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CSPA's Bill Jennings responds to Carnegie Park criticisms

December 16, 2009 -- With respect to our Carnegie lawsuit victory, below are links to two articles in the Stockton Record and Tracy Press.  I've received several irate emails.  Below is my response to them.

First, this is a long-standing issue - Parks and Recreation has been in violation of Porter-Cologne and their own regulations for a long time.

Second, Parks and Recreation could have avoided this situation had they applied for and obtained mandated wastewater discharge permits required of industry, municipalities and mom-and-pop businesses - and yes, even government agencies.  They knew they were required to obtain these permits.

Third, extensive water quality monitoring, over an extended period of time, established that creek waters entering Carnegie 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 and non-refuted evidence in the case, the Judge had little alternative but to enforce the law.  I would suggest you examine the actual complaint and evidence presented in the case.

And lastly, the quickest path to reopening the park to off-road activity is for Parks and Recreation to simply comply with the law; i.e., submit a Report of Waste Discharge and obtain a permit.

This lawsuit was not directed at off-roading, as an activity.  Indeed, I spent many years off-roading all over the country.  This case was about Parks and Recreation's arrogant refusal to comply with long-existing laws established to protect habitat and water quality.  Cheers!”

Article links below:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091216/A_NEWS/912160310/-1/a_news14#STS=g3amknjb.wko

http://tracypress.com/pages/full_story/push?article-The+muddy+future+of+Carnegie%20&id=5163690-The+muddy+future+of+Carnegie&instance=home_news_bullets