CV MAC Blasts EBMUD on Dredging Project

The Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) had some harsh words at their Monday night meeting for the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), criticizing the utility’s plan to transport tons of dredged soil through town on trucks.

In order to replace old pipes, EBMUD plans to move 17,000 cubic yards of trench soil from a site on Miller Road in the Castro Valley Hills to the Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline in San Leandro. This would entail approximately 150 trucks making round trips down Redwood Road and through Castro Valley daily for the duration of the project, set for 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. weekdays from July 10 through August 8.

But current and former MAC members and members of the public aren’t keen on the project, having been burned by a similar soil relocation from EBMUD in 2019 that they say disrupted traffic and damaged roads with heavy-duty trucks on main thoroughfares, including Redwood Road.

The project planned for this summer is smaller than the 2019 project, with plans to move about 80 percent less soil than the 2019 project. EBMUD says they will further mitigate issues by working during the summer to avoid impacting school traffic, reducing work hours, covering loads, and encouraging the public to report offending haulers.

Public speakers questioned the necessity for the project at all, saying there are methods to install new pipes within existing pipes that need to be replaced, and it’s possible to do so without moving so much soil.

Former MAC member Marc Crawford, who was serving on the council during the last EBMUD hauling project, spoke at Monday’s meeting, saying he was “shocked” EBMUD would attempt a repeat of a project that he believes did not go well the first time.

“It’s all BS; they told us all these same things last time,” said Crawford. “They don’t really care what we have to say. The deviousness is appalling.”

Crawford said that 150 trucks running regular large loads down Redwood Road would cause damage, and EBMUD should pay to repave the road; the utility says they pay taxes like everyone else and have a right to use the road.

MAC member Chuck Moore called EBMUD’s plan “a slimy way of doing business” and said he’d like to see an Environmental Impact Report for the project, just like any other contractor would need for a similar project.

In the end, the MAC said that they would request that the County delay the project and said they’d file an injunction if necessary.

The MAC was also not keen on another agenda item- an update they received about the Alameda “Environmental Justice Element” of the Alameda County General Plan.

In 2016, the State of California passed Senate Bill 1000 (SB 1000), which established environmental justice requirements for General Plans for all cities and counties.

The California Environmental Justice Alliance defines Environmental Justice as "the basic right of people to live, work, go to school, and pray in a healthy and clean environment, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, culture, ability, nationality, or income"

The Alameda County Element is a 178-page document that has been in the works for several years and considers factors like population and socioeconomic factors to create more equitable resources in the community. The document considers air quality, noise pollution, and disadvantaged communities when distributing resources.

The MAC was somewhat skeptical of the Element, saying there are well-intended ideas but little substance to the plan.

“I hope we aren’t falling into a San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles style hole with this document,” said MAC member Ken Carbone. “This thing is all over the place.”

The MAC criticized the document for being vague and rushed. Members wanted to know the annual price tag of implementing the plan, but the county says that won’t be known until they identify funding from the county budget or outside grants.

“How are we going to measure these changes?” asked Moore. “What is the timeline for results? I’m concerned that there are a lot more economical things going on; we could focus on the more practical things.”

The report next goes to the County Planning Commission, and there will be further public meetings over the summer, with possible adoption as early as this fall.

In other MAC matters, the Council held its annual election of a Chair and Vice-Chair, with current Chair Bill Mulgrew unanimously winning a second term as Chair and Al Padro elected Vice-Chair.