Synopsis: Morro Bay Mayor Bill Yates and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) project manager Dennis Delzeit recently made statements which might indicate that the city of Morro Bay and the Cayucos Sanitary District (CSD) are considering backing out of their commitment to build a new WWTP that provides tertiary treatment of sewage by 2014. Some residents believe that since the granting of the existing WWTP's 301 (h) waiver was apparently based, in part, on the commitment to tertiary treatment, an attempt to back out of it could cause serious problems.
Some Morro Bay and Cayucos residents have interpreted recent statements by Morro Bay Mayor Bill Yates and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) project manager Dennis Delzeit to mean that if the California Coastal Commission (CCC) does not allow city of Morro Bay and the Cayucos Sanitary District (CSD) to build the new WWTP in their favored site, they will attempt what some residents have referred to as an "end run" around the authority of the CCC.
The alleged end run would be accomplished by dropping existing plans for the WWTP and simply upgrading existing structures, something that might not require a coastal development permit, thus avoiding further involvement of the CCC in the project. The result would be a facility that only treats effluent to secondary as opposed to tertiary standards.
At the March 10, 2011 JPA meeting, Morro Bay Mayor Bill Yates, discussed with staff the JPA's need to make progress and move forth with the project either as proposed or with "Plan B" (which is upgrading the existing plant to only meet full secondary treatment requirements), and also the need for the staff report to summarize the results of the Coastal Commission meeting.
WWTP project manager Dennis Delzeit's April 1 Status Report on Upgrade Project as of April 1, 2011 refers to a Plan B project as follows: "Plan B is a possible alternative that could provide full secondary treatment while being exempt from the issuance of a coastal development permit. The MBCSD staff is continuing to explore the potential concepts. Meeting all of the parameters is complex and the solution is not ready for presentation to the JPA at this time."
Tertiary versus Secondary Treatment
Given Morro Bay's precarious water situation and environmental issues, concerned residents and environmental protection groups have strongly recommended that tertiary treatment be implemented as soon as possible. As explained in Wikipedia, "Sewage treatment generally involves three stages, called primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment.
- Primary treatment consists of temporarily holding the sewage in a quiescent basin where heavy solids can settle to the bottom while oil, grease, and lighter solids float to the surface. The settled and floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid may be discharged or subjected to secondary treatment.
- Secondary treatment removes dissolved and suspended biological matter. Secondary treatment is typically performed by indigenous, water-borne micro-organisms in a managed habitat. Secondary treatment may require a separation process to remove the micro-organisms from the treated water prior to discharge or tertiary treatment.
- Tertiary treatment is sometimes defined as anything more than primary and secondary treatment in order to allow rejection into a highly sensitive or fragile ecosystem (estuaries, low-flow rivers, coral reefs, . . . ). Treated water is sometimes disinfected chemically or physically (for example, by lagoons and microfiltration) prior to discharge into a stream, river, bay, lagoon, or wetland, or it can be used for the irrigation of a golf course, green way, or park. If it is sufficiently clean, it can also be used for groundwater recharge or agricultural purposes."
City and CSD Commitments to Provide Tertiary Treatment
Prior city and CSD decisions appeared to be in concert with the views of the concerned residents and environmental groups. Both the city of Morro Bay and the CSD voted unanimously for a new plant that meets tertiary standards.
The "Settlement Agreement for Issuance of Permits to and Upgrade of the Morro Bay/Cayucos Wastewater Treatment Plant," entered into by the city of Morro Bay, the CSD, and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, includes this statement: "On April 27, 2006, the JPA approved the upgrade of the Plan to meet full secondary treatment standards by March 31, 2014." And, "On May 24, 2007, Cayucos Sanitary District Board of Directors unanimously approved a further upgrade of the Plan to achieve tertiary treatment standards within the same time frame. On May 29, 2007, the Morro Bay City Council also unanimously approved a further upgrade of the Plan to achieve tertiary treatment standards."
In the course of the May 24, 2007 JPA meeting discussions, Robert Enns, CSD Board President, stated that he was "frustrated that alternatives are still being considered at this time, and stated that the district recognizes that tertiary treatment is the way to go, including reclamation projects." At the same meeting, then-Morro Bay Mayor Janice Peters stated that, "Morro Bay has been planning to go to tertiary, and is pleased the district has chosen that path and that the governing bodies have been working well together." On May 29, the Morro Bay City Council formally committed to tertiary treatment.
The city's description of the WWTP project states, "The City of Morro Bay and the Cayucos Sanitary District (MBCSD) are in the process of upgrading the wastewater treatment plant to full secondary treatment and to provide tertiary filtration capacity of 1.5 million gallons per day. The tertiary filtered effluent would meet standards for disinfected secondary recycled water and as such could be used for limited beneficial uses. The project is required to be completely operational and in full compliance with state and federal permits by March 31, 2014."
Tertiary Treatment and the WWTP's 301 (h) Waiver
The WWTP operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit granted under a 301 (h) waiver, which allows the discharge of wastewater with less-than-full-secondary treatment. The Morro Bay-Cayucos plant is one of just three California plants operating under such a waiver.
The NPDES permit includes statements that have led some residents to conclude that the 301 (h) waiver might have been denied if the city and the CSD had not committed to tertiary treatment by 2014. Some of those statements appear in the body of the document and some are in Attachment F, which includes comments from various agencies and responses by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).
