FLASH: Lawsuit: Sewage Dumped into Lake Berryessa

From: Oscar Braun [mailto:oscar@oscarknows.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 4:54 PM
To: Hillary E. Gitelman (HGitelman@co.napa.ca.us); Supervisor Diane Dillon (ddillon@co.napa.ca.us)
Cc: Jill Pahl (jpahl@co.napa.ca.us); Ruben Oropeza (ROropeza@co.napa.ca.us); Dargan, Kate; Sheriff Gary Simpson (GSimpson@co.napa.ca.us); gchilds@waterboards.ca.gov
Subject: A crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws

August 24, 2005

Dear Supervisor Dillon & Ms. Gitelman,

Bravo for you! It was really wonderful to read about  Napa County Board of Supervisors taking a  leadership role regarding the crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws.  Click here: NapaNews.com | A crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws   As you know, due process and equal treatment  under the Napa County zoning and land use ordinances is extremely important for any local government to maintain their credibility and support among law abiding citizens.  Sadly, it is a common belief that in Napa County, too often the rich and powerful are treated one way, while the rest of us hard working, regular folks are treated differently.  It is exactly because of this “ public perception” of disparate treatment by local and state regulatory bureaucracies that I want to bring to your attention what appears to be a clear example of abuse of political influence at Lake Berryessa by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

The wealthiest man in the state of Arizona and sole owner of the Forever Resorts empire, multi-billionaire Rex Maughan, has been awarded a 30 month interim concessionaire contract at Pleasure Cove Marina for the exclusive "Rex Maughan price" of one thousand dollars ( $1,000 ).  In the attached glossy "Prospectus for Pleasure Cove Marina",  Rex humbly claims that his Forever Resorts “walks” it’s environmental “talk”.    On behalf of all of us "common folks" at Pleasure Cove Marina that regularly pay close to $6000 a year for our privileged Permittee camping site, we are requesting that Napa County and all State regulatory agencies  guide Rex on his long environmental, regulatory zoning and permit compliance "walks".  In short, we’d like to be sure that Rex puts a small portion of his BILLION$ where his mouth is….and that should be in the permit fee coffers at Napa County Environmental Management & Health Services. Why should Rex be spared the process that the rest of us politically challenged folks are required to lawfully abide by ? 

Attached please find a summary of some of the current permitting issues pertaining to Rex’s Pleasure Cove Marina.  Below, please note a citation from the CWP due diligence review regarding Lake Berryessa’s  2003 VSP DEIS and the continuing BOR violations of NEPA.  Also, please find a letter attached presented to the Napa Board of Supervisors earlier this year by Chief Hank Howard.

Regards, Oscar Braun, Executive Director,   C.W.Posse

RE: Summary Due Diligence and Preliminary National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance Review – Department of the Interior and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Lake Berryessa Recreation Area

III. BOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH LOCAL AND STATE LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS, CODES, ORDINANCES AND POLICIES

BOR’s Prospectus and Contract mandates the selected concessionaire to be responsible for the removal and disposal of personal property, fixed assets, and the restoration of public lands, including the abatement of abandoned private trailers during and before the termination date of the new interim concession contract.

The Contract defines “Applicable Law” to include, but not limited to Federal, State, and local law, rules, regulations, codes, requirements and policies governing nondiscrimination, protection of environment, protection of public health, and safety, zoning laws and ordinances, securities and exchange laws, and tax laws.”  

The same or similar reference to local and state laws are used throughout the Contract, including Reclamation’s manual, directives and standards.

When this issue with legal consequences was raised with BOR officials, the common response was that BOR was in charge of permits and compliance issues since it had NEPA responsibilities.  Contradictory responses were received from local and state officials as to specific permitting and environmental issues at Lake Berryessa.  The Department of the Interior’s Assistant Regional Solicitor General confirmed that there is no existing blanket exemption and that the department’s current policies requires BOR to comply with applicable local and state laws.  

Regards, Oscar Braun

BOR Lake Berryessa concession records confirm that the BOR concessionaire manager Cleve Dufer and Pedro Lucero failed to provide the following mandatory documents required by the contract: 
• Annual Improvement Plan;
• Risk Management Plan;
• Performance Bond;
• Inventory of Hazardous Substances and Inventory of Waste Streams;
• Reports and Documents for Regulatory Agencies;
• Environmental Plans;
• Quarterly Report on the Amount of Toxic Chemical Used;
• Pesticide Use Proposal;
• Interpretive Programs and Signs;
• Facilities not needed in new contract;
• Clean Up and Removal Plan;
• Balance Sheet; and
• Financial Statement.

►  The list of missing reports and documents for the terminated concessionaire at Pleasure Cove Resort confirms that BOR is more interested in issues relating to concession operations than achieving its mission.  “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to mange, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of_the American Public.”

V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings from the due diligence and NEPA compliance review, it is clear that BOR first priority should be the urgent appointment of a qualified environmental steward with expertise and experience in NEPA/404 environmental compliance issues to protect the water and related resources at Lake Berryessa.  An important but secondary priority requires BOR to re-open concession operations as soon as possible at Pleasure Cove Resort in accordance with existing standards in the 1992 RAMP EIS based on the NEPA process and adopted by the 1993 ROD.   BOR is charged with the responsibility and duty of serving and protecting the public’s use of federal lands and the interests of the economic stakeholders with good faith investments at Pleasure Cove Resort.  

►  The Half Moon Bay Coastside Foundation a.k.a. Save Our Bay [California Watershed Posse (“CWP”)] is an established non-profit public benefit corporation with expertise and experience in successfully handling environmentally sensitive permits and reviews mandated by NEPA and applicable local and state laws.  CWP has the qualifications and commitment to assist BOR as an independent compliance steward at Pleasure Cove Resort as well as assisting in oversight duties in the protection of watersheds at Lake Berryessa. 

Frank A. Iwama