Amador County – Ione staff recently assisted in drafting an “uncontested Cease & Desist Order” which would keep the city from getting a connection ban to its sewer system, if the Regional Water Quality Control Board approves the draft order in early April.

City Manager Kim Kerr said staff “worked with the Prosecution Team at the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board on an uncontested draft Cease and Desist Order,” revising a draft Order received in January that included a connection ban, to stop connections to the city wastewater system.

Through negotiations with the Prosecution Team, Kerr said “there is a revised draft Cease and Desist Order and no connection ban,” which would go to the Regional Board for review and possible approval.

The city will not contest the Cease and Desist Order, and worked with the Prosecution Team, which “modified the language to meet our needs as much as they were willing to.” Kerr said “it was their order,” and it was mutually written.

The Prosecution Team “recommend no connection ban,” she said, although “we will have to report our connections, and make sure we don’t exceed the flows that are established for us.”

She said one change that helped was because the Regional Board was not considering Amador Regional Sanitation Authority’s change in flow, which it reduced from 900 acre feet to 650 acre feet. The ARSA secondary effluent is drawn off the Preston reservoir and put into ponds at Caslte Oaks. She said the majority of it runs through the Castle Oaks tertiary treatment and the water irrigates the golf course.

The Regional Water Quality Control Board holds a series of meetings April 6-8, and the city will not contest the Cease and Desist Order. Kerr and city attorney Kristen Castanos will attend the meeting and answer questions.

Kerr said the changes have “basically adopted our time frames for getting the project completed,” for the wastewater treatment plant. The city must create a “seepage prevention plan,” which it must report in January 2012. Then the city will submit a Report of Waste Discharge. Kerr said basically, the city “cannot be degrading the groundwater after October 2013.” She said they “reduced significantly what was there.”

The Ione City Council gave staff direction in negotiations, and Kerr said if there had been issues they did not feel comfortable with, staff would have taken the issue back to the council.

Kerr said: “We all appreciated the fact that the Regional Board was willing to work with us. We’re very happy.”

The Council will have more discussion on the draft Cease and Desist Order at its April 5 meeting, and will also look at budgets, including the current year, last year and next year.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.