleaning up the petroleum hydrocarbon andsolvent constituents impacting soil andgroundwater under and near the site. The CAPwas prepared to select appropriate remedialalternatives after the completion of the sitecharacterization and according to staff’srequest. The CAP presents Mission’s strategyfor the mitigation of identified soil andgroundwater pollution at the site. Soilexcavation and stimulated or enhancedbioremediation were proposed for cleanupboth soil and groundwater contamination.Cleanup goals were also properly selected. Atentative CAP implementation schedule wasalso included. The CAP was approved onJanuary 9, 2001, and is being implemented inaccordance with the implementation schedule.

Pacific Union Apartments, Inc., 1018 PacificAvenue, Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz County [BobHurford (805) 542-4776]

Pacific Union Apartments, Inc. proposes toexcavate approximately 2,300 cubic yards ofpetroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) impacted soilresulting from a release from operations of aformer gasoline service station at this site from1939 through 1955. Some PHC-impacted soilis planned to be left in place due to thepresence of public utilities under the street.Groundwater encountered during excavationactivities will be pumped out of the excavationand properly disposed. Oxygen releasingcompound will be added to the excavation andinjected into the residual contaminated soil leftin place before backfilling to promote bio-degradation of dissolved PHCs remaining in

Item No. 10 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

groundwater at the site. Groundwater qualitywill be monitored by three groundwatermonitoring wells to assess the naturalattenuation of the residual contamination.

Architectural Window Products Company,132 Doyle Street, Santa Cruz; Santa CruzCounty [Bob Hurford (805) 542-4776]

Architectural Window Products Companyproposes to excavate approximately 350 cubicyards of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) soilresulting from a release from a former 350-gallon gasoline tank removed in 1990.Groundwater encountered during excavationactivities will be pumped out of the excavationand properly disposed. Oxygen releasingcompound will be added to the excavationbefore backfilling to promote bio-degradationof dissolved PHCs remaining in groundwaterat the site.

Chemical Lime, Natividad Plant, 1171 OldStage Road, Salinas, Monterey County, [JohnGoni, (805) 542-4628]

Staff approved Chemical Lime’s proposal toutilize vapor extraction for the interim removalof subsurface hydrocarbons from soil andground water. Based on vapor extraction andair sparge tests, vapor extraction wasrecommended as the most efficient cleanuptechnology to remove subsurfacecontaminants. Extracted vapors and groundwater will be monitored to evaluate theeffectiveness of contaminant removal fromsoil and ground water. Air sparging testingwill be performed again during wet-weather/high ground water conditions and re-evaluated for possible future applications.

STATUS REPORTS

Unocal Guadalupe Oil Field Cleanup, SantaBarbara County [Katie Anderson 805/549-3690]

Summary - The following is a status report ofUnocal’s Guadalupe oil field cleanup. Thisinformation was current on February 14, 2001.

Unocal has completed restoration of the U12pad area, as required by the County of SanLuis Obispo. During the course of therestoration, Unocal discovered a previouslyunassessed diluent plume underneath the wellpad. Unocal completely excavated the plumeto clean levels and backfilled the area withadjacent dune materials to restore the originaldune topography.

As discussed in the previous status report, theoversight agencies and Unocal agree thatexcavations should be put on hold untilappropriate soil treatment methods have beenidentified and a significant volume of suitablematerial exists to backfill remaining excavations(Attachments 9 and 10 show completed andplanned excavations). To this end, thefollowing actions have been taken:

Land Treatment: Unocal has completedcollection of soils and water for toxicityevaluation bioassays. These bioassays will befinished in March 2001, with analytical resultsto follow in April and May 2001. The resultswill be summarized in a report in June 2001,and be used to assess land treatment as apotential source for site backfill.

Deep Well Slurry Injection: Unocal hasconducted initial meetings with the USEPA andother agencies to discuss the potential for slurryinjection of contaminated soil at the site.Unocal is in the process of providing additionalinformation to the USEPA to support theirevaluation of this technology and its applicationat this site.

Environmental Review: The County of SanLuis Obispo is in the beginning stages ofenvironmental review for additional soiltreatment options not evaluated in the originalEnvironmental Impact Report. These optionsinclude off-site hauling, slurry injection, andlandfilling. The County will also evaluate,potentially through a supplemental EIR,additional borrow material from the Q4 area.

