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Selected Articles
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Fall
2002 Issue, October 17, 2002
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Once
Around Lake Tahoe, July Field Tour
Lake
Tahoe Field Tour Photo Highlights
President's
Message
Regulatory
Update
Water
Quality and Construction Sites
Please visit our sponsor!
Please visit our sponsor!
Once
Around Lake Tahoe, July Field Tour
By Julie Etra
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Control
of sediment carried into Lake Tahoe by streams such as
Trout Creek was a theme of the July 19 Field Tour.
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The Western Chapter hosted its fourth field tour for the 2001-2002
season on Friday, July 19, 2002. A full bus of 48 participants,
representing the regulatory sector, designers, suppliers and
contractors left the ‘Y” at South Lake Tahoe for
a tour of projects around the Lake. Over a decade of erosion
control and restoration projects have been completed in the
Basin, so only a limited number of sites were included on the
ambitious tour. However, numerous projects were observed from
the comfort of the bus, with various participants narrating
parts of the tour. Projects addressed source control, sediment
control, as well as wetland and creek restoration. Throughout
the day, there was a great deal of interaction and discussion
among the participants, with a fair share of controversy. Some
of the more interesting projects are highlighted below.
The tour began
with observations of the Pat Lowe Memorial bike path, which
included erosion (source) control and water quality improvements.
Native colonizing species including sulphur buckwheat, sagebrush,
and rabbitbrush, have been highly successful given the continuing
disturbance from roadcast associated with snow removal.
We visited an
exceptional restoration project within the City of South Lake
Tahoe, the Trout Creek Stream Restoration and Wildlife Enhancement
Project. It featured two miles of new creek constructed over
a three-year period in the low part of the meadow valley.
Plan form, channel complexity and cross-section were designed
based on geomorphic principles and remnant templates. Innovative
use of meadow sod, generated during grading, resulted in an
immediate and “initially” well-armored system
of pools and riffles. Site-collected seed and mulch were used
to stabilize bare soils. The project has been acknowledged
by those who know as “the best restoration project in
the Tahoe Basin.”
Crossing into
Nevada, the group observed the Stateline Stormwater Improvement
Project located behind
the Horizon Casino. Prior to completion extensive parking
and impervious site features produced run-off laden with inorganic
matter, road oils and coarse sediments. Run-off drained to
Lake Tahoe via existing man-modified drainage courses within
Edgewood Golf course. Treatment included various sand/oil
interceptors, two Vortechnics 16000 units, bar rack vault,
oil intercepting vault, and various large diameter junction
vaults. Final polishing treatment occurs through a series
of three ponds in the Edgewood Golf Course.
The Cave Rock
Erosion Control Project, constructed in a steep subdivision
on the east shore, was estimated as yielding 367 tons of sediment
per year prior to construction. The subdivision was the single
largest source of sediment and associated nutrients flowing
to Lake Tahoe in the Cave Rock Watershed, resulting from the
many very steep cut slopes. Source treatment included retaining
walls, rock placement, and revegetation. A temporary irrigation
system had been installed. Revegetation also included use
of locally derived compost, slow-release organic fertilizer,
and pine needle mulch.
A seeding rate of 128 lbs/acre, use of pine needle wattles,
and the price tag of $205,000 per acre for revegetation, were
sources of some discussion. The group also discussed the likelihood
of vegetation persistence following discontinuation of irrigation.
The bus traveled
to Incline Village, observing Spooner Summit, and SR 28, NDOT
projects. The lunch stop was at the Incline Creek Stream Restoration
Project. This project involved removal of a parking lot, restoration
of a reach of the creek and floodplain, and the very effective
treatment of irrigation run-off from the adjacent ball field.
Use of fertilizers on ball fields creates water quality problems
that need to be addressed elsewhere in the Tahoe Basin.
The Brockway
Summit project, located on State Route 267, is one of a series
Caltrans has implemented in the basin to alleviate erosion
and water quality problems. Large, steep, eroding slopes,
with sparse vegetation characterized the pre-project conditions.
