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After being sued by the Sierra Club for dumping toxics from its mining operations into the upper reaches of Permanante Creek, Lehigh Cement Company has agreed to pay for a toxic cleanup valued at over $10 million.
The Sierra Club accused Lehigh-Hansen cement quarry and plant in the Cupertino foothills of being responsible for the high levels of selenium in the water, which is detrimental to fish and other wildlife, and may be why steelhead trout no longer spawn in the creek in significant numbers.
“By removing mining wastes and stopping selenium discharges on the Lehigh property, Sierra Club plans to bring Permanente Creek a giant step closer to a recovered steel-head run,” said a statement from the Sierra Club.
“We’re quite satisfied with our settlement,” said Mike Ferreira, a Sierra Club executive committee member who managed the legal fight.
It requires the cement quarry to come up with a plan for the cleanup, which could cost as much as $12 million, and install a filtration system that may cost over $35 million to keep the selenium out of the creek. “It’s no simple thing to get selenium out of water,” he said.
Ferriera added that the focus has been on cleaning up the upper reaches of the creek, outside of Mountain View, where the levels of the naturally occurring toxin may be much lower.
“We are pleased that the company and the Sierra Club were able to work collaboratively on resolving the litigation in a manner that is mutually acceptable to both parties,” said Kari Saragusa, Lehigh Hanson’s west region president, in a statement.
“We started from a common baseline, which was to restore Permanente Creek in a manner that is environmentally sound and, importantly, scientifically valid. The work that we have been doing in that regard—which includes erosion and sediment controls, and frequent monitoring and testing—can now be accelerated and built upon as part of an overall site reclamation plan that was unanimously approved last year by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors,” Saragusa said.
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Nearly all the water from Permanente Creek ends up in SF Bay So, if any clean up is needed downstream, they need to look at SF Bay as well. I am sure the Sierra Club is aware of this.
Actually SC is very clean compared to Permanente. There are returning steelhead trout that spawn every year in SC…the goal of cleaning Permanente is to return steelhead to the creek.
I ride through San Antonio Preserve every day or so, and I and others have noted that the creek, ‘Permanente Creek’ that runs through there is running some days, and dry most other days. It’s off and on at random.
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Nearly all the water from Permanente Creek ends up in Stevens Creek due to the diversion channel near Miramonte and Portland. So, if any clean up is needed downstream, they need to look at Stevens Creek as well. I am sure the Sierra Club is aware of this.