Item No. 11 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

Unocal Avila Beach Cleanup [Diane Kukol805/542-4637]

Intertidal Plume

Unocal has continued to work cooperativelywith agencies to investigate potential adversehuman health, ecological, and water qualityimpacts resulting from the Intertidalhydrocarbon plume in the vicinity of AvilaPier. In November 2000, Unocal and allinterested agencies agreed to formation of theAvila Pier Hydrocarbon Occurrence Team andits associated technical and coordinatingcommittees. The self-directed technicalcommittee performs and oversees workrequired to evaluate risks posed by petroleumin the vicinity of the pier. It is composed ofstaff and consultants of Unocal and thefollowing agencies: the Regional Board,Department of Fish and Game, and the SanLuis Obispo County Public HealthDepartment, Environmental Health Division.These agencies have ultimate regulatoryauthority to make decisions regarding cleanupof identified waste and/or management of itseffects. The coordinating committee iscomprised of representatives of each of 11participating federal, state, and local agenciesand organizations (including those comprisingthe technical committee). The main purposeof the coordinating committee is to coordinatepermitting and other activities among theparticipants, and to advise the technicalcommittee on an as-needed basis.

On February 21, 2001, the agencies held apublic meeting to inform interested partiesabout the status of past, current, and futureactivities at and in the vicinity of Avila Pier.The meeting was conducted by staff andconsultants of the Regional Board,Department of Fish and Game, and the SanLuis Obispo County Public HealthDepartment, Environmental Health Division.After briefly explaining results of previousinvestigations, meeting participants informedthe audience about the following efforts thatare currently underway: (1) assessment ofstorm characteristics that would expose the

currently buried hydrocarbons, (2) assessmentof ecological risk due to current conditions, aswell as due to future conditions if thehydrocarbons are exposed, and (3) assessmentof human health risk if the hydrocarbonsbecome exposed.

Staff from the San Luis Obispo County PublicHealth Department, Environmental HealthDivision informed the audience that there doesnot appear to be a human health concern dueto current conditions, and therefore, there is noneed to close Avila Beach or post healthwarnings. Agency representatives alsoindicated that a follow-up public meetingwould be conducted in early September 2001to inform interested parties about theassessments’ results. At that time, communityinput would be solicited regardingmanagement of the hydrocarbons, should it beappropriate.

The technical and coordinating committees ofthe Avila Pier Hydrocarbon Occurrence Teamcontinue to meet to discuss additional issuesthat need to be addressed to take this plume toclosure.

Tank Farm – Staff from the Regional Board,Unocal, and the Remediation Test Panelfinalized the panel’s data gaprecommendations report in March 2000. Awork plan to address the majority of data gapswas subsequently finalized in October 2000.Characterization activities (which includeground water monitoring well and soil gasmonitoring probe installation) associated withthe work plan will be completed in mid-March2001. A draft report is expected to bedistributed in mid-May 2001.

Underground Tanks Summary Report datedFebruary 15, 2001 [Jay Cano 805/549-3699]

See Attachment 11.

Regionwide Reports

Item No. 12 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

Regional Monitoring [Karen Worcester805/549-3333]

Karen Worcester attended an organizationalmeeting for an Ocean Water Quality Summitin the Monterey Bay Area, which will focus onpathogens and pathogen indicators. Themeeting was held in County Supervisor DavePotter’s office, and was attended by a widevariety of local, state, and federal organizationrepresentatives. Two public workshops will beheld the evening of February 28th and March1. Dane Hardin, the Program Director for theMonterey Bay Area Dischargers monitoringprogram (MBAD), will summarize thepathogen monitoring aspects of the MBADprogram and use this as an opportunity todemonstrate our data management tool. Wehope to have all entities that collect pathogendata participating in an organized datamanagement effort that will support MBADgoals. As an aside, the MBAD program hasdecided to change its name to the CentralCoast Long-term Environmental AssessmentNetwork (CCLEAN). The participants felt theprogram would be viewed in a more positivelight when known by the new acronym.

CCAMP staff have been coordinating withboth the County of Santa Barbara and theCentral Coast Joint Data Committee (in theMonterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary) ondevelopment of two separate U.S. EPAEnvironmental Monitoring for Public Accessand Community Tracking (EMPACT) grants.These grants are targeted at real-time waterquality monitoring and activities which makedata more accessible to the public. The SantaBarbara proposal involves integration of SantaBarbara area water quality data into a unified,GIS-linked data management structure, whichutilizes the CCAMP data system and whichmakes locally collected pathogen indicatordata available through the Web. TheMonterey proposal involves development ofan inventory of environmental monitoring sitesand will provide data summaries and linkagesto various environmental data sources. Thisprogram will also include making pathogendata and treatment plant spill informationavailable over the Web, and will be closely

integrated with the CCAMP web site. Inaddition, the City and County of San Diegohave requested assistance from our CCAMPvolunteer, Dave Paradies, in integratingCCAMP data management tools into theirprograms; they have also submitted anEMPACT grant for this purpose.

