Features
Stormwater Requirements Loom
| Programs Aim to Keep Bay
Clean | Disaster News
Rec. Activities Guide Now Published Biannually |
Window Clears Along Bay
Mexican Tall Ship Visits Monterey
 Stormwater Requirements Loom with Challenges, Huge Price Tags
The City’s newest water-quality challenge
could be arduous: keeping all stormwater runoff from entering a designated
area in Monterey Bay.
Known as the Pacific Grove Area of Special Biological Significance
(ASBS), this area was designated in 1974 to increase protection for the
area’s unique resources. It is one of
34 set up along the California coast.
In designating an ASBS, no “waste” is allowed to flow into the
area. “Waste” could include rain runoff, since all urban runoff contains at
least minute amounts of impurities.
Because of our peninsula geography and stormwater infrastructure,
Monterey has two areas that direct runoff into the ASBS through Pacific
Grove’s storm drain system. In late 2004, we were issued a draft “Cease and
Desist Order” by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to
perform one of the following: 1) stop all flows into the ASBS of stormwater
containing waste; or 2) file for an exception. Either option would require
many dedicated resources of time and dollars, possibly running into the tens
of millions.
After receiving this draft order, we went to work and presented our
current comprehensive stormwater program, which deals with keeping
pollutants out of
the Bay, to the Water Quality Control Board. We were asked to add some
additional details to the plan prior to its adoption. In addition, the City
may be asked to implement some costly additional programs in areas that
drain to the ASBS. We are working to secure grants to pay for those
requirements.
While this process is still pending and a final “Cease and Desist
Order” has not been served, the City is working with all parties involved to
determine the next course of action.
For background details and steps you can take to keep Monterey Bay free of
pollutants,
see related article.
Stayed tuned to reports in the media and on our Web site for updates.
Programs Aim to Keep Bay Clean
Monterey has worked for many years to reduce
the amount of pollutants that flow through our storm drain system and into
Monterey Bay.
Through urban runoff studies, community outreach programs and
collaboration with neighboring communities, we have sought to protect our
coastal resource while satisfying unfunded state and federal mandates.
We continue working to divert dry weather flows during the
non-rainy season to the sanitary sewer system and have applied for grant
funding to study the issue of wet weather flows (a.k.a. stormwater) to find
the most feasible way to deal with pollutants in rainwater.
In conjunction with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, we
have undertaken a “copper source tracking study” in a specific area where
copper was found in the runoff. The results of that study will be used to
find the best way to remove copper from runoff.
How Rainwater Gets Polluted
Stormwater is the runoff that occurs during the rainy season. Though
rainwater seems clean, stormwater often picks up pollutants as it makes its
way down the hill into the ocean.
Stormwater has the potential to pick up oil drippings and other
automotive fluids as well as dust from our driveways and streets; pesticides
and fertilizers from our yards;
pet waste that gets left behind; and sediment that is not stabilized. All of
these materials
contribute to the pollution challenge.
We have worked over the past five years with eight other
neighboring cities and agencies to develop a stormwater outreach program
that aims to reduce pollutants and keep them from getting into the
stormwater in the first place.
Do Your Part to Reduce Pollution
Community members can help reduce pollution in the Bay. Clean up oil drips
and service your car regularly. Clean up after pets.
Use pesticides and fertilizers according to directions, if you must
use them at all. Visit a local hardware store to learn more about less toxic
and nontoxic ways to deal with weeds, pests and keeping plants healthy.
Keep your yard or driveway free of loose sediment and make sure
soil does not run off into the street or onto sidewalks. Do your part to
keep the environment healthy.
For more information on clean stormwater requirements,
see related article.
Visit the Stormwater Education page off
www.monterey.org/publicworks
for more tips or
call 646.3920.
 DISASTER
NEWS...
NERT Now CERT, Mission Unchanged
During emergencies or disasters, where NERT
has been, now CERT will be.
Our NERT program is transitioning into a federally-funded program
known as Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). It’s a new name for the
10-year-old program that provides community members with the
disaster-related know-how they need to be self sufficient and support
others, if necessary, until help can arrive.
CERT brings new services to our community as it is a
nationally-recognized program that developed in response to the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.
The curriculum is well defined, includes terrorism awareness and is
similar to our NERT training.
Communities with established CERT programs receive funding for
training and resources. Team members get the same training with CERT no
matter where they live and training certification is transferable.
In order for our existing team members to transition from NERT to CERT,
the Fire Department will hold special training classes.
To register or get more info, call 646.3900
(rodewald@ci.monterey.ca.us).
To learn more about CERT, go online at
training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/CERT
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Recreation Activities Guide Now Published Biannually
 Sign up for recreation activities, sports,
educational classes, camps and workshops listed in our Activities Guide. Now
look for the guide two times each year – summer/fall and winter/spring.
We have changed how often the Recreation & Community Services
Activities Guide is published to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The
summer/fall guide will cover from June thru November and the winter/spring
guide will run from December thru May.
So pick up your copy, find just what you are looking for and sign
up today, either online or in person. Remember to hang on to your copy
throughout the time period.
Review our activities online at
www.monterey.org/rec or call 646.3866.
 Window
Clears Along Bay as Undevelopment Process Continues
Access to the coastline has improved, once
again. After more than a decade of negotiations,
the Roto-Rooter business now at Del Monte and Park avenues will move to a
new location allowing room for expansion of Monterey Bay Waterfront Park.
This marks another milestone in our ongoing quest for open space
and viewsheds in the area commonly know as Window on the Bay.
T he City’s Master Plan of 1939 envisioned acquiring more open
space and providing public access to our waterfront. The City has been
negotiating to obtain the remaining privately owned parcels along this
waterfront area, east of Municipal Wharf II. This will create a beautiful
entrance to the City, allow for more recreational opportunities and
eventually widen and improve access along Del Monte Avenue, our main
thoroughfare.
For more background on the Window-on-the-Bay project, visit
www.monterey.org/parks and click
on No. 17.
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Mexican
Tall Ship Visits Monterey
The Mexican tall ship Cuauhtémoc took
time out to sail into Monterey Bay this summer.
The Cuauhtémoc, known as the “Ambassador and Gentleman of
the Seas,” is a tireless navigator, having trained officers for some 20
years and sailed more than 400,000 nautical miles. It is a sister ship to
the Guayas and the Gloria, which have previously visited.
For almost two decades, the ship’s accomplishments have been
acknowledged and praised by other navies in the world. Built in 1982, the
Cuauhtémoc has participated in important regattas such as the Colón
Regatta, the Cutty Sark Tall Ships’ races and the Centenary of Osaka Port
Modernization Regatta.
To review photos and info about the visit,
go to www.monterey.org/harbor
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