Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 2, 2007
4. Water Quality
PERCHLORATE:
Plan to declare crisis delayed; Perchlorate issue unsettled - San Bernardino County Sun
LOS OSOS:
Los Osos board’s vote on sewer tax for its own properties is scrutinized; Because it holds property in town, the panel can help decide the fate of county wastewater project, or members might abstain to avoid electioneering - San Luis Obispo Tribune
PERCHLORATE:
Plan to declare crisis delayed; Perchlorate issue unsettled
By Jason Pesick, staff writer
A plan to declare a state of emergency in
The drinking water in
Since Dan Dunmoyer, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's deputy chief of staff, raised the idea of declaring a state of emergency at an August meeting with
"We're trying to make sure that we do it right," said Councilwoman Winnie Hanson, who sits on the council's perchlorate subcommittee.
Members of
In e-mails disclosed by the State Water Resources Control Board, Frank McCarton, chief deputy director of OES, seems to be skeptical that the contamination qualifies as an emergency. He points out that it is an "ongoing problem" and that there are other sites in
In another e-mail, he writes that a state of emergency is "a situation of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property, and is it beyond the control of local government ... "
"This is a tough hurdle for a chronic situation like groundwater contamination, unless something new is discovered or the situation changes abruptly."
The state was supposed to prepare an analysis explaining what declaring a state of emergency would entail two weeks after the initial meeting,
McCarton said he's not aware of any report.
"I can't speculate what's going to happen here," he said in an interview. Right now, he said OES is waiting for the city to decide whether it will request a state of emergency before he can speculate on what a declaration would mean or whether Schwarzenegger would declare one.
Hanson said she thinks the situation is an emergency because it eliminates the city's backup water capacity, but she said the city will examine the issue carefully before moving forward and said it would be "criminal" to declare a state of emergency on false pretenses.
The city says 360 million gallons of water are contaminated a month as the perchlorate continues to move.
Days before the Sept. 18 City Council meeting, Councilman Ed Scott, the other member of the perchlorate subcommittee, said the issue would be on the Sept. 18 agenda. When it wasn't, Marene Deischer, a member of the Riverside-based Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice and a
Scott responded that the wording needed to be worked out and more information was needed.
In addition to requesting the $23 million,
Hanson said the city will pay back money it receives once the responsible parties have to pay to clean up the perchlorate. She compared the perchlorate to a forest fire. After all the fire agencies rush to put it out, they figure out who should pay for it, she said.
The State Water Resources Control Board was supposed to hold hearings in August on whether to hold three corporations - Black and Decker, Goodrich and Pyro Spectaculars - responsible for some of the contamination. But a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge halted the hearings. Those hearings may be rescheduled, and officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are considering becoming more involved in the
http://www.sbsun.com/ci_7057952
LOS OSOS:
Los Osos board’s vote on sewer tax for its own properties is scrutinized; Because it holds property in town, the panel can help decide the fate of county wastewater project, or members might abstain to avoid electioneering
San Luis Obispo
By Sona Patel, staff writer
Like most property owners in Los Osos, the town’s services district board has to decide whether to increase taxes to pay for a long-awaited sewer.
Members of the Los Osos Community Services District board also have to decide how their bankrupt agency would deal with taking over the sewer project if the vote fails.
The board’s decision expected Thursday is being watched closely because its vote could be seen as a message about how the agency feels about the county project.
If the tax passes, the district would be assessed $61,204 — about $4,000 a year for 30 years if it doesn’t pay in a lump sum.
Two of the board’s five members told The Tribune they lean toward abstaining.
A third said he leans in favor, while the remaining two won’t say how they’ll vote.
However, one of them has publicly urged property owners to vote “yes.”
The other has touted the benefits for the community if the assessment passes.
The tax vote is a key hurdle in the county’s process of designing and building a sewer.
If property owners reject the assessment, the services district would again be responsible for the project, and state water quality regulators could resume their threats of fines.
Regulators want Los Osos to build a sewer in hopes it would halt nitrate pollution of the groundwater and
A divided board
The district is voting in the sewer tax election because it owns buildings for its water department and the fire station, which are subject to the assessment.
Although board members seem divided on how they would vote, the district’s struggling finances are expected to sway their decisions.
The district filed for federal bankruptcy protection in August 2006 to hold off creditors while it works out a plan to repay about $40 million of debts.
Citing concerns that the district would not be able to pay the assessment, board member Julie Tacker said she wants the agency to abstain.
But she has been publicly critical of the county’s involvement in the latest sewer project.
“If the district votes (“yes”), we are voting to reduce services or increase fees,” Tacker said.
Board member Lisa Schicker also leans toward abstaining, saying the district’s vote could be seen as electioneering.
“I really want to open the discussion to the public,” she said. “We should look at the pros and cons of whether the vote passes or fails.”
Board President Chuck Cesena would not say how he intended to vote on the district’s assessment.
“I’m not going to do that,”
Although
“A successful bankruptcy plan is tied to a successful (property tax vote),” he said.
Under the county’s plan, part of the proceeds from the assessment could pay back about $6.6 million the district owes the state for a defaulted low-interest loan. That loan, one of the largest debts in the bankruptcy, was to pay for early construction of the sewer project started by a previous district board.
Board member Joe Sparks also wouldn’t say how he might vote on the tax on behalf of the district. But he has publicly encouraged property owners to vote in favor of it.
Board member Steve Senet believes the board’s general consensus is that if the district abstained, property owners would not be influenced and they would decide for themselves.
But he thinks abstaining from the vote could show a lack of guidance for the community. Still, Senet said he supports the county’s process and would likely vote in favor of the assessment.
Decisions due soon
The vote-by-mail election is part of a deal brokered by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo.
Under that deal approved by the Legislature and Gov.
Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, requires property owners to vote on the assessment. The votes are weighted by how much tax a property would be assessed.
The board has until Oct. 23 to decide how the district would vote because ballots are due to the
Tacker expressed the most optimism if the district took control of the project.A discussion of what the district would do if the tax failed is scheduled for Oct. 18.
“I think the citizens of Los Osos wanted local control in 1998, and 10 years later I don’t believe that has changed,” she said, referring to the district’s formation by an overwhelming number of Los Osos voters.
“If it goes back to the (services district), we’re going to be OK,” she said.
In September 2005, the district had just broken ground on a sewer that included a treatment plant in the middle of town when Los Osos voters narrowly overthrew the majority of its five-member board in a recall election. The treatment plant location was at the heart of the campaign. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/156319.html
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