State regulators are threatening to fine the City of St. Helena $12,650 for dumping in the Napa River floodplain without obtaining the proper permits last summer.

The city failed to obtain the proper permits before it piled dirt, asphalt and boulders in Wappo Park, according to a complaint filed by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The city used the material, produced by paving projects around town, to build a new approach to the Pope Street bridge. All the material was removed from Wappo Park by early October.

The water board’s complaint accuses the city of failing to file a Notice of Intent to get coverage under a statewide general permit, which the state requires for projects that disturb more than one acre. The city is also accused of failing to prepare and implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for the project.

The city eventually filed both documents, but not until after water board staff visited the site. According to the water board, the city was in violation of state regulations for 89 days.

City Manager Bert Johansson said city officials haven’t decided how to respond to the water board’s complaint.

The law allows the water board to fine the city up to $10,000 a day for each day it was out of compliance. The proposed fine of $12,650 represents 1 percent of that maximum amount, plus reimbursement for water board staff time that was spent on investigating the dumping and filing the complaint.

Local environmentalist Chris Malan wrote to the water board on Aug. 13, questioning if the dumping was legal and whether it posed a threat to the health of the river. Malan is a key figure in the Living Rivers Council, which brought legal challenges against the city’s flood project.

The water board responded by visiting the site on Aug. 19 and issuing the city a Notice of Violation. City officials then filed a Notice of Intent and prepared a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan.

But according to the water board’s complaint, the city should have done those things before the work started on June 3.

Jonathon Goldman was public works director at the time of the Pope Street bridge project. He resigned in October to take a similar job in Sausalito.

Johansson said the city is advertising the public works director job, and will accept applications until the end of January. The job should be filled by the end of February.

Assistant Public Works Director John Ferons has been serving as interim public works director since Goldman resigned.

“Based on staff’s conversation with (Goldman) during the site inspection, the City was aware of its responsibility to get coverage under the General Permit for the Project; however, it made a decision not to apply for the coverage,” the complaint states.

A public hearing on the complaint is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 11 on the first floor of the state building at 1515 Clay St. in Oakland. Regulators will hear testimony, weigh the evidence and decide whether to levy the fine.

The city has the option of waiving the hearing and paying the fine in its full amount.

The water board is inviting the public to address comments or objections to Curtis Scott or Diane Whyte, 1515 Clay St., Suite 1400, Oakland, CA 94612. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to cscott@waterboards.ca.gov or dwhyte@waterboards.ca.gov. Comments must be received by Feb. 4.

The complaint is available online at www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay.ꂝ

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