By Theresa-Marie Wilson~
After about four years of a legal tangle between the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District a settlement has been reached for a fine for a sewage spill in 2010.
“We believe that given what this board inherited, given the tough decisions and the process, this is as good as deal as we could have gotten,” said Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals who serves as chair of the board. “This is a major accomplishment for the board… we need to get out of the litigation business because this is a well run plant and I think this is a milestone.”
The issue surrounds the biggest spill in the plant’s history dating back to December of 2010. Following heavy rain, floodwater flowed into the wastewater treatment plant in Oceano. Water entered an electrical conduit vault causing a control motor to short-circuit and shut down all four influent pumps. An emergency standby effluent pump also failed to work thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater poured into the Arroyo Grande Creek, the Oceano Lagoon, the Pacific Ocean and a nearby neighborhood. The prosecution’s estimate was at 1.1 million gallons and the sanitation district’s was at a little more than 400,000 gallons.
The Regional Water Board looked at four different estimates of the amount of water spilled, and found the estimate of the sanitation district’s hired consultant, at 674,400 gallons, to be the most credible.
In 2012, the regional board determined that the district was at fault due to improper maintenance, equipment failure and lack of protection in the event of a 100-year frequency storm and fined the sanitation district $1.1 million.
Last week the sanitation district board announced that an agreement had been made putting an end to litigation. After negotiations, it was agreed that about $550,000 of the fine would go to the State of California Cleanup and Abatement account and an equal amount of funds would go to local and regional environmental or compliance projects.
“We are going to do these supplemental environmental projects,” said Shoals. “They [the state] didn’t have to do it in San Luis Obispo County. They didn’t have to do it in our local area. That is the distinction. We negotiated to get 50% of that fee we are going to pay and spend it locally.
Projects include the Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program for groundwater assessment and protection in the amount of $110,981 to help protect, restore and enhance the quality of waters on the coast; the Northern Cities Management area and the Nipomo Mesa Management Area of the Santa Maria Water Basin in the amount of $221,962 for groundwater flow model and modeling analysis; and a District Enhanced Compliance Action Project in the amount of $221,962 to enhance the water quality of the districts effluent, provide more reliable and dependable service to plant operations, and prepare for future water recycling opportunities.
Over the course of legal action dealing with the spill, which included a 16- hour regional board hearing open to the public, reactions were at times heated. Ultimately, Shoals said the board learned a lesson that can be applied to multiple governmental or organizational interactions.
“I know we are all passionate; we can not be emotional when we are trying to do what is best for the community,” he said. “Stay objective and trying to figure out what is the best solution to resolve the situation and not make it worse.”
The South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District serves about 37,000 people residing in Oceano, Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande. The board is comprised of a representative from each municipality.