Karen Worcester met with Surface WaterAmbient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)technical staff in Moss Landing to discussprogress on monitoring program and TaskOrder development. We further discussedapplication of the CCAMP data managementsystem for managing SWAMP monitoringdata. We also demonstrated the CCAMPsystem at a TMDL Roundtable meeting,particularly related to data uploading intoSTORET, the U.S. EPA data storage system.All data collected using EPA funds mustultimately be uploaded into STORET, and theCCAMP tool makes this process lesscumbersome.

CCAMP staff have been working with theCentral Coast Citizens Monitoring Network atthe Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaryto prepare for Snapshot Day on Earth Day,2001. On this day, it is anticipated thatapproximately 150 sites in the Sanctuary willbe sampled for basic water quality parametersby dozens of volunteer monitoring groups.Data will be submitted electronically in aformat which can upload easily to our datamanagement system. We will then make thedata available in map format on the Network’swebsite. Last year’s Snapshot Day was citedby Coastal Commission staff during theirpresentation to the joint meeting of the StateBoard and Commission, as a majoraccomplishment on the central coast in theeffort to understand non point sources.

TMDL Update [Lisa McCann 805/549-3132]

Regional Board staff in the WatershedAssessment Unit have been working sinceSeptember 1999, on development andestablishment of Total Maximum Daily Loads(TMDLs) for waterbodies in high priority

Item No. 13 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

watersheds (priorities are based on the existing“303(d) List” of impaired waters and theWatershed Management Initiative). Ingeneral, a TMDL is developed and establishedby a phased process which includes assessingpoint and nonpoint sources of the pollutant,determining the contribution from each source,determining appropriate load reductions foreach source, implementing a program toachieve load reductions, adoption of a basinplan amendment, and monitoring to determineattainment of water quality standards. FederalLaw requires a TMDL to include a problemstatement, numeric targets, source analysis,and load allocations. Federal and State Lawrequire the Basin Plan be amended to includethe TMDL, the implementation plan andmonitoring plans. Public participation iscritical during development of the TMDL,development of the implementation plan,adoption of the basin plan amendment,implementation of control actions, andmonitoring for effectiveness. Our Region’sapproach is to simultaneously develop TMDLsfor all waters in a given watershed, listed forthe same pollutant, as a “TMDL Unit.” Forexample, the Morro Bay Watershed SiltationTMDL refers to TMDLs for Chorro Creek,Los Osos Creek and Morro Bay, all on the303(d) list for siltation. Occasionally a“TMDL Unit” is defined as a subwatershedbecause only one or two waterbodies are onthe 303(d) list for a particular pollutant (e.g.,Chorro Creek Metals).

Current activities are described briefly below:

San Luis Obispo Creek WatershedNutrients- The Draft TMDL was submitted toUSEPA on June 30, 2000. USEPA plans toestablish this TMDL through the federalprocess within a year of June 30, 2000. Staffhas developed a monitoring program to refinethe allocations in the draft document and isdeveloping an implementation plan.

Morro Bay Watershed Nutrients andSiltation- The Draft TMDL Reports weresubmitted to USEPA by June 30, 2000. TheSiltation TMDL was modified in response tocomments submitted by USEPA and members

of the public in January 2001. The NutrientTMDL will be modified in response tocomments from USEPA and members of thegeneral public in March 2000. They will bothbe finalized and presented to the Board foradoption as Basin Plan amendments in fall of2001.

Morro Bay Watershed Pathogens- TheTMDL Report is currently being developedand the first draft is scheduled for completionby October, 2001.

Las Tablas Creek- Nacimiento ReservoirMetals- The Draft TMDL Report wassubmitted to USEPA on June 30, 2000, and isscheduled to be presented to the Board foradoption as a Basin Plan amendment in winterof 2001.

Chorro Creek Metals- The Draft TMDLReport was submitted to USEPA on June 30,2000, and is scheduled to be presented to theBoard for adoption as a Basin Planamendment in fall of 2001.

Salinas River Watershed Siltation- Aproblem statement was completed for thisTMDL on June 30, 2000. A contract foradditional monitoring, assessment and analysiswas established in May 2000. Development ofthe TMDL will proceed throughout this fiscalyear. The Draft TMDL Report is scheduled tobe submitted to USEPA by June 30, 2002.

