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05/02/2007: "Did PW Set Example Of How Not To Set Examples?"

(DOE Photo -of site on mainland- from “The Ugly” presentation of examples of how-not-to manage stormwater)

The Friends of the San Juans recently put on a stormwater workshop for contractors and builders, and asked PW (SJC Public Works), DOE (Wa State Dept. of Ecology), and others, to present a program that would address stormwater regulations, and Best Management Practices, as required by federal, state, and county regulations. PW was invited, because they are the local contact for stormwater regulations and are in charge of the county stormwater program

During the DOE PowerPoint presentations, the above photo was shown by DOE as an “ugly” example of a site that contained stored material that was not covered to protect it from possible erosion in case of rain; had no barriers to intercept and retain any erosion that might occur; and was lacking any form of protection of the disturbed ground around the area.

The photo below was taken a few days after the presentation, and is of a PW project on San Juan Island, on PW property.


(Photo of Public Works Property on San Juan Island)

It is hard not to make a comparison between the two photographs, and to also assume that the second photo would also be judged as an ugly example of proper storage of material. It might also occur to an observer that the PW example is really ugly, when it is pointed out that what is stored is not clean excavated dirt, but rather appears to contain material from PW projects, and includes asphalt and other road, and perhaps some road side ditch material.

The site location has also caused concerns. The site is located near, and partially surrounded by wetlands, at least one of which is a Class-1; which is described in official county documents as “the best of the best”, and the site drains into the wetland, which in turn drains into the Friday Harbor bay

Following the workshop by The Friends, a letter of concern was sent asking why the County does not have to abide by the same rules as the private sector. A review of the complain, and a site inspection, was then conducted by, none other than the owner of the property, Public Works. PW found no reason for concern during their site inspection of their site.

This is where the story really starts to get a little odd. Pubic Works informed the inspector from the DOE Bellingham Field Office, Andrew Craig, that Matt Zybas (the PW Utility Manager), and the County Stormwater Plan Reviewer, inspected the site, and “As a stormwater professional I do not feel that this property is in violation of the State of Washington Water Pollution Act.”

Well maybe not, but the statement seems to beg the question of “should there have been a plan and mitigation put in place so that there would not be any potential violations"? In other words, should not the agency responsible for stormwater, be required to do the same things they require of county citizens?

Storage of large amounts of material (forget for the moment what is being stored) requires a Storm Water Site Plan. The plan must explain what measures will be taken to insure there will not be negative impacts on a site, or on surrounding areas of a project.

To insure there are no impacts, certain measures are normally required, such as those small black “fences” one sees next to construction sites; and the covering of stored piles of material; and a requirement that disturbed land is to be re-seeded -or at least covered with material to slow down, or stop, any potential erosion. The key word in all of this is “potential”.

And what, exactly, is in that material being stored? If some of it is from the cleaning out of road ditches, it may contain material that should not be allowed to drain into the water table.

The Friends of the San Juans have expressed concern about the site, and note that “it is our understanding that some of the wetlands in this wetlands complex serve as critical recharge areas and may support as many as 20 wells in the adjacent area”; and they have asked if a wetland delineation exists for the site; and if a stormwater plan exists.

With additional complaints coming in, and questions being asked by the SJC Code Enforcement Officer, the County Administrator, and reportedly at least one County Council member, DOE came to the site on Tuesday and conducted their own review.

On Tuesday, the Island Guardian was informed by the County Code Enforcement Officer that, based on the review of the site by DOE, and the County, there may now be mitigation measures demanded of PW to insure there will not be any negative impacts resulting from the stored materials, or the current and future disruption of the site. The need for the County to be in the lead, and not the exception, to stormwater control, was also acknowledged.