EPA CITES SAUGUS DEVELOPER.

Byline: Daily News staff and wire

SAUGUS - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday ordered a Saugus developer to reduce runoff from construction areas in Plum Canyon, citing environmental concerns.

According to the agency, in April and May, inspectors found insufficient erosion and sediment controls at developments on both sides of Plum Canyon Road where land is being graded for hundreds of homes.

The Regional Water Quality Control Board previously had issued four violation notices to Shapell Monteverde Partnership, according to the EPA.

The EPA now is awaiting compliance, and the developer could face penalties, said Ellen Blake, an environmental engineer with the federal agency.

``What we're waiting for is the developer to respond to the order for compliance - that kind of judges what we decide to do next,'' Blake said.

Shapell Monteverde officials could not be reached late Monday afternoon for comment.

The EPA's concern is that the land has been stripped for development and that water from construction and rainfall is not being contained and is flowing into Bouquet Creek. The dirt eventually could contaminate the Santa Clara River, which empties into the Pacific, Blake said.

``You're looking at massive sediment - it could lead to flooding and could damage the habitat,'' she said. ``People think it's just dirt, but it can carry a lot of chemicals with it, and that settles among the natural flora and fauna of the waterways and can smother that out.''

Catherine Kuhlman, acting director of the EPA's water division at its San Francisco office, said rainwater runoff is one of the biggest causes of water pollution in the Los Angeles area.

She said the developer's lack of response to the regional authority ``is a serious concern to the U.S. EPA.''