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;:-NTRAL VALLEY REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD 16 March 1990 DISCHARGER: EL RANCHO ROCK & SAND, INC. LOCATION & COUNTY: 8000 Waverly Road, Linden, San Joaquin County INSPECTION DATE: 27 February 1990 INSPECTED BY: Ton Vorster and Twila Leclerc ACCOMPANIED BY: Robert Wyrsch, Assistant Manager FACILITY DESCRIPTION: El Rancho Rock & Sand is a sand and gravel operation located on a hilltop. There are no waste discharge requirements for this facility. Wash water from the operation is discharged to a series of ponds beginning with Settling Pond B and then to C, C2, C3, and C4. (C2, C3, and C4 are overflow ponds for Pond C) . Water is pumped to Pond A from Pond C for reuse. See attached map. The wash water contains fine silt and clay that fill the settling ponds. To maintain pond capacity, the fines are pumped out of the ponds and deposited on the outside of the pond levees, draining down into the natural drainage areas. Drainage is to the head waters of Mormon Slough. El Rancho is expanding its excavation area, under an existing county Excavation Permit (EP 81-9) . OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS: We received a copy of El Rancho' s "Quarry Excavation Application Form" and inspected the operation to determine if waste discharge requirements are necessary. There was one pond in particular of concern to us. This pond wa built in a gully to contain stormwater runoff. It was blocked by an earth dam, but sil ,--laden wastewater was running around one side of it and going into a natural drainage area that eventually drains into Mormon ouy Robert Wyrsch agreed +o our discussion of immediate repair of the Sl h. overflow. After we left, we followed this drainage to see where it went, and noticed that there was a significant amount of silt from this discharge in the downstream creek. Also of concern is El Rancho' s practice of removing the fines from the ponds when they become full of silt, and discharging it on the outside of the berms. Rain and runoff could wash much of this down into the drainage area and eventually into Mormon Slough. CONCLUSIONS: El Rancho Sand & Gravel is operating without a permit from the Regional Board and needs one for this type operation. The existing operation appears to have a significant impact on water quality and must be changed. El Rancho needs to complete a Report of Waste Discharge so we can issue requirements. As part of the Report, they need to submit a plan detailing how they will prevent further drainage into the natural drainage areas and also an alternative method for disposing of the fines. Expansion of this quarry operation should not be allowed until the present operations can be managed to provide water quality protection. TWILA L. LECLER , Area Engineer