Rules Eased to Allow Release of Tainted Alameda Project Water

Local water quality regulators Monday temporarily eased pollution standards for construction-related ground water discharged into a major county waterway by the $2.4-billion Alameda Corridor project.

The Regional Water Quality Control Board granted the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority a reprieve from new rules that limit the release of copper, lead, silver and mercury, heavy metals that can harm aquatic life.

The corridor agency wants to release up to 18 million gallons a day of runoff and ground water into Dominguez Channel, a heavily polluted waterway that runs from Carson to the harbor. Corridor officials fear that the project will exceed the limits for copper, lead, silver and mercury.

The water board’s decision allows construction of the rail project to proceed for the next few months while its builders complete a study to assess the potential effects of ground water released into Dominguez Channel.

The study will be used by the water quality control board to determine whether the standards for heavy metals should be relaxed for a key phase of the project, which will take about 18 months to complete.