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MEMORANDUM CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD - CENTRAL VALLEY REGION 3443 Routier Road, Suite AV C �t j Phone: (916) 361-5600 Sacramento, CA 95827-3098 cc ATSS Phone: 8-495-5600 TO: Paul Jepperson, FROM: Wendy Wyels ?J Bill Crooks, Pacifex French Camp file DATE: 5 Ma1993 1'�� ATURE: �U ' 7 y 0 GN SUBJECT: PACIFEX FERTILIZER: INQUIRY BY CLIFF WISDOM On 4 May, I received a phone call from Ron Valinotti of San Joaquin County Environmental Health (209-468-3426) , who said that he had just received an inquiry from Cliff Wisdom about possible ground water contamination near the Pacifex fertilizer facility in French Camp. Apparently, a neighbor of the facility had called Mr. Wisdom to complain about high nitrate levels (about 100 mg/l nitrate as nitrate) in his private well . Ron called me because County Health had not yet been involved at this site. In the spring of 1992, Pacifex applied for a County permit to expand to handle liquid fertilizers. The neighbors near the facility tried to stop the expansion, and raised questions about many things, including ground water quality. Staff became involved, and made several inspections of the facility. The only water that is currently generated is stormwater runoff, which is collected in a pond on-site. In response to neighbor' s concerns, Pacifex lined the pond with clay last summer. We sampled the stormwater after the first rains this winter, and found a total nitrogen content of 1070 mg/l . Pacifex then talked to a neighboring farmer, who allowed them to pump the stormwater onto his orchard. After the next rains, we sampled the pond again, and found only 77 mg/l nitrogen. In a meeting with staff, Pacifex agreed to come up an approach to reduce the nitrogen levels in their "first flush" stormwater, and to conduct soil sampling of the pond to determine whether past practices may have impacted water quality. Pacifex has also been sampling their well (180' deep) , and has found nitrate levels of 24 mg/l in March 1992, 60 mg/l in February 1993, and 26 mg/1 in March 1993 (where 45 mg/l is the drinking water limit) . They also sampled some of their neighbor's private wells, and found 1 mg/l , 9 mg/l , 45 mg/l , and 58 mg/1 nitrate. Two neighbors who sampled their own wells each found about 100 mg/l nitrate. Pacifex is aware of the correct sampling procedures, but I don't know if the two neighbors who did it on their own sampled correctly. After explaining the situation to Ron Valinotti , he said that County Health would sample some of the neighbors' wells, and would look for well construction data. He'll send all that information to us. He will also call Mr. Wisdom back. In the meantime, Pacifex has contacted a consultant, and will collect soil samples at various depths from their lagoon. The work will take place next week, and I 'll be onsite to observe. The samples should tell us whether nitrate has been moving into the soil profile from the pond, and give us a better idea as to whether Pacifex is a source for the nitrate in the neighbor' s wells.