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Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District Releases Draft Environmental Impact Report For Brine Trucking

The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District has released a draft supplemental environmental impact report for the new chloride compliance plan to possibly truck brine out of the community to a water treatment plant in Carson.


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The 164-page document is available to the public and highlights the environmental setting, impacts and mitigation measures of the project, as well as cumulative impacts, growth inducement and project alternatives.

A plan was approved in 2013 to install a deep well injection site near the Valencia Tournament Players Club golf course to dispose of brine. However, the plan did not go through because of widespread opposition from Santa Clarita Valley residents.

Brine is the salty water byproduct from the advanced treatment process that will be used to remove chloride from wastewater, said Bryan Langpap, project manager for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District. Chloride, or salt, is added to water through soaps and other household chemicals.

“We came back to our directors and said, ‘We can’t implement deep well injection at another location or a pipeline to the ocean by July 1, 2019,’” said Phil Friess, head of Technical Services of the district, in a previous story.

In May of 2015, the SCVSD board members approved of staff further investigating new brine management alternatives, including environmental review, said Langpap.

The SCVSD created a new proposal to change the way brine is handled, said Langpap.

About six truckloads of brine, with a maximum of 10, would be driven during off-peak hours to the proposed facility, Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson. The facility treats over 270 million gallons of wastewater per day from much of the Los Angeles Basin and discharges it to the ocean, according to a news release.

The chloride compliance plan must be implemented by July 1, 2019, as set by the state.

If the deadline is not met, the SCVSD would face a $2,000,000 minimum annual fine, which would be paid for by Santa Clarita Valley residents, until a chloride compliance plan is implemented, Friess said in a previous story.

The board will consider approving the new brine management proposal in early spring of 2016 when the EIR process is complete.

The EIR process analyzes the environmental impacts of the proposed brine concentration equipment at the Valencia Water Reclamation Plan and the limited trucking operation, according to a news release.

Two public meetings are scheduled to be held in December for the project.

The first meeting will be held on Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Santa Clarita Activities Center, located at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway.

The second meeting will be held on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Stevenson Ranch Elementary School, located at 25820 Carroll Lane.

Both meetings will have an “open house” between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in which SCVSD staff will be able answer the public’s questions, Langpap said.

The formal public hearing will start at 7:30 p.m. which will give the public an opportunity to give verbal comments on the project, said Langpap.

Comments may also be emailed to Langpap or provided as verbal testimony at a public hearing.

The public review period is set to be closed on Jan. 8, 2015 and the final document is expected to be presented in early spring of 2016, Langpap said.

The Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District is the public agency responsible for treating the SCV’s wastewater out of two plants: the Saugus Water Reclamation Plant and Valencia Water Reclamation Plant, according to a news release. These plants release highly treated water into the Santa Clara River.

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KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District Releases Draft Environmental Impact Report For Brine Trucking

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About Heather Harbin

Heather grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley and graduated from West Ranch High School in 2012. She recently graduated from College of the Canyons with an Associate's Degree in New Media Journalism. She was involved in College of the Canyons' "Cougar News" for two years, where she became the senior producer. She will be studying for her Bachelor's Degree at Cal State Northridge in the spring. Heather became a staff writer at KHTS AM-1220 following her internship in the newsroom. She has been writing news and feature articles for the KHTS website since May 2015.