Discovery Bay Press_11.27.09

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 7, No. 48

Including Surrounding Communities

www.thepress.net

CSD gives Veolia three thumbs up by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer By the time Gerald Smart completed his presentation to the CSD Board last week, the project manager for Veolia Water very nearly received a standing ovation. “What impresses me about this company (Veolia) is their professionalism,” said CSD President Ray Tetreault. “Gerald (Smart) is very good; he’s on top of things and you can tell they are the real deal. They’ve (Veolia) done a yeoman’s job out here.” While some of Smart’s PowerPoint presentation might have been too technical for some, the fact that he had prepared such a detailed report at all spoke volumes to a board that saw little in the way of reporting and accountability from the town’s last water and sewer vendor. When Veolia came to Discovery Bay in December of 2008, the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) had pinpointed 34 previous areas of concern at the town’s four water and sewer plants. When the RWQCB came back last August, there were only three suggested areas to be looked at. “That pretty much says it all,” said Tetreault. The CSD Board hired Veolia last year on a 12-month trial contract. But at last week’s

November 27, 2009

THIS WEEK

Seated at the table

The Byron Union School Board got to choose from among four good candidates – and found its choice a good fit.

Page 11A Photo by Richard Wisdom

Gerald Smart, project manager for Veolia Water, along with his crew, has made a number of procedural and efficiency changes in the running of the town’s water and sewer facilities since taking over from SouthWest Water last year. meeting, Tetreault said he was so impressed with Veolia’s work that he was recommending the board discuss extending Veolia’s contract at a the next CSD meeting in December. “I’m pleased with that (the board’s satisfaction); I am,” said Smart. “We’ve had some

challenges, and we’re not done with everything yet, but it’s something we’re working toward.” Discovery Bay General Manager Virgil see Veolia page 18A

Opposition to 2-Gates project grows by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer Hundreds of residents packed the gymnasium at Discovery Bay Elementary School Monday night for an informational meeting on the controversial 2-Gates Fish Protection Project. The San Francisco Bay and Delta Foundation (SFBDF) – a grass-roots group of Discovery Bay residents opposing the 2Gates project – hosted the town hall meeting. “It was a great turnout,” said Mike Guzzardo, SFBDF publicity chairman. “We had a lot of new faces, and we feel like we’re really starting to gain some momentum; we’re getting the word out.” The 2-Gates project is a five-year experimental program designed to save the Delta smelt by rerouting them away from the water pumps on Old and Middle rivers in Byron, but many feel that the 2-Gates is the precursor

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Photo by Richard Wisdom

Catherine Kutsuris of the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation takes the microphone from Mike Guzzardo, publicity chairman for the San Francisco Bay and Delta Foundation, during a packed meeting Monday night on the controversial 2-Gates Fish Protection Project. The town hall forum was held at the Discovery Bay Elementary School. to a peripheral canal. The project is a joint venture by the State Department of Water Resources, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Southern California Metropoli-

tan Water District, and would implement the installation of gates at Old River between Holland Tract and Bacon Island, plus a Connection Slough between Mandeville and Bacon Is-

land. The automatic gates would be closed at various times of the year for as much as 10 hours per day, depending on flood tides. The SFBDF was formed only a few weeks ago, but has already been instrumental in getting the Bureau of Reclamation to extend its public comment period by two weeks, to Nov. 30, and the group is hoping to force the bureau to provide an Environmental Impact Report for the Discovery Bay and Delta regions. Pete Lucero, public affairs officer for the Bureau of Reclamation, said that federal agencies such as the bureau do not conduct environmental impact reports but rather environmental impact studies (EIS), of which the currently completed environmental assessment is the first step. Should an EIS be necessary, it would be conducted after the close of the public comment period and following the results see 2-Gates page 18A

December diversions A spate of seasonal festivals, parades, films, plays, shopping gigs and charitable events will keep you hopping this holiday.

Page 14A

Queen of Kill crowned MVP

A Liberty volleyball star led her team to the NCS playoffs and led league voters to name her BVAL’s best.

Page 7B

INSIDE Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................14B Entertainment ................11B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones .......................19A Opinion ...........................13A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A


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