Synopsis: Morro Bay and Cayucos have a new consultant hired to develop a new wastewater treatment plant plan after the previous one was rejected by the California Coastal Commission earlier this year because it failed to meet local and state requirements. Whether the new plan will win approval is still far from uncertain, but two public workshops on the consultant's work plan indicated a faltering start.
When Morro Bay and Cayucos, partners in the building of a much-debated new wastewater treatment plant, hired a consultant on June 1 with the apparent goal of developing a project that the California Coastal Commission would accept, there was an overriding question: have Morro Bay and Cayucos now left behind the failed and wasteful/costly plans of the past and decided to pursue what the Commission staff has made clear is required?
That question still seems unanswered.
Those requirements, stated in two letters from the Commission staff in 2008 and last year (See Slo Coast Journal - November / 2010), include examining a variety of possible sites for the new plant and seriously considering building a new plant capable of producing large quantities of disinfected water to recharge depleted city wells in order to save ratepayers money and get away from very costly and potentially unreliable state water supplies.
Despite those Commission staff letters to the Morro Bay City Council and the Cayucos Sanitary District Board (MB/CSD), neither of which is posted among numerous documents on the city's wastewater treatment plant site, the partners submitted a project to the Commission that only considered one site for a new plant—next to the old, existing plant on Atascadero Road near Estero Bay—and one that would only produce a limited amount of recycled water. The Commission rejected the project and asked for a revised plan to meet staff requirements.
At two community workshops held on June 27 and 28, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope that Morro Bay and Cayucos—who operate and will build a new plant under their Joint Powers Agreement—might be ready to produce what the Commission staff requires. The staff of the new consultant, Dudek, an environmental and engineering firm, who helped conduct the workshops, appeared to be open to ideas not reflected in the failed project. (The deadline for public comments following the workshops has been extended to July 15. They can be submitted to the city or the Cayucos district by letter or on line at Morro Bay Civic Plus / Forms. The link for comments on postcards mailed to residents announcing the workshops is apparently incorrect.)
Dudek's scope of work for the project states that 10 sites for the new plant will be screened and three will be selected—including the one that was rejected by the Commission—for final review and selection of one. But at the workshops, April Weincki, Dudek's manager for the project, said the search for a proposed site would not be limited to 10 and that the final review list would not be limited to three. It would depend, she said, on how many others are proposed by residents and others that could qualify under the city's Local Coastal Plan and the California Coastal Act.
But, it turned out, the Scope of Work, which describes in detail what Dudek will do and what the goals are, along with a great deal of descriptive information about the project planning, was not made available to the public prior to the workshops. Therefore, interested residents were not given opportunities to become knowledgeable about the issues to be discussed at the workshops. Not only could that have affected comments of residents at the workshops but could have determined if they even wanted to attend.
The Scope of Work is in the contract between Dudek and MB/CSD, which shows it was signed on June 1. But it was only made available shortly before the June 27 evening meeting through a single request. Being 16 pages, even those who were given copies might not have had time to read it in time for that evening workshop or even the workshop the next day at 11 a.m.
What was provided on a display board at the workshops was a sheet titled "Dudek Work Plan" (See Morro Bay Civic Plus.PDF) containing a series of panels that featured labels of highlights apparently from the Scope of Work. But the Work Plan shown at the workshops was not provided in handouts to be studied for developing comments. And that Work Plan had not been posted at the link to the "Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project" on the city's web site prior to the first workshop. It was posted after a request was made at the first workshop to have it made available on the site.
But not the much more extensive and detailed Scope of Work, which is not publicly available elsewhere.
Questions also were raised about scheduling workshops back to back. The city did mail postcards (the city said they were mailed to all Morro Bay as well as Cayucos residents). But some felt being back to back discouraged people from attending both, even though different information and comments could have been available at the two. Placing them a few days or a week apart almost might have provided more opportunities to study and reflect on the information and comments in order to develop new comments. A workshop of a weekend might have made it more available to some without time to attend on week days, some felt.
