SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE_CASE 2

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REGIONAL WATER BOARD RESPONSE (SWRCB/OCC Fife A-1846(a) and '846(b)) -3- PETITIONS FOR REVIEW OF V�.,.-E DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS ORDER NO. R5-2007-0036 (NPDLz5 NO. CA0079154) AND TIME SCHEDULE ORDER NO. R5-2007-0037 CITY OF TRACY, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT industrial food processing wastewater and discharges to the Facility under an industrial pretreatment permit issued by the Discharger. Leprino transports its industrial wastewater to the Facility via a segregated industrial waste line. Leprino employees operate and maintain the industrial wastewater pipeline and leased pretreatment units. Leprino's industrial pretreatment program permit allows for of up to 850,000 gallons per day of industrial food-processing wastewater. Leprino's industrial wastewater and process water from the main treatment plant are stored in the unlined industrial ponds and introduced into the primary sedimentation basins of the main treatment facility for treatment and disposal. REGIONAL WATER BOARD PERMITTING ACTIVITIES The Regional Water Board circulated an Administrative Draft Order' and three tentative Orders. The permitting activities timeline is shown below: Action Issued Comments Received Administrative Draft Order 12 October 2005 28 October 2005 Tentative Order 8 December 2005 20 January 2006 Tentative Order 26 May 2006 26 June 2006 Regional Water Board Hearing (Hearing Continued) 4 August 2006 Tentative Order 6 March 2007 6 April 2007 Regional Water Board Hearing (Permit and TSO Adopted) 4 May 2007 The first Tentative Draft Order was issued to all interested persons on 8 December 2005. Due to significant comments, the tentative Order was redrafted and reissued to all interested persons on 26 May 2006. A Public Hearing was held on 4 August 2006, and notification to the public was provided through publication of a notice of public hearing in the Tracy Press, and by posting the notice at the Facility and the nearest Post Office. The tentative permit and notice of public hearing were additionally posted on the Regional Water Board's internet website during the public comment period and for a ten day period prior to the Regional Water Board meeting. The Regional Water Board held a lengthy hearing on the proposed NPDES permit and TSO at the August 2006 Board meeting, with salinity issues being the major topic of testimony and Board discussion. The hearing was continued pending a better assessment of the impacts of the discharge on Delta salinity and development of alternative means of regulating salinity for Board consideration. The Regional Water Board directed staff to work with the Discharger, the Department of Water Resources (DWR), and other stakeholders to model the affects of the discharge in the southern Delta. Regional Water Board staff organized a stakeholder group that included representatives from the City of Tracy, Mountain House Community Services District, South Delta Water Agency, CSPA, and DWR to develop appropriate scenarios for running DWR's Delta Simulation Model II (DSM2) to evaluate the salinity impacts of the discharge. The tentative Order was again redrafted and reissued to all interested persons on 6 March 2007. A Public Hearing was held on 4 May 2007, and "Administrative Draft Order" is the Regional Water Board's term for a preliminary draft that is circulated to the Discharger prior to the Clean Water Act public comment period, in order to obtain comments on factual errors. This process helps to ensure the permit is factually correct prior to issuing a tentative Order.