Improvements involved laying back highway cut slopes, constructing
rock slope protection, paving gutters and upgrading drainage
structures, and work was completed in November 1998. In spring
1999, bare or unmulched areas were treated and remulched with
pine needles. In November/December 1999 the cut slopes were
planted with native trees and shrubs by the California Conservation
Corps. Plants received soil amendments and were mulched with
pine needles but no follow up watering was provided. Caltrans
will continue to monitor the vegetation, slopes and soils
until 2004. Remedial measures will continue to be implemented,
using information generated from experimental trials.
We next visited
the Snow Creek Stream Restoration and Wildlife Enhancement
Project. This project was a cooperative effort to restore
a degraded meadow located on the north shore of Lake Tahoe
within Tahoe Vista. The overall restoration project was designed
to re-establish a naturally functioning stream and wetland
ecosystem along this impacted section of Snow Creek. The project
included the following major components:Excavation,
transportation, and disposal of approximately 25,000 cubic
yards of contaminated fill.
- Construction
of a new pond in a portion of the area previously occupied
by the fill material, and seasonal wetland depressions around
the new pond.
- Construction
of approximately 950 feet of new stream channels.
- Construction
of a new triple box culvert structure at Highway 28.
- Vegetative
clearing and sediment removal downstream of Highway 28.
- Revegetation
of approximately 3.5 acres of wetland.
The revegetation
effort included salvaging wetland species from the existing
site prior to construction for transplanting after construction.
Native seed collected on site was used along with an additional
seed mix to revegetate the area. A temporary irrigation system
was installed to ensure vegetation establishment.
Jennifer Malcolm
of Caltrans provided a spirited narration as we made our way
south along Highway 89. Jennifer described different types
of retaining walls and rock slope protection used for cut
slope stabilization. PVC plantings of shrubs, placed in between
rocks, had limited results in part due to settling and the
initial method of planting.
Our last stop
was the Upper Truckee River and Wetland Restoration Project/Lower
West Side Component, in South Lake Tahoe. The project site
includes 208 acres and involves the restoration of a disturbed
wetland at the mouth of the Upper Truckee River.
Beginning in
the 1950s, the river channel and surrounding wetland were
substantially altered by subdivision construction activities
in the Truckee Marsh. Construction of the project began in
late May 2001, with removal of 82,400 cubic yards of fill
from the site, restoring 11 acres of wetlands. Topsoil provided
from the Trout Creek restoration project was applied to the
new wetland surface, which was seeded and planted with wetland
materials. A temporary irrigation system was also installed.
Upland areas will also be planted in the fall of 2002. A portion
of the natural water treatment capacity lost when the original
wetland was disturbed will be restored, and the potential
for nutrient uptake, filtering of suspended sediment by vegetation,
groundwater recharge, and microbial denitrification will be
increased. In addition, restoration of the site will enhance
habitat for birds and mammals.
Following the
tour, we re-grouped at Kiva Beach, where our numbers swelled
with Western Chapter members and their families, for a fantastic
barbecue sponsored by Ewing Irrigation. Thanks very much to
our other sponsors, Earth Savers, and Horizon, and thanks
to all the great presenters. We all look forward to the next
field trip.
Please visit our sponsor!
Please visit our sponsor!
Lake
Tahoe Field Tour Photo Highlights
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Visitor Cathy Ford, ITD-Roadside Vegetation,
joined the tour from Boise, Idaho.
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Mike Hogan fielding questions from tour
participants at the Cave Rock Erosion Control Project
in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.
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| Victor
Insera outlined the goals of the Snow Creek Stream and
Wetland restoration Project on the north shore of Lake
Tahoe.
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Tony Pitts discussing use of coir logs to retain sediment
at the Snow Creek stream restoration project.
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Ed Kleiner asking questions of Troy Alexander at the
Hekpa Erosion Control project stop.
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Troy Alexander discussing vegetation of cut slopes.
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Lake Tahoe field tour participants at the Pioneer Trail
erosion control project site.
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A view of the lake. |
Please visit our sponsor!
