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Judge rules that off-roading ends at Carnegie SVRA; State vows to fight closure

Posted by: Maven on December 16, 2009 at 6:25 am

dirt bikeFrom YubaNet.com:

“Oakland, CA Dec. 15, 2009 – A California Superior Court has ordered the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreational (OHMVR) Division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation (Department) to shut down all off-road motor vehicle activity at the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreational Area (Carnegie SVRA) until they file a report of waste discharge (RWD) and obtain a permit for pollutant discharges from the heavily used off-road park. The park discharges prodigious quantities of heavy metals and sediment into Corral Hollow Creek near Tracy, California.

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed the lawsuit on September 17, alleging that the off-road park had failed to request and obtain the legally required permit for pollutant discharges from Carnegie’s numerous off-road trails. Following a December 4th hearing, Judge Roesch of the Alameda Superior Court ordered the Department to “submit a report of waste discharge for water pollution associated with the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area” and to “suspend all off-road highway motor vehicle activity at Carnegie SVRA, including vehicles driving in Corral Hollow Creek” until they “have submitted an RWD and received waste discharge requirements or received a waiver of such WDRs from the Regional Board.” … “

Read more from YubaNet.com by clicking here.

From the Record:

” … Off-roaders feel like they’ve already been railroaded. They are losing access to old roads and trails on national forests throughout the country, making places such as Carnegie all the more important.

“If this thing closes two days before Christmas, it’s going to be even uglier,” said Dave Pickett, who lives in Pioneer and represents the American Motorcyclist Association District 36.

“To me, the environmentalists are using this issue as a way to close down OHV recreation,” Pickett said. “Make no bones about it, they hate OHVs.”

Stockton-based Bill Jennings – head of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which sued along with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER – said the judge was simply enforcing the law. “They (off-roaders) shouldn’t be angry at us,” Jennings said. “They ought to vent their anger at a department that just completely blew off the requirements.”

State-run parks “should be a model for promoting reasonable off-roading,” PEER said in a statement. “Instead, they’ve been polluting the water, allowing unchecked erosion and violating both the law and their own regulations.” … “

Read more from the Record by clicking here.

From the Tracy Press:

” … 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. … “

Read more from the Tracy Press by clicking here.

Photo of dirt bike rider by flickr photographer Big Hairy Monkey. Seriously.

December 16, 2009 · Filed Under Water Quality

Comments

One Response to “Judge rules that off-roading ends at Carnegie SVRA; State vows to fight closure”

  1. Craig Prickett on December 26th, 2009 8:45 am

    I find it hard to believe this is characterized as “a victory” by PEER when the closure of the park negatively impacts thousands of families in the area. I think the so-called victory is only being felt by those that are prejudiced against the activity of off road vehicle recreation. Frankly, I find the suit to be just another example of the “us vs. them” mentality that has eroded OHV access to California over the last 3 decades. While I am very empathetic to the need to manage our natural resources, I am weary of being vilified and targeted simply because I ride a motorcycle off-road.

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