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Dioxin
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Humboldt Baykeeper in the News Baykeeper Says Road Project Violates Federal
Regulations EUREKA -- The plan was to fill potholes; however, Humboldt Baykeeper Director Pete Nichols said, any project that “disturbs” a wetland parcel that hasn’t been adequately analyzed is a legal violation for which someone must be held accountable. So, Humboldt Baykeeper has notified Security National CUE VI of what Baykeeper claims are “numerous violations” of the federal Clean Water Act pertaining to SN’s Balloon Track maintenance project, which began in late March but that SN stopped a day after it started due to community and agency concerns. SN had planned to apply clean and crushed aggregate rock to its vacant Eureka parcel’s existing roadways. Nichols said on Monday that Humboldt Baykeeper mailed documents this past Friday to Security National’s attorneys and to the Eureka business office outlining Baykeeper’s “Notice of Intent to Sue,” which states SN hasn’t obtained the “proper permits or developed adequate pollution prevention measures for road construction” on the Balloon Track, which is located between Commercial and Washington streets on Waterfront Drive. Nichols said construction near wetlands and in the Coastal Zone requires permits from the California Coastal Commission, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Army Corps of Engineers. SN Senior Vice President Brian Morrissey said neither he nor the company’s attorneys have received the Baykeeper notice as of Monday afternoon. But, Morrissey added, SN did obtain all required permits. “We received permits from both the Army Corps of Engineers and the North Cost Regional Water Quality Control Board,” Morrissey said. “We continue to work with the city and the Coastal Commission staff to determine if a coastal-development permit is required to allow for the needed repairs for emergency access for fire equipment, medical services and police.” The issue of the coastal-development permit was first discussed with media on March 26, when Citizens for Real Economic Growth issued a release claiming the maintenance work could “encroach on protected wetlands, as well as risking potentially dangerous releases of toxic wastes contaminating the site.” Eureka Community Development Department Director Kevin Hamblin told The Eureka Reporter a coastal-development permit was not required for “road maintenance including road grading of potholes,” with the exception of “mechanized equipment within 50 feet of the edge of an environmentally sensitive habitat area.” CREG also contended safety plans for hazardous waste discharge control were not supplied to the city. Morrissey said no hazardous materials were discharged. “The site hasn’t been fully assessed for contaminants,” Nichols said. “The project (that) was outlined to the city of Eureka was that they were just going to fill in some potholes. (SN) ended up starting road construction, clearly not just filling some potholes.” SN has 60 days from the lawsuit intent notice to comply, Nichols said. Morrissey said SN is “committed to making the Balloon Track a safer and cleaner place for our neighbors and our community.” This is the second time Humboldt Baykeeper has either threatened or filed a Balloon Track federal lawsuit. It filed one in May 2006 against then-owner Union Pacific Railroad claiming violations of the federal Clean Water Act. North Coast Railroad Authority is also listed on the lawsuit due to a 150-foot rail easement that traverses the site. That original lawsuit is still active, Nichols said, and it now includes Security National, the new owner of the property. “We have assumed responsibility for the Balloon Track, including the legal costs associated with the Baykeeper lawsuit,” Morrissey said.
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