Healdsburg loses federal lawsuit over wastewater
US District Court judge demands that city get federal permits for discharge to gravel pit
February 4 / By Ray Holley / Healdsburg Tribune Editor
A federal judge has ordered Healdsburg to get a federal permit or stop discharging treated wastewater into an old gravel pit near the Russian River.
The ruling, from U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup, upholds an assertion by Northern California River Watch that Healdsburg's wastewater discharge into the Basalt Pond, a former gravel pit, amounts to a discharge to the Russian River.
Alsup's findings say that the Basalt Pond is part of the Russian River ecosystem, and is therefore subject to the same rules for what can, and can't be discharged into it.
Healdsburg Public Works Director George Hicks said that the ruling is too broad, and implies that entire watersheds could come under much tighter regulatory scrutiny. He said that Alsup's ruling is "so wild and out there ... it changes the world as we know it."
River Watch spokesman Toben Dilworth said the ruling simply requires Healdsburg to get a different permit and do a better job treating its wastewater. "They've been utilizing this pond since 1978 and they've had enough time. The free ride is up. They need to start complying with the Clean Water Act."
Dilworth also said "this judgment will set a precedent ... this decision is going to be essential in fighting Santa Rosa's plans" to dispose of its wastewater through irrigation.*
Hicks said that Healdsburg is in the planning stages for a new wastewater treatment plant, but that "until we get this sorted out I don't know what to build."
Healdsburg has a right to appeal the decision, but has not announced if it will do so.
* This quotation is inaccurate. The words " through Irrigation" should be replaced with "by utilizing former gravel ponds adjacent to the Russian River."