ORDER: KEEP DRY LAKE DRY PALMDALE GROUNDWATER NITRATE ALSO HIT.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Lancaster's sewage treatment plant must stop treated effluent from spilling onto Rosamond Dry Lake by fall 2008 under a cease and desist order issued by state water regulators.

State water regulators also issued a cease-and-desist order to the sanitation district serving Palmdale, directing that it stop nitrate discharges into groundwater by fall 2009.

The cease-and-desist orders were approved by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Lahontan Region during a hearing Wednesday night in Lancaster.

The issue with the district that primarily serves Lancaster is overflows from the sewage treatment plant into Piute ponds, which then spills onto Rosamond Dry Lake on Edwards Air Force Base.

Lahontan had set a deadline of Aug. 25, 2005, for the district to end the overflows.

In approving the cease-and-desist order with the Oct. 1, 2008, date, the board left in place the 2005 deadline. That would allow state regulators to take punitive actions against the sanitation district if there is not progress toward the 2008 date.

``Before the winter of '08-'09, we think we can eliminate the overflow,'' said Harold Singer, executive director of the Lahontan Region. ``Our expectations are they will meet the schedule.''

Lancaster's sanitation district - formally known as Los Angeles County Sanitation District 14 - is working on a $200 million plan to expand its treatment plant and use treated sewage water to irrigate farm crops on thousands of acres the district is buying south of Edwards' border.

Sanitation district officials said the district can't meet the 2005 deadline because the public and the Lahontan board pushed for upgrading sewage treatment to make the effluent used on farmland safe for human contact, which is over and above the requirements of state law.

Lahontan staffers said the sanitation district should undertake a number of interim steps toward reducing the amount of effluent overflow. Some of those measures include operating an existing tertiary treatment plant at higher capacity and recycling the water and using two ponds to be built as part of the 2020 plan sooner, using them for evaporation of secondary treated effluent while a larger tertiary treatment plant is being built.

Sanitation district officials voiced objections to the dates set for interim actions.

``We are very concerned about the absolute nature of the mandates for maximum performance all the time,'' said Stephen Maguin, assistant chief engineer for the district. ``Require us to do what is in our power to do. The way this is written, we are responsible for decisions by other people.''

Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts, who sits on the sanitation district board, said he didn't believe the cease-and-desist order was necessary and said the district needed to be allowed to implement its 2020 plan without interference.

``I don't believe we need any handling at all,'' Roberts said.

Roberts was criticized by Lahontan board member John Brissenden for not attending previous hearings on the overflow issue and for the district allowing the issue to drag on.

``You should have been looking ahead,'' Brissenden said. ``You should be ashamed of what you've done.''

Brissenden also directed a similar criticism at Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who serves as an alternate to the sewage district board. Antonovich was not in attendance but aide Norm Hinkling testified before the Lahontan board.

``I think you're wrong, sir,'' Hinkling told Brissenden. ``For the record, I think your comments are out of line.''

Hinkling also said the sanitation district should be allowed to work the 2020 plan without the threat of state sanctions.

``I'm not sure having a cease-and-desist order hanging over our heads is the way to go,'' Hinkling said. ``This is like you're writing a ticket before you caught someone speeding.''

The district's 2020 plan is being criticized by east-side Lancaster property owners, who say the acquisition of large tracts of land for the project, which could involved condemnation proceedings on some parcels, is disrupting their lives. Property owners said the sanitation district too quickly eliminated other options.

``The Antelope Valley wants an interim solution that expands farming just enough to get the effluent off Rosamond dry lake and a long-range solution that focuses on groundwater recharge,'' said Barbara Fersick, president of the Roosevelt Rural Town Council, which represents an east Lancaster community.

In Palmdale, the issue is groundwater quality - in particular, stopping nitrates, a pollutant that can cause a condition known as ``blue baby'' syndrome among infants.

Nitrates have leached into the underground water table from Sanitation District 20's decades-old practice of spreading treated sewage effluent on barren land to soak into the ground and from farming operations.

Nitrates in well water pulled from near the spreading grounds since 1990 have periodically tested above the state cleanup level of 10 milligrams per liter, and computer projections show that if things don't change by 2025, the level could reach 24 milligrams per liter. The natural or background level is 0.75 milligrams per liter, officials said.

In 2000, the state's Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board directed the sanitation district to come up with a plan to lessen its Palmdale sewage treatment plant's impact on groundwater.

Developing long-term solutions for treating and handling the sewer is expected to cost $100 million. In the short term, the groundwater cleanup is estimated to cost $15 million.

The district also plans to spend $3 million to set up a temporary disinfection system and spend $2.5 million on nitrate research. Operations and maintenance of cleanup and treatment equipment will cost about $1 million a year.

``We have not found many new approaches to solving the problem in Palmdale,'' Singer said. ``There's nothing more we can ask the district to do to reduce the nitrate.''

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com