Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
By: FoGR Vice President, Lynn Walton
For nearly a year Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) has been engaged in an effort to prompt the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the State Water Resources Control Board to perform their duty to incorporate the Gualala River’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for sediment into the North Coast Water Quality Control Plan. An article describing the project was distributed to FoGR supporters in May 2021 and can be found here on FoGR’s website: FoGR Launches Salmonid and Watershed Restoration Project.
The Regional and State Water Boards remain unresponsive to FoGR’s request to adopt the Gualala River’s TMDL and a corresponding implementation plan to improve water quality. Additionally, the Regional Water Board has continued to permit excessive sediment from timber harvest activities to enter watercourses in the Gualala River Watershed by enrolling them in the General Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) Program.
For example, the Regional Water Board enrolled Gualala Redwood Timber’s (GRT) 227 acre Far North Timber Harvest Plan (THP) under the WDR program. The Far North THP is located along the Little North Fork – the only area in the watershed that is not temperature impaired. These harmful practices, which show no signs of slowing down, compelled FoGR to file a lawsuit against the Regional and State Water Boards and Gualala Redwood Timber (GRT), whose timber operations continue to produce sediment pollution from dirt and debris that rain subsequently carries to the river. FoGR’s complaint seeks for the court to: 1) vacate the Regional Water Board’s enrollment of the Far North Timber Harvest Plan in the General Waste Discharge Requirements for timber harvesting, and 2) enforce the Regional and State Water Board’s duty to incorporate the TMDL into the North Coast Water Quality Control Plan, as required by the EPA Clean Water Act.
A Case Management Conference (CMC) occurred in Superior Court, Mendocino County, in November 2021 to agree on next steps and a timeline. A second CMC is scheduled for February 2022 at which time a trial date will be set.
FoGR maintains that this long-term approach to effect recovery of the sediment-impaired Gualala River will help restore the river’s health and the salmonids that it supports. Several miles north, the Garcia River shows signs of a strong recovery, which is credited in large part to its TMDL Implementation Plan that has been carried out over the past 30 years. The Garcia River’s successful restoration reinforces FoGR’s commitment to this effort. FoGR will keep its supporters informed about the TMDL case through its website and local media.
