After Hacker Creek
“We don’t know how much fuel was in either tank when the problem occurred,” Wilcox explained. However, he emphasized, “there [was] a lot of fuel on the ground.” The spill occurred on a rocky hillside, full of what the lieutenant called, “fractured shale.” On this kind of ground, anything liquid quickly drains into the cracks. And unfortunately, the tanks were set up almost directly over a tributary of one of Southern Humboldt’s larger streams — Salmon Creek. Thus, the diesel swiftly made its way the 60 feet or so into the water of Hacker Creek, below. Downstream landowners were advised to pull their intake pipes and not use water from the creek. Originally, this prohibition reached partway into Salmon Creek itself, but eventually was restricted to Hacker Creek proper.
Before the spill, the creek plunged beneath lush spring growth. Small waterfalls splashed onto moss-lined rocks. The area harbored a variety of wild creatures and plants. Critically endangered California bunchgrass gathered like herds of deer on the banks above the water. Capable of living up to 200 years, some of these plants put up shoots before the first white settler came to the area. Wild strawberries bloomed, promising sweet fruit later in the year.
Translucent pools offered habitat for frogs, salamanders, invertebrates and other creatures. Further down, Hacker Creek provided an important summer rearing ground for juvenile steelhead and “probably nesting areas also,” said Kyle Keegan, a local resident who has worked on several surveys of the area for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with the California Dept. of Fish and Game.
As the spill oozed into this lovely area, a greasy film asphyxiated any still water. Diesel smell permeated the creek bed. Though no frogs or salamanders were found dead in the area, many insects were. “Invertebrates are dying,” pointed out Larry Lancaster, Hazmat inspector for the county, at the time. “That means the food supply [for amphibians, etc.] is being diminished.”
In an effort to save the area, a contractor specializing in diesel cleanup rushed to the scene. Within days, three semi-trucks full of absorbent pads navigated the twisting narrow dirt passage, miles from the end of the county road. Through temperatures reaching into the hundreds, Northcoast Environmental Construction worked to clean up the mess. They removed fuel tanks, tore down a structure, laid absorbent materials, cut roads with cats and dug up soil. They quickly recovered about 300 gallons of the spilled fuel, but it took almost two months to complete the cleanup to the satisfaction of an inspector.
Meanwhile, costs piled up. The owner of the property, Albert Tordjman, a popular Bay Area chef and former owner of the critically acclaimed Flying Saucer restaurant, is responsible for paying them all. According to his lawyer, Eric Kirk, Tordjman declared he had been away in Thailand. His two tenants living on the land operated an illegal marijuana operation without his knowledge. A few days before the spill, when the chef came back from his trip abroad, he was unable to contact his tenants so he drove to the site. “He had no idea what was happening before he reached the property,” Kirk said.
According to neighbors, once Tordjman arrived at his home, authorities handcuffed and interrogated the older man before releasing him. Later, Tordjman became ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. His lawyer says that the former chef is “under enormous stress.” The property, known as the Red Gypsy Ranch, is now for sale — purportedly to pay the nearly $215,000 in fines assessed, as well as the costs of the cleanup. The amount owed to the county for fines has actually been reduced from $505,600. If Tordjman doesn’t meet his payment schedule, then he is liable for the full penalty of over half a million dollars. Kirk explains that his client might have to file for bankruptcy and, in any case, “he will probably spend the rest of his life in poverty.”
When asked if the fines are not unusually heavy, Melissa Martel of the Division of Environmental Health at the Humboldt County Dept. of Health and Human Services explains that her agency wants to see this kind of activity stopped. The agency hopes that the fine brings attention to the “chemical releases associated with marijuana grows,” and that all diesel users, whether associated with grows or not, will “make a small investment in infrastructure” so that spills can be contained. Martel says that the Hacker Creek fines are high because such a large spill in an active waterway makes the harm to the public greater than in other cases.
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Today
Label GMOs Signature Gathering Training
meetings / 4 p.m. Sun Yi's Academy of Tae Kwon Do, 1215 Giuntoli Lane, Arcata. Help gather valid signatures to get the 'California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act' on the 2012 ballot. E-mail northernhumboldtlabelgmos@hotmail.com. 223-0424.
Open Celtic Music Session
music / 3 p.m. Cafe Veritas/Mosgo's, 180 Westwood Center, Arcata. Informal monthly gathering of musicians playing Irish and other Celtic music. Hosted by Seabury Gould. seaburygould.com. 845-8167.
Nonviolence Action Camp
etc. / 10 a.m. Chinmaya Mission near Piercy. Weekend-long direct action orientation features workshops, role playing, seminars, ceremonies and field trips. Bring food, bedding, warm clothes, signs, banners, bikes, drums, acoustic instruments. Pre-register. saverichardsongrove.org. 932-5898.
Audubon Society Field Trip
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11 Comments
Comment / By Ernie Branscomb / Oct. 2, 2008, 3:52 p.m.
Wow, the NCJ went from yellow journalism, (Pistol Packing People, Heidi Walters) to real journalism in less than one week. Nice work.
