"Any word on the City of Eureka’s grinding pile located at their corp. yard located at on 14th Street? Are they required to maintain the same standards? "

(Photos provided by Travis Schneider)

I did a post in January 2019 on the You Tube video mentioned in this email thread.
https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2019/01/if-any-other-person-would-pollute-our.html?m=1

Listed below is Travis Schneider's email thread with the City of Eureka and North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board going back to September 2018

Most recent email:

From: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2019 2:43 PM
To: Travis Schneider <tschneider@pacaff.com>
Cc: Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>; Jesse Willor <jwillor@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; 'bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov' <bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Levine, Joshua@Coastal <Joshua.Levine@coastal.ca.gov>; Luders, Joshua@Waterboards <Joshua.Luders@Waterboards.ca.gov>
Subject: Re: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Hello Travis,

Do you have an update for us on the status of the grinding pile? We haven’t received an update from you and It is raining pretty heavy right now in Eureka.

Please let us know soon as possible if and how runoff from the pile has been controlled.

Thanks

Brendan Thompson
Environmental Scientist
North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
5550 Skylane Blvd., Ste. A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 407-0036

---

From: Travis Schneider <tschneider@pacaff.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 9:17:23 PM
To: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>
Cc: Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>; Jesse Willor <jwillor@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; 'bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov' <bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Levine, Joshua@Coastal <Joshua.Levine@coastal.ca.gov>
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Thanks Brendan…I’ll check on it.

TS

From: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 2:51 PM
To: Travis Schneider <tschneider@pacaff.com>
Cc: Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>; Jesse Willor <jwillor@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; 'bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov' <bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Levine, Joshua@Coastal <Joshua.Levine@coastal.ca.gov>
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Hello Travis,

Eureka is scheduled to get over a half-inch of rain starting this evening through tomorrow—I observed yesterday that the asphalt grinding piles on your property at Waterfront and T are exposed. While remnant plastic sheeting and sand or gravel bags remain from previous efforts to cover the pile (see attached), they are currently in a state of disarray and inadequate to protect the piles from storm water.

Please let us know your plan, including timeline, to either 1) capture or treat stockpile leachate, 2) effectively protect the piles from stormwater, or 3) remove the piles during subsequent storms this season.

It appears that the original strategy of protecting the piles with plastic sheeting does not seem to be working. If you wish to maintain the current approach and the issue is plastic theft, then a fence or other commensurate security should be installed to prevent theft—if the issue is also wind, then an improved (i.e., effective) design is needed to withstand the wind. Also, stockpile protection maintenance must occur during and between each storm, as needed.

Leachate from asphalt grindings is a prohibited discharge under the City’s municipal storm water permit and considered a discharge of waste under California Water Code and our Basin Plan. As the property owner, you are responsible for the discharges of pollutants/waste from your property and the City is responsible for the discharge once it enters their storm sewer system (which includes curb and gutter).

We brought this same matter to your attention last winter (see below) and are concerned that it is still an outstanding issue--we consider it a priority to ensure that this ongoing pollutant source is abated as we enter into this rainy season. Please contact us if you have any questions or would otherwise like to discuss.

Thank you.

Brendan Thompson

Environmental Scientist

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

5550 Skylane Blvd. Ste. A

Santa Rosa, CA 95403-1072

(707) 407-0036

From: Travis Schneider <tschneider@pacaff.com>
Sent: Monday, January 7, 2019 8:27 PM
To: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>; Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Cc: Riley Topolewski <rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>; Jesse Willor <jwillor@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Alec Ziegler <aziegler@pacaff.com>; 'Miles Slattery (mslattery@ci.eureka.ca.gov)' <mslattery@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; 'Greg Sparks (gsparks@ci.eureka.ca.gov)' <gsparks@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Steve Watson <swatson@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; 'bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov' <bgerving@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Brendan,

In response to your email below.  The property is owned by my wife and I, not Pacific Affiliates (agent).  In accordance with our permit, said grindings pile was covered (twice to be exact).  However, after two attempts to keep the pile covered, we alerted the City of Eureka that our efforts were unsuccessful due to continued theft of our visqueen (plastic) (see email dated December 7, 2018 11:41AM).  Based on your email below it does not appear as though the City shared said email with yourself or your department.  While I recognize the importance of honoring the conditions of the approval/permit, I’m not certain it’s entirely applicable.  I believe the intent of covering said pile is to eliminate the potential for off-site runoff, however, my inspections have revealed no off site runoff.  To the contrary, said grindings provide a much more pervious surface than the previous compacted gravel parking lot, of which we have blockaded from vehicle traffic.  I’m happy to meet with you directly to discuss further, or we discuss over the phone if you like.

