MB/CSD Causes WWTP Hearing to be Postponed
At the last minute, Morro Bay and Cayucos attacked in extensive detail the accuracy and integrity of the seminal Coastal Commission staff report rejecting the proposed upgrading of their existing wastewater treatment plant on the shore of Estero Bay, which the staff has made clear many times is prohibited by the Coastal Act and the Morro Bay Local Coastal Plan. These criticisms led to the staff postponing the WWTP hearing scheduled by the Coastal Commission for Thursday, August 9, in Santa Cruz in order to gain time to answer the MB/CSD allegations.
The California Coastal Commission staff postponed the much-anticipated and crucial August 9 de jure hearing that had been scheduled before the Commission on the Morro Bay/Cayucos Sanitary District wastewater treatment project, due to lengthy, detailed criticisms and objections that Morro Bay/Cayucos (MB/CSD) submitted to the Commission attacking the Commission staff report.
The criticisms, the MB/CSD said, were filed with the Commission on August 3, even though the two agencies had received the Commission (CCC) staff report rejecting the MB/CSD WWTP plan on July 27, and it took them a week to file its complaints about the report, resulting in the CCC staff postponing the hearing just two days before the hearing.
No date was announced for a rescheduled hearing, but unlike Santa Cruz where the August 9 hearing had been scheduled today, the scheduled Commission meetings for the rest of the year are much farther away from Morro Bay at: Mendocino County, September 12-14; San Diego area, October 10-12; South Coast, Los Angeles, or Orange County, November 14-6; or San Francisco, December 12-14.
Could that have been a strategy of MB/CSD — to change the location of the Commission meeting where the MB/CSD project would be considered, a locale much farther from Morro Bay, making it much harder for Morro Bay residents to attend and support the CCC staff report, which a large majority has indicated they do. A busload of Morro Bay residents had been scheduled to travel to Santa Cruz today to attend the scheduled Commission hearing.
But wait a minute! If the meeting is rescheduled in San Francisco in December, the new majority of the City Council — Jamie Irons, Christine Johnson and Noah Smukler — will already have been seated on December 10, and the Council majority will have been transformed into one that supports the CCC staff and its recommendations on the WWTP and not a Council that is trying to find every way to sabotage those recommendations. With the power to set the WWTP as an agenda item down the road, the CCC staff could make it happen, not only to have the meeting closer to Morro Bay than all the others but also to see to it that a supportive Council majority has been seated.
Dan Carl, Deputy Director of the Commission's North Central Coast District Office — which covers Morro Bay — was quoted by a MB/CSD announcement about the postponement of the hearing as saying "we feel it is in the best interests of the public process to spend the time to review the matter, understand and assess it, meet with you (MB/CSD staffs) and others presenting it, and be able to properly frame and present it in a way that supports good decision-making." Carl confirmed he made that statement.
In its 20-page letter to the Commission attacking the CCC staff report, MB/CSD said that on July 12 — less than two weeks prior to the hearing — "we were both surprised and disappointed by the content of the CCC staff report that recommends denial of this important water quality project." Now MB/CSD is calling the proposed WWTP a water quality project when part of the reason the CCC staff rejected the project was because of how weak it would be in producing significant supplies of quality water by the plant.
"While the recommendation for denial was largely unanticipated and jeopardizes nearly a decade long effort by MBCSD to eliminate the 301 (h) waiver, of greatest concern to us is that much of the information included in the staff report is incomplete and/or inaccurate." Largely anticipated! The CCC staff has made clear since 2008 that the project the MB/CSD project at the present WWTP site would be unacceptable.
"The purpose of this letter and attachment is to correct the many inaccuracies found in the staff report released on July 27, while also providing commentary on the issues raised therein." Few — outside of MB/CSD — found any inaccuracies in the CCC staff report. The CCC staff, in due time, can be counted on to defend the accuracy of its report in a resounding manner.
"A large portion of the new and/or enhanced technical documents prepared to respond to CCC staff concerns, (Coastal Hazards Analysis, the Rough and Fine Screening Alternative Sites Analysis, and the Recycled Water Feasibility Study) have been omitted or sections referenced and appended out of context in the CCC staff report." No evidence of that charge was provided by MB/CSD.
The MB/CSD letter said that "CCC staff has identified a 'new vision' for the current WWTP site that is inconsistent with the City of Morro Bay's LCP (Local Coastal Plan) and its zoning ordinance. Additionally, the CCC staff has attributed this 'new vision” to us, the applicant. However, our certified LCP and zoning designation specifically state that the vision for the site and surrounding properties is for the protection of the current facilities at the present location because it is an ocean-dependent use. If the vision for this area were to be changed, those changes would necessarily require amendment to the LCP and/or would already be reflected in our current policy documents." That's the problem — as the CCC staff has shown by referencing the Coastal Act the present or any future plant does not belong on the shore of Estero Bay.
In conclusion, the MB/CSD letter said "It is the position of the MBCSD that the CCC staff report and recommendation for denial does not accurately reflect the numerous professionally-prepared analyses and technical documents that were provided and discussed at length over the course of the last 12 months. As an applicant and fellow public agency, we believe that accurate information and thoughtful consideration is essential for you as a Commissioner to make an informed decision." Sound a little condescending?
The complete letter to the CCC staff from MB/CSD can be found at Morro Bay.Comments.
Following is the notice of the hearing postponement posted on the Morro Bay city website yesterday:
Posted on: August 8, 2012 — WWTP Upgrade Project 8/9/12 California Coastal Commission De Novo Hearing Postponed
The City and District received notice late last night (8/7/2012) from Dan Carl, District Director of the California Coastal Commission that "staff is postponing the Morro Bay wastewater treatment plant hearing currently scheduled for this Thursday. Thus, the appeal will be heard at a future CCC hearing."
Mr. Carl goes on to state, "we feel it is in the best interests of the public process to spend the time to review the material, understand and assess it, meet with you and others presenting it, and be able to properly frame and present it in a way that supports good decision making."
The City of Morro Bay and Cayucos Sanitary District look forward to continuing to work with Coastal Commission Staff and bring the project back to a hearing before the California Coastal Commission as soon as possible. Please Contact Rob Livick, Public Services Director, 805 772-6261, for additional information.
(This article was originally posted on August 7 and is reprinted here as clarification.)