Kym Kemp really nailed the need for environmental reform in the article that she wrote on diesel fuel spills. The article was very descriptive of the wide range of people and critters that were effected. Kym made me want to do something more about taking care of this river canyon that I love, even more than before. I can put up with people that don’t see things my way, but I can’t tolerate this kind of destructiveness.
I hope you can get her to do more writing for you. Nice work Kym! Ernie
Comment / By Ben Schill / Oct. 2, 2008, 10:06 p.m.
The buried oil problem is going to haunt us in the future. Kym Kemp has done a fine job on this article.
Comment / By Mike Goldsby / Oct. 3, 2008, 12:22 p.m.
This was a pleasure to read: Well written on an important topic. Thanks
Comment / By Not A Native / Oct. 4, 2008, 6:48 p.m.
I feel very sad for Barbara. She is committed to being non-judgemental and tolerant but her neighbors are abusing her good will and subjecting her to torment. She’s torn. Like a Sunni Iraqi in an Al-Qaeda area, she’s caught up in loyalty to her group, even as they blow up citizens. Her neighbors destroy the environment in the name of independence and freedom but actually for greed.
I have little sympathy for “Max”. Gotta grow pot for his medicine? Guess that justifies all the inner city ghetto drug dealers and pimps who do it to support their families. Thats the same excuse employers of illegal aliens at substandard wages use too, and similarly for politicians who take bribes. Everybody’s got to live, does that justify everyone seeking illegal money?
And tell me, if Max is so disabled and using a walker, who is planting and maintaining those gardens, contacting the customers, and bringing the product to market? There’s a lot of physical work in farming, Max’s role seems to be only the land owner and profit collector. Max is a criminal, plain and simple, whether he wants to admit it to the mirror or not.
If he grew for his own use or sold it at cost, that would be different. As it is, he’s growing only so he can get illegal profits, not as an act of conscience or civil disobience to protest unjust laws.
Comment / By anonymous / Oct. 6, 2008, 7:07 p.m.
Why cant folks just switch over to propane generators……propane is cheaper, and turns to a gas and rises into the air if it leaks……no fouling streams.
Jesus h christ it isn’t rocket science.
Comment / By love godess / Oct. 7, 2008, 12:40 p.m.
Message to not a native. Lets see either the government or max is going to pay the medical bills. Wouldnt you rather see him trying to pay his own way or would you rather have your tax dollars supporting him? At least Max is being cautious about his grow. Also do you really care that much as to how he is able to garden. You obviously waste alot of your time worry about petty things and need to get your own life and keep busy so you are not concerned as to how someone farms their garden. I also do not see a correlation between crack, tweek, or coke dealers to that of a marijuana grow. Those sort of drugs have nothing in common to that of a grow farm as long as precautions are taken place and not harming the environment
Comment / By Not A Native / Oct. 7, 2008, 5:07 p.m.
love godess. Funny isn’t it? You don’t even mention or have any sympathy for the pain Barbara experiences due to marijuana growing in her neighborhood. Would you tell her she should move or suck it up?
Many people have medical bills and needs but don’t take up criminal activities. If Max can’t pay, he’s old enough for medicare and if he’s poor enough he gan get medi-CAL. All of which I’m happy to help support as a social good, as opposed to the underground illicit marijuana trade. Max grows indoor to make the biggest buck and thats a pure profit motive.
You need to get your head out of your a and face up to the harm that he’s doing, and the harm criminality does to children who grow up around it, and the real environmental damage thats caused by it.
Get real, growers don’t take precautions. Reread the article about the “Harsh Reality”. They don’t give a hoot about the environment as long as they can intimidate their neighbors into hushing up. Like Barbara is being forced to. Growers create a climate of fear, secrecy, dishonesty and denial. Just like a dysfunctional family. How can that ever be a good thing for the community?
Comment / By Jeff Muskrat / Oct. 8, 2008, 5:58 p.m.
Nothing beats some good sun-powered outdoor organic ganja, grown with love and not greed.
Comment / By towelly the dread head / Oct. 11, 2008, 10:13 a.m.
i agree with mr muskrat. solar powered is the way to go. ‘max’ needs to get off the purple and go with some sour diesel or cherry AK if he wants some yield, and maybe once thats worked out he can afford to put in a solar powered compact flourescent veg room and quit paying for clones..
make the world a better place , one plant at a time
thanks NCJ for a really decent piece of journalism…
i assume its ok to use noisy polluting diesel generators for large scale construction projects and other asset creating endeavors with marginal benefit to the general public??
just not dope, nope
Comment / By Fancy Nancy / Dec. 25, 2008, 10:23 a.m.
Max talks about prescription drugs being shipped from China compared to diesel dope ,really they are very similar. The diesel does not originate here either. The sun however is local, organic and free! Max also says he is producing an organic product. How could that be if it’s grown under artificial lights that are powered by diesel?
Comment / By humboldtbambee / Jan. 12, 2009, 3:51 p.m.
There has to be a way to do anything without making a mess. In Oakland they have Oaksterdom—classes which help medical marijuana get to patients. We can grow mm without killing critters, causing a spill or burning down a Historic home in Arcata. We are not that stupid.