Pajaro River Watershed Nutrients-Development of this TMDL was initiated lastfiscal year and will continue through this fiscalyear. A first draft of the TMDL Report wasscheduled to be submitted to USEPA by June30, 2001. A preliminary draft will be preparedby June 30, 2001, but additional effort will beneeded into fall of 2001.

Pajaro River Watershed Siltation-Development of this TMDL was initiated lastfiscal year. Regional Board staff attempted toestablish a contract for additional monitoring,assessment and analysis in June 2000. Thiscontract was not executed (due to watershedcoordination issues and administrative delays)

Item No. 14 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

as planned. Therefore, development of thisTMDL will proceed throughout this fiscal yearand into next year. A preliminary draft TMDLReport will be prepared by June 30, 2002.

Valencia and Aptos Creek Siltation, SanLuis Obispo Creek Watershed Pathogensand Priority Pollutants, Morro BayWatershed Priority Pollutants, and MorroBay Metals- A review of existing informationand sampling plans to collect additionalinformation was recently or will soon becompleted for these TMDLs. Samplecollection and preliminary analysis of datacollected will proceed throughout this fiscalyear and into next year. Draft TMDL reportswill be completed at the end of fiscal year2001-2002 and into fiscal year 2002-2003.

Salinas River Watershed Pesticides,Nutrients and Salinity, Pajaro RiverWatershed Metals (Clear Creek andHernandez Reservoir), Pesticides and Oiland Grease (Watsonville Slough)-Preliminary literature review and identificationof existing data has been initiated for theseTMDLs and development of the TMDLs willproceed throughout the next couple of years.

Article On Potentially Harmful HumanViruses in Coastal Waters, [Roger Briggs805/549-3140]

POTENTIALLY HARMFUL HUMANVIRUSES IN COASTAL WATERSFebruary 7, 2001National Sea Grant College Program

For More Information Contact:Sunny C. Jiang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor ofEnvironmental Analysis and DesignUniversity of California, Irvine Office:(949) 824-5527; Fax: (949) 824-2056;e-mail: sjiang@uci.edu

IRVINE, CA. Using a technique developed totrack pathogens in sewage, a California SeaGrant funded researcher has shown thatpotentially harmful human viruses arecontaminating coastal waters in SouthernCalifornia at major river mouths. Tests have

not determined whether the viruses arevirulent, but their presence does indicate thathuman waste is making its way into urbanwaterways. Because of the health risksassociated with human waste, some groups arebeginning to test their creeks and drainageculverts for signs of human contamination.

The risk of contamination from human wasteappears to be significant, according to a surveyof 12 river mouths in Los Angeles, Orangeand San Diego counties conducted by assistantprofessor Sunny Jiang at UC Irvine. In the1999 survey, also funded by California SeaGrant, Jiang reports that four of the 12 sitessampled tested positive for the presence of thehuman adenovirus: the Los Angeles, SanGabriel, Santa Ana and Tijuana river mouths.Of these four only the Los Angeles rivermouth also registered as having high fecalbacteria levels, the standard criteria forevaluating water quality, closing beaches andmonitoring compliance with federal cleanwater laws. Because the presence of the virusdid not correspond with high bacteria counts,Jiang said she believes the current waterquality standards are "not adequatelyindicating human health risks." "The presenceof the virus does not correlate with high levelsof bacteria," Jiang said. "Therefore, you don'thave a beach closure and are potentiallyexposing people to health risks." Theadenovirus is considered a pathogen and is amember of a larger group of enteric viruses,which includes hepatitis A. When ingested,enteric viruses may attack the gastrointestinaltrack or the respiratory system, sometimesfatally. More typically, infection causes sorethroat, diarrhea, fever and nausea.

There are more than 100 viruses found inhuman waste that can survive for as long as130 days in seawater. None of these areroutinely tested by California health officials.Ten years ago while a graduate student atUniversity of South Florida, Jiang developed atechnique for tracking viruses in humansewage. She used the method to show that rawsewage in septic tanks was leaking into coralreef ecosystems in the Florida Keys. For thestudy in California, Jiang began tracking the

Item No. 15 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

adenovirus, which is a direct indicator ofhuman viral contamination. The virus is alsothe only in its class that contains fragments ofDNA instead of RNA, a characteristic thatmakes detection a little bit simpler. Herfindings and those of her colleagues arepublished in the January, 2001 issue ofApplied and Environmental Microbiology.Jiang notes that her virus-detection is unable,as yet, to determine whether adenoviruses aredead or alive. But she said, "even if one (typeof virus) is dead maybe other harmfulpathogens are alive."