President's
Message
Dear
Western Chapter Members,
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| Mike
Chase presents outgoing WCIECA president Julie Etra
with a certificate of appreciation. |
The July field tour, which you can read about in the feature
article, was an unbounded success. Julie Etra, outgoing Chapter
president, and several Tahoe area Chapter members did an outstanding
job on the very educational and fun field tour. With the assistance
of the event sponsors, Earthsavers, Ewing Irrigation and Horizon,
the event was also financially successful for the Chapter.
At
the July Board of Directors meeting the 2002/2003 Chapter
officers were elected. I will be serving as President. Mike
Chase was elected to a second term as Administrative Vice
President and Mel Mathews was elected as Technical Vice
President. David Gilpin was elected Treasurer and new Board
member David Franklin was elected Secretary. The next Board
of Directors meeting has been tentatively scheduled for
February 25, 2003, in Las Vegas.
The
Chapter is busy with plans for the
upcoming 2003 International Conference that will be held
in our region once again. As host chapter for the Las Vegas
conference, we have been asked to assist with staffing volunteer
positions. If you are attending the conference and are interested
in helping, look for the volunteer signup sheet on the Western
Chapter website. Assistance is needed in areas ranging from
registration to session moderators.
The
annual Chapter meeting will be held at the conference. Each
of the committee chairs will provide a brief update on their
committee’s goals and tasks for the rest of the year.
The Board has received a lot of creative ideas from the
membership and we are looking for assistance from the members
on moving these ideas forward over the next year. A sub-committee
of the Board is currently reviewing the Chapter by-laws
to determine if any revisions are needed. If revisions are
needed the subcommittee will present the revisions for the
approval of the members at the annual meeting.
On
the fun side, at the conference we hope to hold a few impromptu
no-host evening gatherings. Stop by the Chapter booth in
the Expo Hall to find out what is planned and also to register
for two raffles the Chapter is sponsoring. The first raffle,
open to all conference attendees, is for a free pass to
our next regional chapter conference. The second raffle,
which is only open to Western Chapter members, is for a
free one-year IECA professional membership. The free professional
membership was awarded to the Western Chapter as part of
IECA’s chapter growth awards program.
Finally,
I want to personally welcome the new members who joined
the Chapter since June. Welcome to Jonathan Colbert, Chris
Conway, Kevin Cullen, Robert Dixon, Douglas Graham, David
Lyons, Dennis Machida, Ted Miljevich, Dennis Peyton, Michael
Silvey, Rodney Stevenson, Sidney Strauss, and Dale Wells.
I
hope to see you all at the Rio Suites in Las Vegas.
Sandy
Mathews
Please visit our sponsor!
Regulatory
Update
The
State of Arizona has submitted a request for approval of
the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES)
program pursuant to section 402(b) of the Clean Water Act
(CWA or ``the Act’’). With this request, the
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) seeks
approval to administer a partial program for discharges
of pollutants into waters of the United States under its
jurisdiction.
The
proposed AZPDES program is a partial program which conforms
to the requirements of section 402(n)(3) of the CWA. ADEQ’s
application for program approval applies to all discharges
covered by the authority of that agency. This includes most
discharges of pollutants subject to the federal NPDES program
(e.g., municipal wastewater and storm water point source
discharges, pretreatment, industrial wastewater and storm
water point source discharges, and point source discharges
from federal facilities).
The
ADEQ has authority to regulate discharges from industrial
facilities covered by all Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) codes. The ADEQ has authority to regulate discharges
of storm water associated with industrial activity and discharges
of storm water from municipal separate storm sewer systems.
The ADEQ has primary responsibility for implementing a Pretreatment
Program. The ADEQ has authority to regulate discharges from
publicly owned and privately owned treatment works and for
discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
within the ADEQ’s jurisdiction.
ADEQ is not seeking the authority to regulate the disposal
of sewage sludge (in accordance with section 405 of the
Act and 40 CFR part 503). EPA will retain NPDES permitting
authority and primary enforcement responsibility over the
sewage sludge program. ADEQ is planning to apply for this
authority in the future. ADEQ does not have, and is not
seeking, the authority to regulate discharges in Indian
Country (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151). EPA will retain
NPDES permitting authority and primary enforcement responsibility
in Indian Country in Arizona.
