Valley Springs, CA…My name is Valentino Passetti and my wife and I live here at 863 Paloma Road, Valley Springs, Ca. My wife and I have been attending the Valley Springs Public Utilities Department meetings lately because the VSPUD wants to relocate the sewage plant to a site two miles away from its current location, all uphill, to the now closed, clay plant off Paloma Road. A business man by the name of Tom Coe who now owns this location along with another 700 connecting acres, offered to the VSPUD a donated 5 acre parcel for the VSPUD 5 acres sewage pond that would be needed, and sell to the VSPUD a 99 years lease on 30 acres of his connecting 700 acres parcel to accommodate the new 30 acre spray fields, and the sewage storage pond. Because of the donated 5 acres and the 99 Lease offer from Tom Coe, the VSPUD wants to tear up 2 miles of Paloma Road to place two pipes side by side, four miles of pipe, repave Paloma Road and build all new facilities for the VSPUD new 50 acre sewage pond, and lease from Tom Coe on a 99 year lease, 30 acres for a newly installed sewage storage pond and what will become a contaminated 30 acre spray field.

These huge water spray head will be spewing, over time, thousands of tons of contaminated water. This spray field will surround a fresh water lake being fed by the Valley Springs Water Aquifer.

This whole valley we live in is a natural stopping point for migrating Canadian Geese and by the time their migrating season is over, hundreds upon hundreds of Canadian Geese will have used this Valley. The Canadian Geese are not the only wild life that uses this lake. We have Deer, Coyote, Raccoons, Possums, and the list goes on.
Not only would the lake immediately become contaminated, but this lake is being fed by the Water Aquifer, which would obviously, also carry these sewage contaminates.

Located approx. 300 yards, (downstream), from the new proposed contaminated lake and water aquifer, is 2 out of 6 of Valley Springs drinking water wells, supplying a huge portion of drinking water for the Town of Valley Springs.
Once this sewage plant is installed, it will be right next to approx. 8 to 10 homes. Their back yards can literally be measure in feet as to how far their back yards will be away from the 50 acres sewage pond, the sewage storage pond, and the 30 acres of contaminated spray fields. The winds get horribly fast through this Valley which would cause contaminated over spray from the sprayer themselves, in all their back yards and even over spray to neighboring fields on the opposite side of Paloma road where it is all cattle grazing fields. It is a fact, if any beef should eat the grass the Contaminated Spray Field grow, the beef can no longer legally be sold in the food chain because of the sewage contaminates that are in the grass.

I believe these homes would be forced in a Class Action Law Suit because of potential property devaluation, contamination, sickness, and the list could go on. If this sewage plant should be developed, potentially, this could mean just the start of potential financial problems for the VSPUD. Where the VSPUD is located right now is higher out of the Flood Zone, which would comply with the 100 year storm plan right where they are, with out moving anything at all..

The VSPUD claims that it would be cheaper to run two sewage pipes side by side 2 miles long each, or, 4 miles of pipe, tear up and repave Paloma Road, build a brand new 50 acre sewage pond, a sewage storage pond and install the 30 acre spray fields, and contaminate a fresh water pond and the water aquifer that it is connected to, than it would be to up-date and up-grade what they already “own” with no lease. The VSPUD already “owns” its own 28 acres right where they presently are right now. The present location of the VSPUD is all downhill from Valley Springs, and is a perfect location with no potential problems with neighbor’s properties, cattle potentially eating contaminated grasses, contaminating lakes and water aquifers, contaminating a Valley used by migrating foul, and the list goes on.
To pump this sewage 2 miles up hill will take two monstrous large motors, doubling the electrical bill for over 175 of the VSPUD customers. To do all of this will take a total of 6 million dollars and will be paid for by a 4 million dollar “Grant”, and raise rates for their 175 customers to pay for the 2 million dollar balance.

Rates will have to be raised to include payments for the 2 million dollar balance, the higher electrical charges, higher maintenance costs, a 99 year lease to ‘Tom Coe” for the 30 acre spray fields, and at this point they cannot come up with a complete cost because they are afraid of all the very potential, “financial over runs”, which are very unpredictable on these kinds of very large projects.

What is happening in Calaveras County, (putting it more accurately, Valley Springs). Our Calaveras County Supervisors premitting an asphalt plant to be built right next to a fresh water stream. The Valley Springs VSPUD wanting to build a sewage plant around a fresh water lake, connected to a water aquifer, used by migrating Canadian Geese and numerous wild life, potentially contaminating 1/3 of the Valley Springs drinking water wells that supply fresh drinking water to numerous VSPUD customers.

I might be wrong, but I thought mankind is now, and has been, trying to up-date and up-grade what we have already installed and working, and in doing so, leaving less and less of these types of contaminating foot prints on our precious natural resources , our precious wild life, and not to mention, for our living human residences. If this is the case, Calaveras County in general would be a very bad example. With the Calaveras County Supervisors permitting this Asphalt Plant to be built right next to a fresh drinking water stream and the VSPUD wanting to relocate their Contaminated Sewage Spray Fields around a fresh drinking water lake and water aquifer. I believe these two projects, which have one things in common with each other, “polluting fresh drinking water”, going on here in Calaveras County, and putting it more accurately, Valley Springs, is very wrong and could potentially cause human health complications.

I clearly understand that I might not hear back from Tammy Brown or George Warren with Channel 10, but you can be sure I will be attending the next meeting on July 22nd at 6:00pm at the VSPUD office, and all the future meetings thereafter.
Thank you for your time Sincerely
Valentino W. Passetti Sr.
ps, these are just my thoughts and beliefs, and my intentions are not to down anyone, that I would not do, but I really do feel for our fresh water, and our wild life, and that is why I am here now