The key advantage of testing for the adenovirusis that it definitively shows that human waste iscontaminating waters, she said. Standardbacterial counts do not distinguish waste fromanimals and people. As a result, rivers thatmeander through wilderness may showmisleadingly high bacterial counts while streamsthrough suburban neighborhoods may containdangerous human pathogens even thoughbacterial counts are normal. Distinguishinghuman and animal pathogens is crucial becauseit is human pathogens that generally pose thegreatest health risk for people.

At present, Jiang's virus-detection system issomewhat unwieldy. To capture enough virusesto get an accurate portrait of water quality, Jiangmust draw 20-liter water samples. "Every thingwe are doing is in the research stage, but intheory we think the adenovirus can be used as anindicator for human viral pollution. We need toreconsider our monitoring and coastal waterstandards." Groups have begun to request viraltesting to better identify the sources of chronicwater pollution, even though such testing is notmandatory. Jiang is currently working with thePublic Facilities and Resources Department inOrange County to test chronically pollutedwaters in the Aliso Creek watershed. She is also

working with other UC Irvine professors on aproject to study the impact of the Santa AnaRiver on beach pollution in Huntington Beach.Jiang and colleagues hope to begin samplingoffshore waters near a sewage outfall pipe to

examine whether human waste could be theculprit of a recent spate of beach closures inHuntington Beach.

State Board/Coastal Commission JointMeeting [Roger Briggs 805/549-3140]

The Coastal Commission and the State Boardheld their first ever, joint meeting in San LuisObispo on February 13, 2001. Representingthe State Board were Chair Art Baggett andState Board member Pete Silva. Cal/EPASecretary Winston Hickox also joined thecombined panel. Sara Wan, CoastalCommission Chair, said that several years agoshe didn’t realize that the top issue of theCoastal Commission would be water quality.

State Board staff member Ken Harris gave apresentation on the State Board’s non-pointsource activities over the past year. CoastalCommission staff member Jamie Koozer, gavea presentation that emphasized the importanceof Regional Boards’ and the Commission’snon-point source work. She described therelatively new effort to delineate criticalcoastal areas and also spoke highly of theMonterey Model Urban Runoff Program thatis being used as a statewide model.

Dennis Dickerson, Los Angeles RegionalBoard Executive Officer, gave a presentationon their recent trash TMDL. He alsomentioned that their region has had somedifficulties with group monitoring activities inthe stormwater program.

Several members of the public providedcomments on coastal non-point sourceactivities, including representatives from theFarm Bureau in Monterey County.

Winston Hickox said that progress could beimproved through better cooperation by allagencies and he described Cal/EPA’s effortsin developing environmental indicators.

Art Baggett suggested that the State Board andCoastal Commission should meet annually todiscuss common issues and, in addition, herecommended that both organizations

Item No. 16 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

designate a subcommittee of two members tomeet quarterly. For the State Board, the twomembers designated are Art Baggett and PeteSilva and for the Coastal Commission, PatriciaMcCoy and Shirley Dettloff.

Several Local San Luis Obispo Countyagencies hosted a reception and dinner for theCoastal Commission in Shell Beach onFebruary 13, 2001. In addition to theCommissioners, the State Board, and Cal/EPArepresentatives attended, as did CoastalRegion Executive Officers, and a multitude oflocal agencies, businesses, and environmentalorganizations.

Administrative Reports

State Board Appointments [Roger Briggs805/549-3140]

Governor Davis announced February 23,2001, that Richard Katz, former StateAssemblyman, has been appointed to the StateBoard. Art Baggett has been appointedChairman of the State Board. Art has beenacting Chairman for about a year.

Office Energy Conservation [Roger Briggs805/549-3140]

In response to the statewide energy crisis, theRegional Board staff has taken severalmeasures to minimize energy use in theRegional Board office. For example, officehours have been reduced to 6:00 a.m. to 5:30p.m., janitorial services have been switchedfrom night to day, area lighting has been cut inhalf (with more use of task specific lighting),thermostat ranges have been modified, andcomputer peripheral (e.g., printers) and copierequipment use has been modified to saveenergy,

Personnel Hiring and Recruitment Report[Cyndee Jones 805/549-3372]

Promotions This Fiscal YearChris Adair was promoted to Senior WaterResources Control Engineer effective July 3,2000.

Richard Welch was promoted to StaffInformation Systems Analyst, Specialist,effective August 31, 2000.

New Employee Hires This Fiscal YearC. Kimberly Gonzalez reported to work onAugust 1, 2000 as a Water Resources ControlEngineer in the Northern Watershed Unit. Ms.Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Science Degreein Environmental Engineering from Cal Poly.

