State to Charge Caltrans With Polluting Creek

In a case called the worst example ever of stream pollution in Southern California, state wildlife officials are preparing criminal charges against Caltrans employees alleging millions of pounds of debris was dumped in a protected mountain trout stream.

Two state Department of Fish and Game officials handling the investigation say that a 5-mile stretch of Deep Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains has been polluted by asphalt and other toxic, petroleum-based materials.

They also said that Caltrans employees have been the most uncooperative party they have ever dealt with in a pollution case and that the agency has done nothing to clean the stream despite repeated warnings since late November.

Portions of Deep Creek, a scenic stream that meanders through the mountains, have turned black from ground-up asphalt and other road debris, said Fish and Game Warden Rick Coelho, based in Big Bear. The material, which was removed from Highway 18 during a resurfacing project last year, was deposited in the creek and alongside it for the 5 miles between Running Springs and Snow Valley, he said.

“In one location, they took four or five dump-truck loads and poured it into the creek,” said Coelho, who is investigating the case. “We have one area of the creek that has been silted so bad that I’m sure everything is dead there.”

Caltrans officials said Monday that disposal of asphalt grindings alongside roadways is standard practice in their projects, and that if any hazardous material got in the creek, it was accidental. They also said they are trying to work out a cleanup plan.

Deborah Robertson, a Caltrans spokeswoman in San Bernardino, called the allegations and possible prosecution “strange” because “we have been working with Fish and Game to address the cleanup operation.” She declined, however, to reveal any details of the ongoing talks.

As one of only two state-designated wild trout streams in the San Bernardino Mountains, Deep Creek is considered a rare resource, still in its natural state, with special value to fish and wildlife. Rainbow and brown trout spawn in the willow-lined stream, which also serves as habitat for black bear, deer, cougars and other area mammals.

There have been no reports of dead fish or harm to other wildlife. But Fish and Game officials fear that petroleum-based and alkaline compounds might kill Deep Creek’s fish and destroy its ecosystem, including insects and vegetation that support fish.

Coelho said Monday that he plans to take a case to the San Bernardino County district attorney, possibly today, alleging 39 misdemeanors against two Caltrans employees in San Bernardino as well as two contracting companies and one of their employees.

He declined to name the Caltrans employees or the private firms, although Caltrans records show that E.L. Yeager Construction of Riverside is the main contractor for the project.

Officials with Yeager Construction were out of the office Monday or did not return phone calls from The Times.

Coelho stressed that although contractors did the work, Caltrans has a resident engineer at each site that oversees the projects and has the responsibility to ensure laws are followed.

“There are obvious violations, and some involve activities of Caltrans employees and some involve contractors,’ said Gordon Cribbs, Fish and Game’s regional patrol chief.

Coelho estimated that as much as 14 million pounds of the petroleum-based debris was disposed of in or alongside Deep Creek, an estimate based on the project’s Caltrans contract. He said he discovered the disposal in late November and notified Caltrans then, but that the agency has ignored the warnings.

A Dec. 17 letter to Caltrans from Fish and Game’s regional headquarters demanded removal of the asphalt and all pollutants by Dec. 31. Caltrans agreed to cooperate in a statement on Dec. 18, but Coelho said Monday that none has been removed.

State Fish and Game officials said they are especially upset that a sister state agency is responsible.

“I’m appalled. The arrogance (of the Caltrans employees) is beyond belief,” Coelho said. “I’ve arrested people for homicide that have acted better than this.”

Robertson of Caltrans said the asphalt was removed from the highway and ground up, then placed alongside the road and creek as backing for the road’s shoulder. Robertson said Caltrans does not consider asphalt a hazardous material.

Although Caltrans officials say the disposal at Deep Creek was routine, it appears to have violated the agency’s own asphalt disposal policy adopted in 1985.

A 1985 memo signed by Caltrans Deputy Director W.E. Schaefer alerts all personnel “to take steps to assure that the disposal of material containing asphalt concrete in stream beds does not recur. All existing and future permits should be reviewed with our contractors to assure that they have a clear understanding that asphalt material is not to be placed in streams.”