By
letter of June 5, 2002, the Governor of Arizona requested
NPDES partial program approval and submitted an amended
program description, amended Attorney General’s Statement,
amended Arizona statute and rules, and an MOA.
EPA
received this package of materials on June 11, 2002. EPA
Region 9 determined that the approval request received on
June 11, 2002, along with supplements received on July 8
and July 10 constituted a complete package under 40 CFR
123.21, and a letter of completeness was sent to the Director
of ADEQ on July 11, 2002.
EPA
is required to approve the submitted program within 90 days
of submission of the complete information unless it does
not meet the requirements of section 402(b) of the Act and
EPA regulations, or EPA and ADEQ jointly agree to extend
this deadline.
Upon
approval of the AZPDES program, authority for all NPDES
permitting activities, as well as primary responsibility
for NPDES enforcement activities, within the scope of ADEQ’s
jurisdiction, would be transferred to the State, with some
exceptions. These exceptions would be agreed to by EPA and
the State under the MOA that would be signed upon program
approval. The EPA would retain on a permanent basis its
authority under section 402(d) of the CWA to object to AZPDES
permits proposed by ADEQ, and if the objections are not
resolved, to issue federal NPDES permits for those discharges.
EPA would also retain on a permanent basis its authority
under sections 309 and 504 of the CWA to file federal enforcement
actions.
More
information is available at the following websites:
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2002/August/Day-01/w19323.htm
http://www.adeq.state.az.us/environ/water/permits/federal.html
Michael
Broadwater, CPESC, Vali Cooper & Associates, 909-579-0804.
Please visit our sponsor!
Water
Quality and Construction Sites
Where
does the time go? Is it just me or did that summer season
fly by? With all the new regulations pertaining to sampling
and analyzing storm water runoff I think it’s a good
time to discuss construction site pollutants and the potential
effects they have on water quality.
Storm
water runoff as most of us know is a carrier of pollutants
to water bodies. Pollutants associated with construction
can contribute to this problem if allowed to contact storm
water runoff.
Some
of the pollutants found on construction sites include:
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Nutrients
from fertilizers, pesticides, construction type chemicals
and solid waste.
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Sediment from wind or water erosion. Construction activities
such as clearing and grubbing and earth moving will accelerate
the erosion process.
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Trace metals from galvanized metal, paint and preserved
wood. These metals attach to sediments in storm water
runoff.
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Herbicides, insecticides, and rodenticides used on construction
sites.
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Oil, grease and fuel from construction vehicle and equipment
operations.
Pollution
and Sediment
Sediment from construction sites can become contaminated
with toxic chemicals, the toxins can accumulate in waterways
and eventually be passed up the food chain. They can accumulate
to levels that may be toxic to humans.
Excessive
sedimentation causes water quality problems and degrades
the habitat of aquatic organisms and fish. Sedimentation
can fill in gravel beds that are used by salmon, trout,
and steelhead for breeding. This can have an accumulative
effect on the food chain for years. Sediment that becomes
suspended creates cloudy waters that block light transmission
and interfere with plant and fish growth.
Other
Pollutants
Heavy metals from batteries include cadmium, lead and
zinc. The dangers of lead poisoning are well known, cadmium
and zinc are associated with renal dysfunction.
Petroleum
products and antifreeze are other toxins introduced into
our waterways from construction activity.
Excessive
nutrients lead to accelerated plant and algae growth that
contribute to aquatic habitat depletion and lead to fish
kills.
Final
Thought
Remember that polluted runoff from a construction site
can lead to serious water quality issues. Implement proper
BMPs, and M & M...Monitor and Maintain those BMPs.
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Sediment from construction sites can carry toxic pollutants. |
These construction materials should be covered and
contained to reduce contact with storm water.
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Mel
Mathews,CPESC, Western Chapter Board Member
AEI-CASC Engineering, Ph# 949-453-1748
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