Marilyn Knollenberg reported to work onOctober 2, 2000, as an Office Technician inthe Investigation and Cleanup Branch. Shetransferred to us from the Parks andRecreation Department in Fresno. Prior toParks and Recreation, she worked forDepartment of Real Estate and theEmployment Development Department inFresno.

Larry Harlan reported to work on December11, 2000, as an Environmental Specialist II inthe Watershed Assessment Unit of theWatershed Branch. Mr. Harlan holdsBachelors and Master’s Degree in Geography.Mr. Harlan transferred to us from the LosAngeles Region and has had one year ofexperience with the Regional Board.

Douglas Gouzie reported to work in December11, 2000, as an Associate EngineeringGeologist in the Watershed Assessment Unitof the Watershed Branch. Mr. Gouzie holds aPh.D. in Geology from the University ofKentucky. Mr. Gouzie has approximately 15years of experience.

Julia Dyer was appointed into a permanentposition on January 8, 2001, as anEnvironmental Specialist I in the CoastalWatershed Unit of the Watershed Branch. Ms.Dyer holds a Forestry Natural Resources

Item No. 17 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

Management Degree. Ms. Dyer has workedfor two years at the Regional Board as avolunteer/student.

Amanda Bern reported to work on January 8,2001, as an Environmental Specialist III in theCentral Watershed Unit of the WatershedBranch. Ms. Bern holds a Bachelor’s degreein Biology from the University of Louisville,Kentucky and a master’s degree in Bio-Geo-Chemistry from Florida InternationalUniversity.

Shanta Duffield reported to work on January2, 2001, as a Water Resource ControlEngineer in the Watershed Assessment Unit ofthe Watershed Branch. Ms. Duffield holds aBachelor of Science degree in Biology. Shealso has a master’s degree in Civil andEnvironmental Engineering from Cal Poly.

Linda Stone reported to work on January 15,2001, as an Associate Engineering Geologistin the Department of Defense Unit of theInvestigation and Cleanup Branch. Ms. Stoneholds a master’s degree in EnvironmentalSystems/Geology from Humboldt StateUniversity. Linda is a California RegisteredGeologist and a certified Hydrogeologist with13 years of experience in environmental andhydrogeologic investigations.

Corey Walsh reported to work on January 22,2001, as an Associate Engineering Geologistin the Tanks and Spills Unit of theInvestigation and Cleanup Branch. Mr. Walshholds a Bachelor of Science Degree inGeology from San Diego State University.Mr. Walsh transferred to our region fromRegion 9, San Diego, where he worked foralmost ten years as a geologist. In addition, heworked as an Engineering Geologist for eightyears in private industry.

Donette Dunaway reported to work onFebruary 6, 2001, as an EnvironmentalSpecialist II in the Central Watershed Unit ofthe Watershed Branch. Ms. Dunaway holds aBachelor’s degree in Geology from UC SantaBarbara and a Master of Science degree inHydrology from the University of Nevada.

Sandy Holgate reported to work on February7, 2001, as an Office Assistant in theAdministrative Services Unit. Ms. Holgate isattending classes toward an Associate Degreein Business Administration, and she hasvarious office experience in private industry.

Christopher Rose reported to work onFebruary 13, 2001, as an EnvironmentalSpecialist II in the Watershed Assessment Unitof the Watershed Branch. Mr. Rose holds aMaster of Science Degree inHydrology/Watershed from Cal Poly, San LuisObispo, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree inHumanities from the University of Wisconsin,and additional studies in Forestry Engineeringat Oregon Sate University. His experienceincludes lecturing at Cal Poly State University.

Bruce Paine reported to work on February 13,2001, as a Sanitary Engineering Associate inthe Coastal Watershed Unit of the WatershedBranch. Mr. Paine transferred to our regionfrom Region 8, Santa Ana, where he workedfor nearly 26 years. For the last six years hewas the lead person of the Investigation andEnforcement Unit that focused oninvestigating violations of the CaliforniaWater Code that appeared criminal in nature.He also functioned as the enforcementcoordinator and lead responder to spills andcomplaints.

Mary Adams reported to work on February 7,2001, as an Environmental Specialist II in theRegional Monitoring/Basin Planning Unit.Ms. Adams holds a Bachelors Degree inBiology and will receive her master’s degreein June of this year.

Todd Stanley reported to work on February 5,2001, as an Environmental Specialist II in theNorthern Watershed Unit. He holds anEnvironmental Engineering Degree from CalPoly. Mr. Stanley transferred to us fromRegion 9, San Diego, where he worked for thepast two years.

