Local officials say that their chances to get two more years to
complete a sewer plant are good after learning that staff of the
state agency that put a building moratorium on Hollister is
recommending a 2007 deadline.
Hollister – Local officials say that their chances to get two more years to complete a sewer plant are good after learning that staff of the state agency that put a building moratorium on Hollister is recommending a 2007 deadline.
The Central Coast California Regional Water Quality Control Board staff recommended that the board extend the city’s Oct. 15 deadline to complete a sewer plant and long-term waste management plan until Dec. 31, 2007, while maintaining the building moratorium that was imposed after 15 million gallons of treated sewage spilled into the San Benito River in 2002.
City Manager Clint Quilter will find out if the extension will be granted during the RWQCB’s Oct. 21 meeting in San Luis Obispo and is confident that the extension will come.
“Of the times I’ve been to the board over the last year-and-a-half or so they’ve expressed some positive comments on the progress we’re making,” he said.
But even with a staff recommendation, there is still a chance that the RWQCB board will deny the extension request, which could result in the city being fined $200,000.
“It’s not unusual for the board to have a differing opinion to our decision,” said RWQCB Executive Officer Roger Briggs. “The board is not shy about asking probing questions, which sometimes leads to them going in another direction.”
Many in Hollister are eager to see the moratorium, which prohibits new development in the city, lifted. Local developer Richard Ferreira said that he is glad the city has set a date for completing the sewer plant. But, he added, since the city will miss the Oct. 15 deadline, he is concerned that it might also fail to meet the 2007 deadline.
“Is it going to be drop-dead date? Are they going to stand by it?” he said. “People can’t wait any longer.”
In a memorandum Quilter sent the RWQB, he justifies the extension request by stating that Hollister has met most of the board’s previous deadlines, which the RWQCB staff agrees with.
Quilter has told the City Council that he expects the city’s wastewater situation to be resolved, and the building moratorium lifted, by December, 2007 – barring any hang-up during state-mandated environmental studies for the project. According to Quilter, plans for a larger capacity wastewater treatment plan are 90 percent complete. But the problem of what to do with the water once it’s treated has been more difficult to solve.
Currently, treated water is percolated into the ground. But once the new sewage treatment plant is finished, there will be too much water to continue doing that. The ultimate solution is to use the treated wastewater to irrigate crops. But because of the high content of undissolved minerals in Hollister’s water, more treatment will be necessary to remove the minerals before it is suitable for agricultural use.
Seeing this wastewater disposal dilemma as a regional issue rather than just one affecting the city, last year Hollister teamed-up with San Benito County and the county water district and formed the Governance Committee for the Hollister Urban Area Water and Wastewater Plan, which is charged with creating a long-term water and wastewater plan for the city.
San Benito County Supervisor Pat Loe, who sits on the Governance Committee, said the RWQCB staff’s recommendation that the deadline be extended is a sign that the agency recognizes that the region is working toward a solution.
Last month, the Governance Committee accepted a work plan that lays out milestones and deadlines to meet them, which will ultimately result in a long-term wastewater plan and a new sewage treatment plant.
“I believe it’s a very aggressive plan,” Loe said. “And the city is doing everything it can to meet that deadline.”
But, she added, there is always the chance for delays during the environmental studies that must be conducted before any plan will be approved.
On Wednesday, Governance Committee staff interviewed two firms that entered bids on the job of drafting the wastewater plan. According to Quilter, staff will recommend one of the firms to the governance committee next week.
Luke Roney covers politics and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