On page six of the permit, it is stated, "The Discharger plans on upgrading the facility to tertiary treatment. Details of the upgrades are discussed in Finding No. I and Section II.A of the Fact Sheet." On page twelve is the statement, "The Discharger intends to upgrade the Facility to provide tertiary treatment as set forth in a Settlement Agreement with the Central Coast Water Board."
On page thirteen, the permit refers to tertiary treatment in regard to water recycling: "The Central Coast Water Board has also considered the need to develop recycled water. A need to develop and use recycled water exists within the region. The eight and one-half year upgrade schedule includes the consideration of technical and funding options for installing tertiary treatment to address recycled water needs.
"The Clean Water Act establishes secondary treatment as the technology based standard for discharges to surface water, but tertiary treatment that meets Title 22 California Code of Regulations requirements are required for certain reclaimed water uses. The Discharger intends to upgrade to tertiary treatment for purposes of reclaimed water use during the same eight and one-half year conversion schedule set forth in the settlement agreement. The Central Coast Water Board may require the discharger to comply with more stringent water quality based standards beyond secondary treatment for discharges to surface water if necessary to protect the beneficial uses of waters of the state and the United States."
On page F-8 of the permit's Attachment F, it is stated, "As noted in Finding AA of this Order, the Discharger plans on converting the existing facility to tertiary treatment as part of the upgrades. Furthermore, the Discharger submitted to Water Board staff drafts for the development and implementation of a nutrient monitoring program and a Cat Litter Public Outreach program consistent with the conservation measures as proposed by USEPA." On page F-76 is the statement, "The Discharger intends to upgrade to tertiary treatment for purposes of reclaimed water use during the eight and one-half year conversion schedule set forth in the settlement agreement."
The city of Morro Bay and the CSD asked the RWQCB to remove or alter references to tertiary treatment in the permit. That request was denied. On page F-77 is this RWQCB staff comment: "We understand that the Morro Bay City Council unanimously agreed to upgrade the Morro Bay/Cayucos Sanitary District Wastewater Treatment Plant to 'meet tertiary standards with the intention to move towards reclamation' at its May 29, 2007 meeting." Further, the USFWS December 21, 2007 concurrence letter states, "our [USFWS] office believes this decision [to upgrade the plant to provide tertiary treatment] has significant potential to minimize the concern regarding possible effects on the otter. Proceeding to tertiary treatment would result in reduced loadings of a wide range of pollutants to the environment. . ..The applicants' progress toward implementing their present commitment to tertiary treatment will also be a significant factor in any future Endangered Species Act analysis conducted by our office pertaining to this discharge." In light of these significant statements made by your governing board and the USFWS, Water Board staff recommends keeping the references to tertiary treatment. The revised settlement agreement will be consistent with this Order to eliminate any discrepancies between the two documents."
On page F-81 is the RWQCB staff comment, "We disagree that the language regarding treatment upgrades in the Draft Permit is confusing or contradictory. As noted in Staff Response 1, the Water Board is obligated to require "federal secondary standards" as mandated by 40 CFR Part 133. However, effluent limitations identified in Section IV.B. of this Order reflect modified secondary standards for discharges of treated wastewater to surface waters in accordance 40 CFR Part 125.57. As a point of clarification, the definition of tertiary treatment is specific to recycled water uses (refer to Section 60301.203 of the California Water Code or The California Health Laws Related to Recycled Water "The Purple Book"). Since the Discharger has agreed to upgrade to provide tertiary treated water, then by default they will meet secondary standards. Currently, the Discharger does not have any demands to provide recycled water. The upgrade to tertiary treatment will allow the Discharger to consider future recycled water projects."
Another document, the CCC's "Staff Report and Recommendation on Consistency Certification," issued regarding "Consistency Certification No. CC-007-06," also addresses the 301 (h) waiver. Like the NPDES permit, the CCC document contains numerous references to the commitments by the city and the CSD to build a WWTP that provides tertiary treatment by 2014. For example, on page three, it is stated, "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurred with EPA's conclusion of no jeopardy to the species, although it cautioned that "there are currently no analytical methods to detect the presence of oocysts in wastewater" (Exhibit 10). The Fish and Wildlife Service's conclusions are also based in part on Morro Bay's commitments to pursue tertiary treatment. The Fish and Wildlife Service's concurrence with EPA's conclusion of 'no likely adverse effects' on the brown pelican and southern sea otter also presumes that Morro Bay will implement conservation measures, including a public outreach program to minimize the input of cat litterbox wastes into the sewer system, regular monitoring of nutrient loading from the facility's ocean outfall, and upgrade to at least full secondary or tertiary treatment by 2014."
Resident Response to Plan B
Some residents have expressed serious concern regarding Yates' and Delzeit's statements regarding Plan B, citing WWTP permit issues, water supply issues, environmental concerns, and potential retrofitting or rebuilding costs that would be incurred when regulatory agencies upgrade their wastewater treatment requirements in the future. At present, the state only requires full secondary treatment, but environmental protection groups continue to push for higher standards.
In addition, given their belief that the awarding of the 310 (h) waiver was based partially on the commitment to provide tertiary treatment by 2014, some residents have asked whether the city and the district would be subject to regulatory action if they missed the 2014 date and what such action might entail. At present, those questions remain unanswered.