Dominic Roques reported to work on March 1,2001 as an Environmental Specialist III in the

Item No. 18 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

Watershed Assessment Unit in the WatershedBranch. He holds a Bachelor's Degree inGeology and Masters' Degrees in bothWildland Resource Science and LandscapeArchitecture from UC Berkeley. He hasworked in the private sector, the public sector,and for himself as an environmental plannerand scientist in the areas of watershedassessment and management, forestry andcoastal ecosystems. Prior to coming to Region3, Dominic was the state coordinator for the"Clean Water Team," the citizen watershedassessment and monitoring program of theState Water Resources Control Board, and amember of the State Board's internal staffTotal Maximum Daily Load Team.

Burton Chadwick reported to work on March5, 2001 as an Associate Engineering Geologistin the Tank and Spill Cleanup Unit. He holdsBachelor's and Master's Degrees in GeologicalSciences from San Diego State University. Heis a California Registered Geologist andCalifornia Certified Hydrogeologist. Burtonhas worked for 12 years in private consultingas a geologist, senior geologist, and projectmanager. For the last year he has worked forthe State Water Resources Control Board as anEngineering Geologist. With his educationand experience, Burton brings a wealth oftechnical and management skills to theRegional Board staff.

RetirementsJoan Smithen retired from her Office Assistantposition effective September 29, 2000. Ms.Smithen had been employed with the RegionalBoard since August 14, 1989.

Charlene Salazar retired from her OfficeTechnician position effective February 16,2001. Ms. Salazar had been employed withthe Regional Board for eight months.

Employee SeparationsKevin Kratzke, Sanitary EngineeringAssociate with the Department of DefenseUnit, resigned his position with the RegionalBoard effective September 29, 2000.

Wendy Browne, Office Assistant with theAdministrative Unit, transferred to theDepartment of Transportation effectiveNovember 7, 2000.

Land Disposal Unit Re-establishment[Michael LeBrun (Senior) 805/542-4645, JohnRobertson (Program Lead) 805/542-4630,Hector Hernandez 805/542-4641, FrankDeMarco 805/542-4638, Dan Niles 805/549-3355, David Athey 805/542-4644]

The Land Disposal Unit (LDU) was re-established on January 2, 2001 in theInvestigation and Cleanup Branch. Thisreorganization creates staff dedicatedexclusively to landfill sites, thereby promotingmore consistent application of the landfillregulations and ultimately better customerservice. Previously, staff in the watershedunits handled landfill work.

The LDU consists of Senior Water ResourceControl Engineer Michael LeBrun, AssociateEngineering Geologists John Robertson andDan Niles, Sanitary Engineering AssociateHector Hernandez, and Associate WaterResource Control Engineers Frank DeMarcoand David Athey.

Michael LeBrun manages both the Departmentof Defense and the Land Disposal Units. Priorto being promoted to Senior, Mr. LeBrunspent several years working with landfillsthroughout the Region and most recentlyworked in Southern Watershed. JohnRobertson is serving as the landfill programlead person and manages landfills in southernSan Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.Mr. Robertson has worked with landfills forover 12 years as a consultant and with theRegional Board in addition to recentlycompleting the Avila Beach cleanup project.Frank DeMarco has managed landfills innorthern San Luis Obispo and MontereyCounties for the last three years, and has beena member of the Regional Board staff for 20years. David Athey is managing landfill sitesin Monterey, Santa Clara, San Benito, andSanta Cruz Counties. Mr. Athey has been

Item No. 19 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

working with landfills for the last five years,two of which were in private industry at acombined Class I and III landfill. HectorHernandez manages closed and abandonedlandfill sites throughout the region. Mr.Hernandez has nearly ten years of previouslandfill experience, working in the original

landfill unit before its dissolution. Dan Nilesmanages the Casmalia Class I hazardous wastefacility, located in northern Santa BarbaraCounty. Mr. Niles has worked with numerouslandfills both here and in the North CoastRegional Board.

PRESENTATIONS AND TRAINING

Associate Engineering Geologist SheilaSoderberg and Senior Engineer Jay Cano wererecently interviewed on a local television newsbroadcast regarding MTBE problems in SanLuis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Theinterviews were included in a three part seriesabout MTBE and its effects on local watersupplies.

Also, as part of public outreach efforts, Jaygave a presentation at the Certified UnifiedProgram Agencies Conference in UniversalCity. The presentation focused on how MTBEis affecting the Cambria Community ServicesDistrict water supply.

