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Download Excel NPDES Self Monitoring Program
Plumas County and U.S. Department of Agriculture and Forest Service, Gopher Hill Landfill Leachate Disposal System
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Organization
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Serviceshow partners CVRWQCB
Program website
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Plan contact
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| Start date | 09/06/2002 |
| End date | None |
| Objectives | The County of Plumas operates an unlined Class III Solid Waste Municipal Landfill and a Class II Surface Impoundment on Snake Lake Road approximately five miles west of Quincy. The land on which the landfill and surface impoundments are situated is owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest Service). The landfill site is in an area of historic hydraulic mining between Spanish and Wapaunsie Creeks. In 1976, the Forest Service. The landfill site is in an area of historic hydraulic mining between Spanish and Wapaunsie Creeks. In 1976, the Forest Service issued a special use permit to Plumas County to operate Gopher Hill as a Class III Landfill for disposal of local domestic solid waste. A surface water collection system five settling ponds were included in the use permit. Two abandoned, water-filled mine shafts are to the north and another unsealed mine shaft is believed to be under the landfill itself. A steep bluff rises immediately to the east, and over a small ridge to the south the land breaks away to Spanish Creek. Surface drainage from above the facility is routed
around the landfill through sediment ponds, and discharged to the west to Wapaunsie Creek. The
special use permit expired in 1988 and was not reissued. In 1994 a transfer facility was constructed
and most of the local waste was collected and hauled to Lockwood, Nevada for disposal, however
Plumas County continued to dispose of small amounts of waste in the landfill. A spring surfaces along the western toe of the landfill and operations in the early 1990s resulted in
the contamination of this spring with leachate. The leachate was contaminated by volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), iron, and manganese. In 1994, the Forest Service issued a separate permit to
Plumas County to construct a Class II surface impoundment to collect leachate and commingled
groundwater. The Class II Surface Impoundment was constructed with a total volume of
approximately 1.055 million gallons. Leachate and shallow groundwater are collected from the toe
of the landfill and discharged to the surface impoundment. The capacity of the impoundment can be
exceeded during times of heavy runoff and unless leachate can be removed from the impoundment it
can overflow and enter Wapaunsie Creek. |
| Annual budget | None |
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Basins & sub-basins monitored
- Sacramento River (Sacramento River)
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map
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Sites Monitored
| Name |
Code |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Map |
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Spanish Creek, 30 ft US from the pont of discharge and below Wapaunsie Creek
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R-1 |
39.956999 |
-121.035959 |
locate |
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Spanish Creek, 100 ft DS from the pont of discharge
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R-2 |
39.9561 |
-121.036104 |
locate |
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Parameters Monitored
| Group | Parameters | Frequency |
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| General Water Quality |
pH, Specific Conductance [EC @ 25 deg C], Temperature, Turbidity |
Weekly, Monthly |
| Hydrology |
Flow |
Daily |
| Metals & Trace Elements |
Iron , Manganese |
Monthly |
| Water Toxicity |
Toxicity (chronic) - Ceriodaphnia, Toxicity (chronic) - Fathead minnow, Toxicity (chronic) - other |
Quarterly |
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Data Products Available
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