Two environmental groups have 150 days from the ruling Dec. 8 to turn the ruling over to state parks officials, who must then bar riders from using the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area.
In September, the California Sportfishing Alliance and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued the state, saying Carnegie had no permit from a state water board to allow pollution to flow into the creek, which is completely dry during vast stretches of the year.
The judge’s ruling has baffled state parks officials, who will fight to overturn or postpone the ruling “in order to keep this park open,” said parks spokesman Roy Stearns.
State parks officials say they’ve done everything they can to limit sediment that pours into the creek while balancing park use at the same time.
But that’s not how the environmental groups see it.
They argue motorcyclists have carved a snaking web of trails into hillsides that, during rainstorms, turn into gushing rivulets of mud that cascade into the already-polluted creek.
“The department of recreation thinks they are above the law,” said Bill Jennings, head of the Sportfishing Alliance. “Nothing is being asked of them that isn’t asked of anyone else.”
The park was created in the 1970s and has become phenomenally popular with dirt bike riders seeking adventure. More than 140,000 riders used the park last year, said park Superintendent Joe Ramos.
Parks officials admit riders contribute to sediment in Corral Hollow Creek, and they restrict crossing the creek during storms to cut what flows downstream. Today, riders were seen riding through the muddy creek bottom, which was already drying out from the weekend’s storm.
Where the heavy metals come from is a bit of a mystery, though neighbors in the watershed who surround the park undoubtedly add to the creek’s pollution problems.
There are two nearby research laboratories that test outdoor explosives, and ranchers in the area have cattle. San Francisco water officials have bored tunnels into hillsides for the pipeline that delivers water from Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Tailings from abandoned mines have been identified. Runoff from a county road is believed to add to the creek’s woes as well. And a massive brick factory once sat in the middle of the creek bed where Carnegie now is.
“What it speaks to is how complicated this issue is, and this watershed is” said Daphne Green, a spokeswoman for the state parks off-highway division.
If the judge’s ruling sticks, the park will have to come up with a plan to further limit pollution and sediment and get a permit from the State Water Quality Control Board.
Those who use and work at the park have heard rumors of a possible off-road ban, and they hate to think they could be shut out, even temporarily.
“This is my home, and it’s frustrating,” said Kevin Porter, who been riding at Carnegie since the 1970s. “Now when I ride, it’s like my last day here.”
Tony Shipman owns Motor-Mart, a business inside the park’s gates. He and his employees would be devastated by a ban on riding.
“We rely on this business,” he said. “We’re really in the dark about what’s going on here, and we’re waiting to find out.”
http://www.carnegieforever.org/index.php
How much lead has the folks in the fishing alliance added to the waterways by using lead sinkers, split shot and who knows what's in the bazillion lures they loose every year? They need to clean up their own mess and leave us out of it.
I can't believe they ban sales on youth motorcycles
but you can still buy lead split shot at Bass Pro Shops... Go figure
Ken
So, in light of that I was very puzzled who brought in the sport's fishing guys, and so I google'd it up and I found an interesting article on ABC. Here is what it said:
Neighbors upset over off-road vehicle expansion plan
"Garamendi lives next to the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area. Her husband's family has been here since the 1870s. He's seen how off-road vehicles change the landscape.
"See that rut for example right there, where the trail's going up kind of below the fence line, that hasn't been used for 20 years," said John Connolly, who opposes the park expansion.
Connolly doesn't believe riders will stay on designated trails in an expanded off highway vehicle park."
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=8782172
If they're concerned with protecting the delta, they should get rid the fishing boats. I'm sure they contribute more pollutants to the delta than the sediment that flows in from Carnegie. Leaky head gasket leaking oil into the water passages, 2 strokes burning oil and exhausting directly into the delta water is ok, as it doesn't add any sediment.
I doubt the Sportfishing Alliance is going to try to stop boats in the delta though.....
First, this is a long-standing issue.
Second, the park could have avoided this situation had they applied for and obtained mandated permits required of industry, municipalities and mom-and-pop businesses.
Third, extensive water quality monitoring established that waters entering the creek were low in sediment with virtually no heavy metals, while waters exiting the park contained prodigious quantities of sediments and metals far above water quality criteria.
fourth, given the overwhelming evidence in the case, the Judge had little alternative but to enforce the law.
And lastly, the quickest path to reopening the park to off-road activity is for Parks and Recreation to simply to comply with the law.
My husband has ridden at Carnegie for over 30 years. Our 2 boys now have a blast riding as well as myself. Dirt bike riding is a great family sport and should not be forced out.
Connoly and his wife(who thankfully was not elected mayor) need to get a life and leave ours alone. They make enough money and do not need more land for their wild game hunting business.
WTH do they mean, "where the heavy metals come from is a bit of a mystery". Simple enough to trace these materials up higher in the watershed and discover the source? It's a canyon, ferchrissakes?!?
The lawsuit text refers repeatedly to inadequate or missing response from the Carnegie and parks people, sounds like they need to protect their park better.
This organization PEER sounds a bit suspicious. A group of public employee attacking the same government that employs them. Drumming up business, sounds like? Kinda like glass shop employees going out at night breaking windows?
Ken