Angela Carpenter gave a presentation to an agworkshop sponsored by the Santa Clara ValleyWater District titled "How to be Proactive inthe Total Maximum Daily Load Process--GetInvolved Now to Have an Impact on LandManagement." The purpose of the talk was toinform farmers about TMDLs within thePajaro watershed and encourage them to beginvoluntary implementation of managementpractices.

Jennifer Bitting presented an Erosion Controlworkshop (see Attachment 12).

Diane Kukol assisted with the presentations inthe public meeting in Avila Beach on February21, 2001 (described earlier in this report).

Donette Dunaway and Amanda Bern attendedtwo stormwater training workshops. AlisonJones and Amanda Bern attended two FarmWater Quality Workshops with UCCooperative Extension [Alison as trainer,Amanda as trainee]. Alison also lead severalProp 13 workshops (Dec, Jan & Feb).

Senior Engineering Geologist GerhardtHubner presented a paper at the U.S. EPAMercury Mining Conference in San Franciscoon November 30, 2000, entitled: "Remediationand Legal Case Histories of the Buena Vistaand Klau Mines, Two Mercury Mines in theLas Tablas Creek Watershed, San Luis ObispoCounty". He also participated in a field trip tothe Sulfur Bank Mercury Mine at Clear Lakethe following day.

In February, Hector Hernandez, FrankDeMarco and David Athey attended a landfilltraining course dealing with the design of finalclosure systems and waste containment liners.

Stacy McTeer attended a procurement trainingclass in February.

Grant Himebaugh attended GeographicInformation System (GIS) training provided byUniversity of California Extension staff onJanuary 23 and 25, and manned an informationbooth at Ft. Ord's Community Open House atthe former Ft. Ord on January 20, 2001. Overone hundred individuals participated indrinking water taste tests. Test results, watertaste and water quality basics were discussedwith participants.

Michael LeBrun and Grant Himebaughattended a Monterey Peninsula Airport PublicMeeting presented by the Army Corps ofEngineers on February 21, 2001, at theMonterey Hyatt Hotel. At the end of theArmy's presentation, Regional Board stafffielded audience questions. U. S.Congressman Sam Farr was in attendance andalso fielded audience questions. Congressman

Item No. 20 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report

Farr has been very supportive in helping tosecure site cleanup funding.

Corey Walsh and Bob Hurford attended a GPSTraining class taught by Trimble, the makers

of the GPS unit. The State Board through theClean Water Programs, UST Program,purchased these units for each of the RegionalBoards and Local Oversight Program counties.The intended use is to collect locationinformation for sites without street addressesand put that location information (as well asother site information) into GEIMS, the tanksdatabase.

Mary Adams and Karen Worcester presentedinitial CCAMP watershed monitoring resultsfrom the Santa Maria sampling effort, at ameeting of all Guadalupe settlement grantrecipients.

Angela Carpenter and Lisa Horowitz McCannattended the State Board "Basin Plan

Amendment Preparation" training course inSacramento, January 29th.

On January 24th, Katie McNeill and LisaHorowitz McCann made a presentation to theMorro Bay Siltation TMDL steeringcommittee (on adhoc committee of the NEPImplementation Committee) solicitingcomments on the draft TMDL. On Feb. 22,Julia Dyer and I made a similar presentation tothe Morro Bay Nutrient TMDL steeringcommittee (also adhoc of NEPIC). OnFebruary 27, Lisa made a presentation onTMDLs, in general, and their currentapplication and status in the Morro Bay BayWatershed, to local growers attending the UCCooperative Extension Farm Water QualityPlanning Short Course.

Mike Higgins participated in a one-daytraining at January's end on the CaliforniaPermit Writer's Tool. The Tool is software forimplementing the Toxics Rule in NPDESpermits, and reduces chance of errors whileincreasing productivity.

ATTACHMENTS

1. LOCSD Quarterly Status Report dated January 11, 20012. LOCSD Letter dated February 5, 20013. Regional Board Comments Letter dated January 3, 20014. Regional Board Comments Letter dated January 29, 20015. Bracewell Engineering Letter dated February 2, 20016. RWQCB Response Letter to Bracewell Engineering dated February 23, 20017. Unocal Guadalupe/ Soil Stockpile Site Map8. Unocal Guadalupe/Regional Board Proposed Waiver Letter9. Unocal Guadalupe Site Map/Completed CAO Excavations10. Unocal Guadalupe Site Map/Remaining CAO Excavations11. Underground Tanks Summary Report dated February 15, 200112. Erosion Workshop Summary/Results of Attendee Surveys

EOrptMAR01/carol

Item No. 21 March 23, 2001Executive Officer’s Report