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Not Just Any Port in a Storm?

The Port of Stockton continues to be accused of water quality violations, most recently by DeltaKeeper. On October 2, the watchdog group notified the facility that it intends to sue the port and two of its tenants for over 21,700 violations of the federal Clean Water Act. DeltaKeeper charges that the Port continually discharges highly contaminated stormwater into the San Joaquin River. With penalties of up to $25,000 per day per violation, the suit could cost the Port and its tenants more than $542 million.

DeltaKeeper cites stormwater samples collected by Cal Fish & Game as part of a year-long investigation. The samples contained toxic levels of copper, chromium, nickel and zinc, as well as lethal pH levels. The stockpiles of petroleum coke, sulfur and fertilizer handled at the port are prime suspects, although DeltaKeeper's Bill Jennings says the Port's monitoring has been "so bad that we have no idea where the metals are coming from."

According to the Port's attorney Steven McDonald, the Fish and Game samples were taken on Port property, and were not discharges to the river at all. "The Port is unaware of any data showing that stormwater discharges from the facility are causing harm to the river," he says.

In April, the Central Valley Regional Board issued the Port a notice for numerous violations of its stormwater discharge permit, including failure to implement best management practices, eliminate non-stormwater discharges, revise its stormwater pollution prevention plan to address all Port activities, and adopt an adequate monitoring and sampling program. McDonald attributes the problems to gaps in the City of Stockton's stormwater permit, rather than to violations of the state general industrial permit under which the port and its tenants are covered.

The Regional Board disputes the Port's position and is preparing a stringent, new municipal stormwater permit for the entire facility. A hearing on the new draft permit is planned for January, and the proposed schedule calls for implementation of the new pollution prevention measures within one year." The most important thing is to get the Port fully covered by a permit," says the Board's Pamela Barksdale, "but we are also going ahead with enforcement actions for prior violations." Such actions could include a cease-and-desist order, a cleanup and abatement order, and civil or administrative fines.

Meanwhile, the Port has sixty days to discuss remedies to DeltaKeeper's allegations. "At this point all indications are that we will be proceeding with the suit," says Jennings.

Contact: Pamela Barksdale (916)255-3024; Bill Jennings (209)464-5090; or Steven McDonald (619)699-2576

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