On a separate note, your email inspired me to look into other potential sites of concern.  As a lifelong resident of Humboldt County I share the common love of our environment, wildlife, and lifestyle.  As a resident of Bayside, I have the fortune of driving to work along HWY 101 and Humboldt Bay, across the Eureka Slough and into Eureka to my office.  I had a little extra time this weekend, and figured I would document said drive.  Please take some time to watch the link below.  If you look close, you’ll see some black plastic.  While I don’t have a tracking on it, I can imagine where it came from.

https://youtu.be/izcHpb5inl8

Have a good evening and let me know if you want to catch up at some point.

Travis Schneider

President, CA RCE 67393

Pacific Affiliates

990 W. Waterfront Dr.

Eureka, CA

(707) 445-3001 X206

www.pacaff.com

This e-mail and its attachments are confidential. E-mail transmission cannot be assured to be secure or without error. Pacific Affiliates therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message. The recipient and all recipients bear the responsibility for checking its accuracy against corresponding originally signed documents.  If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute, or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender or info@pacaff.com by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake, and delete this e-mail from your system.

From: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>
Sent: Friday, January 4, 2019 5:20 PM
To: Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Cc: Riley Topolewski <rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>; Jesse Willor <jwillor@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Alec Ziegler <aziegler@pacaff.com>; Travis Schneider <tschneider@pacaff.com>
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Hello Kelly,

The Regional Water Board previously sent the City of Eureka with recommended Coastal Development Permit conditions of approval for a Pacific Affiliate's proposal to stage asphalt-concrete grindings (AC Grindings) at the corner of Waterfront Dr. and T  St. in Eureka. The applicant, Pacific Affiliates responded to the City and revised their application to incorporate our recommended conditions.  However, it appears they are not implementing the conditions, particularly, they are not covering the asphalt stockpiles before rain events.  Attached are site photos taken at approximately 4:30 pm, 1/4/2019, just before sundown, and approximately ten hours before the rain is scheduled to commence. The AC grinding stockpile area looks just as it did on December 8, 2018, when I sent you the below message.  If Pacific Affiliates has violated, or does violate the Coastal Development Permit conditions relating to protecting water quality, than we recommend that the city pull any existing authorizations for this activity in order to protect water quality.

Could you please send us the final condition of approval that was issued to Pacific Affiliates for this asphalt storage/processing?  Also, could you please let us know the results of the City’s look into our previous inquiry of December 10, as noted below? Finally, can you confirm if the parcel land owner is Redwood Empire Public Television?

Thank you. We are copying Pacific Affiliates on this e-mail.

Brendan Thompson

Environmental Scientist

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

5550 Skylane Blvd. Ste. A

Santa Rosa, CA 95403-1072

(707) 407-0036

CPMSM #00000421,  QSP #26942,   CISEC #2232

From: Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 10:24 AM
To: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>
Cc: Riley Topolewski <rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>; Jesse Willor <jwillor@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Brendan,

I wanted to let you know that I received your below email and I am currently working with the planning department to address your below concerns. As you mention, I will update as we move forward. Thanks

Kelly Allen | Project Manager

City of Eureka | Public Works

707-268-5253

From: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards [mailto:Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov]
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2018 2:28 PM
To: Kelly Allen <kallen@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Cc: Riley Topolewski <rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov>; Moore, Heaven@Waterboards <Heaven.Moore@Waterboards.ca.gov>
Subject: Fw: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Hello Kelly,

As included below, the Regional Water Board provided the city with recommended Coastal Development Permit conditions of approval for a Pacific Affiliate's proposal to stage asphalt-concrete grindings (AC Grindings) at the corner of Waterfront Dr. and T  St. in Eureka. Pacific Affiliates changed their application project description in response to our comments, noting that “…the applicant shall ensure that asphalt grindings stockpiled on site will not come in contact with storm water, including direct precipitation, at any time.”  I walked by the site the morning of Saturday, December 8, shortly after a rain event, and noted that the majority of the material was uncovered and had indeed come in contact with storm water.  While there was plastic sheeting strewn everywhere, showing that there had been an attempt to cover the material, it was clear that the efforts to cover the material were inadequate. 

We are concerned that the project proponent is not adequately preventing storm water from contacting the grindings resulting in the possible discharge of pollutants to adjacent wetlands and Humboldt Bay. Could you please follow-up with the project proponent to ensure that appropriate source controls are implemented prior to the next rain event?  Also, please let us know the result of your outreach.

Thank you. Please contact me if you would like to discuss.

Brendan Thompson

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

Environmental Scientist

(707) 407-0036

---

From: Alec Ziegler <aziegler@pacaff.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2018 4:01 PM
To: Riley Topolewski; Travis Schneider
Cc: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Riley,

Please see the attached CDP application which incorporates the recommendations from the Waterboard.

Specifically, in response to recommendation #1, the project description has been updated to state that “…the applicant shall ensure that asphalt grindings stockpiled on site will not come in

contact with storm water, including direct precipitation, at any time.”

