Laserfiche WebLink
PAGE TWO <br /> DISCUSSION OF IMPACTS NOTED ABOVE: <br /> l.b. , c. , d. Two ponds have been created on site without benefit <br /> of review and permit. Creating these ponds has <br /> altered the drainage pattern both on and off-site. <br /> A field inspection of April 26, 1990, also revealed <br /> a non-permitted discharge of used process water out <br /> of the north side of the process plant, which has <br /> created a large cut into the hillside. This <br /> discharged water contains sediment from the sand and <br /> gravel processing, as well as from erosion of the <br /> stream bed formed as a result of this unauthorized <br /> release. No environmental review was ever done <br /> for these two ponds or this discharge of process <br /> water, as they were never included in any previous <br /> permit or subsequent revision. In their referral <br /> response, the Regional Water Quality Control Board <br /> stated that the facility is in violation of the <br /> California Water Code by not filing a report of <br /> waste discharge (RWD) , and discharging without a <br /> permit. The letter received from R.W.Q.C.B. noted <br /> that during a site inspection a significant amount <br /> of silty waste water was being discharged to natural <br /> drainage, tributaries to Mormon Slough. It has been <br /> noted by the property owner that the used process <br /> water is draining downhill, under Waverly Road, and <br /> ultimately into the Calaveras River with unknown but <br /> potentially significant impacts on these waterways <br /> from siltation and sedimentation. Based on this, <br /> the R.W.Q.C.B. is requiring that prior to any <br /> expansion of the operation, the applicant must show <br /> that existing waste water can be managed adequately. <br /> 2 .a. , b. The applicants have been dredging one of the <br /> settling ponds and dumping the dredged silt and clay <br /> onto the outer banks of the pond. <br /> Dumping of these silts has resulted in the slope of <br /> the pond banks exceeding the 2 : 1 maximum slope set <br /> forth in the Planning Title. The pond is also <br /> located on a hill crest, and the silt has been <br /> dumped over a layer of dry grasses. There is a <br /> possibility that this unconsolidated silt material <br /> will wash down hill during periods of rainfall, and <br /> enter natural drainage channels, ultimately being <br /> discharged into the Calaveras River. <br />