The Scope of Work also contains statements indicating that the project rejected by the Coastal Commission staff, in large part because it is flood and tsunami zones, will still be considered and receive a lot of attention in the Dudek analysis and recommendations. "...additional analysis may confirm the proposed project site is appropriate for the project by demonstrating the proposed project is located and designed to avoid or minimize risks associated with coastal hazards," it says. The Commission staff requirements seemed to rule out a new plant in that location because it would be vulnerable to flooding and tsunamis.
The Scope of Work also raised questions and about feasibility of replenishing city wells with recycled water from a new plant, based on studies 12 or more years old, which some criticized as being outdated. Dudek said it could conduct a new water reclamation feasibility study, but it would add to the cost.
The one-year contract with Dudek is for $345,485, plus $49,100 for the optional upgraded water reclamation feasibility study and $8,470 for visual simulations of potential new plant sites.
Residents told the workshops that the MB/CSD needed to get on with a project that is effective in producing what the communities need, is efficient and up to date in its operations, and will be built so it will last for many years. Jane Heath and Susan Mullen both expressed what many were expressing.
Heath, a Morro Bay resident, said "this project is the most expensive public improvement project most of us will ever contemplate in our lifetime, and it will take a lifetime to pay for it. That is why it is so critical that we get it right.
"We have a rare opportunity to reconsider the decisions made in the 1950's when the current plant was built. In those days, the sand dunes were referred to as wasteland or given away as a premium for buying property with 'real' value. If this was a project for a brand new municipality, the current site would not even be considered, for a lot of reasons, not least sea water rise, the flood plain, or the visual, olfactory and discharge impacts so close to the ocean."
She urged MB/CSD to not limit inquiry into a pre-determined, small number of sites so the alternative options fail before they have a chance and to examine all possible sites equally without giving extra points to where the plant is now.
"Do not get hung-up on who owns alternative property, its current land use, or the likelihood of acquiring it—the city and the JPA have options that include sale, trade, and concessions that can make a deal happen if a site is otherwise desirable," Heath said
She called on MB/CSD to work with the Coastal Commission and to not see them as the enemy. "They just want to see that the JPA is sincerely considering reasonable alternatives—and listening to citizens about what we want," she said.
"Let's not be penny wise and pound foolish," she said. "We know this plant could cost $35 million. If doing this right means we pay a dollar or two a month more but we have on-site solids composting and treat the liquids so we can use that water for agriculture or to water parks, I'll gladly give you the extra two dollars. In contrast, though, I'll begrudge every nickel that builds a facility that might not even meet our needs until my neighbors' little ones graduate high school."
She urged the MB/CSD to "take what the Coastal Commission has told us and rather than lobby against it or try end runs around it, let's just do what we been asked to do: see if there could be a better place or way to do this and get a permit to build the right plant in the right place, that anticipates the needs of the future, not just does what seems convenient now."
Mullen, a former City Council member, said now is the time for this Council to think outside the box of 1950's technology and move to 2011. Our new waste water treatment plant needs to move inland into the Morro Valley and abandon the outfall, she said.
"It is time to stop dumping into the ocean! We can build a transfer station at the site of the existing plant and sell the remaining property to help finance the purchase of land in the Morro Valley," she said.
The water needs tertiary treatment (the highest type of recycled water) and then injected into the Morro Basin to help clean up the nitrates and turn back saltwater intrusion," Mullen said. This could also help with our Morro wells in times of drought and/or state water shut downs. This procedure has been done for years in Orange county and there is no reason why we shouldn't do the same.
"The plant needs to be built to sustainably operate such that the gases produced from processing waste will power the plant and thus reduce operating costs," she said. "We know this is being done at the plant in Santa Paula and we need to do the same here."
It will be very important to get designers and engineers who are experienced in current technologies in order to develop an affordable design that will serve our communities for many years to come at an affordable cost, Mullen said.
"Now is the time to release old ways of thinking," she said. "Now is the time to stop using consultants to lobby for these old ways and release engineering firms who do the same. Morro Bay and Cayucos need to lead the way and not follow like sheep being led to the slaughter. We cannot afford to do anything less than the above."