Also, the transportation agency’s Notice to Contractors, a standard contract used in all road projects, says it is unlawful to divert or obstruct the bed of any stream and that all removed materials “shall be disposed of outside the highway right of way.”

Caltrans officials also say the area is now too difficult and unsafe to clean up since several feet of heavy snow fell in the past couple of weeks. But Fish and Game officials say the agency had about a month to clean it up before the snow fell.

“I’m extremely frustrated that it hasn’t been cleaned up, and I don’t buy any of the excuses they are giving,” said Mike Giusti, the Fish and Game fisheries biologist in charge of stream beds in Southern California.

Giusti said it is the worst case of stream pollution he has seen, and he worries that as the snow covering the debris melts, all the toxic pollutants will seep into the water.

“The only thing worse as far as I’m concerned is an oil spill. But with an oil spill, you get immediate response. That is not true here,” he said.

Coelho alleged that the debris was dumped into the creek to save money and time. Just the cost of hauling it would be about $70,000, with disposal costs extra, he said.

One Fish and Game source said that a Caltrans engineer told him that “Caltrans contracts supersede the law,” and another one said that the public doesn’t care about the creek, they only want road projects completed on time.

Robertson of Caltrans denied all allegations and said Coelho was at the construction site during the disposal operation and approved it.

“The warden that is now questioning the work was out there during the whole duration of that project,” she said. “He was there in the area observing the operation.”

Coelho called that allegation ludicrous and said the first time he saw the creek damage was Nov. 22, when the work was already done. The road construction took place last summer and fall.

“If I had been there to see that, I would have taken them to jail,” he said.

State water board officials also have mounted an investigation of Deep Creek.

“Caltrans is sadly mistaken if they think it is legal for them to put asphalt into the waterways,” said Bruce Paine, an associate engineer with the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board in Riverside.

Paine added, however, that the water board’s investigation just began and that it is too soon to clarify what has happened at Deep Creek.

“We’ve got two state agencies giving us entirely different stories, and it puts us in an awkward position,” Paine said.

Jim Hall, president of the Fishing Assn. of Big Bear Lake, said he was shocked by the amount of debris he saw in and alongside Deep Creek when he visited there in November.

“I don’t feel that it’s accidental droppings. It looks like it was dumped to me,” Hall said. “Many of the culverts are just full of this stuff. I’m afraid what it can do to the fishery, not just in the next few months but in the years ahead.”

Howard Sarasohn, Fish and Game deputy director, said Monday that he has gotten assurances from top Caltrans officials in Sacramento that the creek will be cleaned up.

“Orders are going down from their headquarters, and I believe it is a very, very sincere commitment,” Sarasohn said.

Regardless of whether cleanup occurs, Cribbs said the investigation will continue and a report will be turned over to the district attorney for possible prosecution and fines.

Coelho and Giusti said Caltrans’ contention that the material was shoulder backing for the road is unlikely because the materials are as far as 45 feet from the road, up and down embankments.

If the creek’s ecosystem is damaged, it would probably take years for it to return to normal, even if the material is cleaned up.

“I think it’s going to have an adverse impact on the stream. How significant is hard to say. It depends on how much gets into the water system and how long it takes them to clean it up,” Giusti said.

Cribbs said that he hopes that the two state agencies can work out their differences but that “if Caltrans is unable to clean it up, we’ll have to order a contractor and clean it up” with Fish and Game’s emergency pollution funds.

He added, however, that such action “has complications because some of it is on Caltrans right of way,” so Caltrans approval might be necessary.

Asphalt Blackens Protected Stream

California Fish and Game officials are accusing Caltrans employees and two contractors of dumping up to 14 million pounds of asphalt along a portion of Deep Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains. It is unknown what the effects will be on the stream.

Trout Habitat

Deep Creek is one of two “wild trout streams” in the San Bernardino Mountains, meaning that it has restrictions designed to protect it against overfishing.

Recreation

Numerous deep pools, waterfalls, large boulders and hot springs attract swimmers and sunbathers. Hiking trails parallel portions of the creek.

What’s in Asphalt?

A substance derived from crude oil. Tests have shown the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons and other toxic chemicals in the water near the material.

SOURCES: U.S. Forest Service; California Department of Fish and Game