Dear editor, I would like to make a brief clarification regarding your May 11 article on the Napa Sanitation District settlement with Northern California River Watch (“New deal to study river health”), calling for studies to determine the effects of wastewater operations on the Napa River and its tributaries.

In response to the subsequent blog comment that River Watch is “hassling government entities to exceed regulations,” the article did not make clear that there were numerous Clean Water Act violations in the course of the district’s operations. Where the article said that River Watch is concerned about sewage line overflows, storage pond capacity and irrigation runoff, it should have stated that these concerns are based on undisputed violations in the district’s own records. In fairness to district operators, most systems have some violations, and we were favorably impressed with the knowledge and professionalism of district staff. However, there are deficiencies in the district’s operations with a real potential for harmful biological impacts affecting public health and the environment. The Napa River is already on a Clean Water Act list of impaired waterways.

Local operators, faced with funding shortfalls and local pressures, make inevitable compromises. They seek exemptions from the regulators, like the Regional Water Board allowing the Napa District to make “emergency discharges” to the Napa River during the dry season, when discharges are generally prohibited. Sewer line overflows could be decreased by requiring private home owners to inspect and repair private laterals at point of sale. District staff is reluctant to mandate such inspections for fear of reaction from real estate brokers. The end result of such compromises, by operators and regulators, is that most major waterways in the region are on the impaired list, including the Napa, Petaluma and Russian rivers. We are generally living in an increasingly toxic environment, with rates of cancer and other environmentally related diseases rising. River Watch is not pushing operators to exceed regulations, or even to be in strict compliance. We are working with them to take a clearer look at the biological impacts and to prioritize funds where the violations have the greatest impact.

Jerry Bernhaut, attorney

Northern California River Watch

Sonoma