In response to recommendation #2, the project description has been updated to state that:

“Any purchaser of the asphalt grindings stored on site shall be notified that storm water that

comes in contact with asphalt grindings may transport pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic

compounds, metals, petroleum compounds, and volatile organic compounds, and that care should

be taken to avoid asphalt grinding contact with storm water and/or placement in close proximity

to wetlands and/or creeks.”

Thanks,

Alec Ziegler

Pacific Affiliates

(707) 445-3001, Ext. 209

(707) 445-2222 (cell)

990 Waterfront Drive

Eureka, CA 95501

From: Riley Topolewski <rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2018 3:16 PM
To: Travis Schneider <tschneider@pacaff.com>; Alec Ziegler <aziegler@pacaff.com>
Cc: 'Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov' <Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov>
Subject: FW: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Travis/Alec,

Please see the conditions of approval that were recommended by Brendan Thompson from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Please adjust your BMPs accordingly if Brendan’s recommendations were not already included in your plans.

Thank You

Riley Topolewski, GISP

Senior Planner

City of Eureka

(707)268-1971

rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov

From: Thompson, Brendan@Waterboards [mailto:Brendan.Thompson@waterboards.ca.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 5:02 PM
To: Riley Topolewski
Cc: Garwood, Rebecca@Wildlife; Matt Goldsworthy - NOAA Federal (matt.goldsworthy@noaa.gov); Kraemer, Melissa@Coastal; Villacorta, Claudia@Waterboards; Bargsten, Stephen@Waterboards; Falcone, Gil@Waterboards
Subject: RE: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Dear Mr. Topolewski,

Thank you for providing Regional Water Board staff the opportunity to comment on the Temporary Storage of Asphalt Grindings Project at Waterfront Drive and T Street in Eureka (attached).  The project area is only approximately 450 feet from Humboldt Bay, and a few feet from a drainage that discharges directly to Humboldt Bay—because storm water drains directly to the Bay from this site, there is potential that this project could impact the water quality of Humboldt Bay if proper conditions are not placed on the project.  We offer the following recommended Conditions of Approval and justifications for the conditions:

1. Recommended condition 1: All asphalt grinding stockpiles shall not come in contact with storm water, including direct precipitation, at any time.

2. Recommended condition 2:  The property owner shall notify all purchasers of asphalt grindings that storm water that comes in contact with asphalt grindings may transport pollutants such as  polycyclic aromatic compounds, metals, petroleum compounds, and volatile organic compounds, and that care should be taken to avoid asphalt grinding contact with storm water and/or placement in close proximity to wetlands and/or creeks.  The Property Owner shall notify the City how it will comply with this condition.

Justification for the above recommended conditions

Asphalt grindings are not inert material.  Storm water that has come in contact with asphalt grindings may carry polycyclic aromatic compounds, metals, petroleum compounds, and volatile organic compounds. Because the asphalt material has been ground into tiny particles, the surface area and potential for pollutant leaching is dramatically increased.  Many of these pollutants, such as dissolved metals, will not be stopped by linear perimeter controls (e.g., silt fence, straw wattles), which are designed to slow and pond storm water to drop out sediments, but not designed to filter pollutants.  As such, it is necessary that the asphalt grindings not come into contact with storm water.  We are pleased that the project description notes that “Tarps will be installed to cover the grindings and prevent run-off when the stockpile is not in active use;” please impose recommended condition number 1 above to ensure the piles are covered and the beneficial uses of Humboldt Bay are protected.   

An important element in considering the pollutant threat of runoff from asphalt grindings is the source.  Asphalt source materials are not of uniform type or composition, meaning that depending upon the source materials, including the binders that were used to originally make the asphalt, you may have a different scope and concentration of potential pollutants.  Also, if the asphalt is open grade friction course asphalt, you may have a higher level of contaminants due to the larger percentage of road-generated pollutants that have settled in the asphalt void spaces.  These things make the pollutant threat from asphalt grindings to aquatic habitats difficult to predict, and warrants caution in their storage and application.   Because of this, please impose recommended condition number 2 above to help protect the beneficial uses of Humboldt Bay and any other aquatic habitat that the asphalt grindings may be placed in close proximity to.

Thank you. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Brendan Thompson, QSD/QSP, CISEC

Environmental Scientist

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

5550 Skylane Blvd. Ste. A

Santa Rosa, CA 95403-1072

(707) 407-0036

From: Riley Topolewski [mailto:rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 3:26 PM
To: Riley Topolewski <rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov>
Subject: City of Eureka Project Referral: CDP-18-0010 Storage of Asphalt Grindings

Please see attached referral for City of Eureka CDP-18-0010 and return any comments by October 9^th, 2018.

Thank You

Riley Topolewski, GISP

Senior Planner

City of Eureka

(707)268-1971

rtopolewski@ci.eureka.ca.gov