SLT cracking down on storm drain pollution
By Kathryn Reed
South Lake Tahoe businesses with contaminants at their businesses that could reach Lake Tahoe via a storm drain are soon going to face stricter scrutiny.
The city is developing a commercial stormwater program that will affect 188 businesses – 12 gas stations, 33 automotive related businesses, 141 restaurants and two industrial enterprises.
Jason Burke, the city’s stormwater program manager, explained to the City Council earlier this week the reasons for the fee and how the inspections will work.
The council still needs to formally adopt the program. Before that happens, though, Burke and his colleagues want to schedule a meeting with businesses so most questions are answered before the council votes.
Part of the city’s stormwater permit from the Lahontan Water Quality Control Board requires this oversight. Plus, in 2009 the city failed an audit by the EPA.
“They looked into the stormwater program and we were not proactively inspecting these businesses,” Burke told Lake Tahoe News.
What goes in storm drains ends up in Lake Tahoe. Photo/LTN
The permit with Lahontan holds the city liable for anything that goes in its storm drains no matter how it got there or who put it there.
Burke said staff cutbacks and working on other issues regarding Lahontan’s mandate to reduce pollutants getting into the lake took precedence which is why the new program is just now getting under way.
The change will have the city being proactive instead of reactive. Burke showed photos of examples of issues the city has dealt with – including an auto repair shop on Jan. 12 leaking brake fluid into a gutter that is 200 feet from a stream environmental zone, a restaurant waste leaking into a drain on Jan. 7, and a non-secure grease bin dumped and washed into a drain next to the Upper Truckee River on Aug. 7, 2014.
The new policy is designed to identify potential pollutant sources so the types of issues above are less likely to occur.
An inspector has been hired. The inspection fees are designed to cover the bulk of the program – about $20,000. The city is not allowed to profit off the fee, only recover costs.
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Notes:
• Businesses that have questions may contact Jason Burke at 530.542.6038 or jburke@cityofslt.us.
Kae, Thanks for the article on storm drains which run into the lake. The sooner this issue is corrected, the better! Something has to be done and it looks like we are getting started. Probably be a long road but at least it’s a start and maybe will help the lakes clarity. Think clear lake water! OLS
Seems like if they really wanted to do something about pollutants getting into the lake, they would shut down the keys marina. Last year while walking to the beach I saw them sanding the bottom paint off a boat and letting it blow 15 feet into the water.
Mo’ money mo’ money mo’ money!
Yes Matt, We’ve all heard the horror stories- or seen it- about how the Lake is treated by the Marinas. You are talking about the Keys and I am talking about Ski Run Marina. They all treat the Lake like their dumping grounds.
This is the kind of function we need from our local gov’t entities. Now we need to get El Dorado County to take a look at what’s draining into the Upper Truckee and where it’s coming from. The damage continues and the County is missing in action. One guy is pushing all his farm animal excrement into the drain leading to the river, on a regular basis, for years– and there is no one who will take the complaint at the County level. We’ve got a long way to go.
The county has an incredibly progressive Stormwater program and has addressed every polluted outfall that’s drains to the lake. There is a pollutant load reduction plan in place to meet regulations and very good communications with environmental management to ensure any pollution that is identified is stopped. The county has been very progressive on leading the way on winter operation management, sanding and sweeping. The pendulum has swung and is in full motion and if the science is correct hopefully the lake will respond. Most of the county Stormwater issues have been addressed and connected pollution to the upper truckee river mitigated. Again it is a very progressive program. Isee if you or anyone else has questions please contact the county Stormwater program. Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/EDCStormwater and the storm water hotline is 530 573 7906. The hotline is for reporting those pollution problems like you just explained needed to be immediately addressed or looked at. I encourage you to report this farm animal excrement issue to the county immediately and it will get handled.
The Tahoe Key’s is the biggest area of concern, I have seen people drain their Oil right into the drop inlets.Many times there are people that dump their waste oil and other very nasty stuff into the DIs and there are hundreds of them in the Key’s. People wash their cars and the soap goes to the lake, they degrease their Driveway and it goes to the lake. Every single drain in the Tahoe key’s goes directly into the LAKE.
Thanks for the good info.,County