The State - News from Aug. 17, 1988

A project to fill selenium-tainted ponds at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge near Los Banos is stirring up townsfolk in nearby Gustine, who are angry at the convoys of dirt-hauling trucks speeding through town amid huge clouds of dust. The Bureau of Reclamation project is in its third week. Tons of dirt are being hauled from an area near the Delta-Mendota Canal to the refuge. Each day 70 large trucks pass through Gustine, each carrying about 40 tons of dirt. The dirt is being used to fill in low areas in the refuge where 12 ponds fill with selenium-tainted water during the winter.