The state regional water board denied two of three requests from
Hollister to hook up
”
critical
”
construction projects to the sewer system.
Still cautious after the disastrous sewer spill of 2002, the
water board allowed only the San Benito High School expansion to
connect to a near-capacity treatment plant.
The state regional water board denied two of three requests from Hollister to hook up “critical” construction projects to the sewer system.
Still cautious after the disastrous sewer spill of 2002, the water board allowed only the San Benito High School expansion to connect to a near-capacity treatment plant.
Members of the Regional Water Quality Control Board denied the same request for Fire Station No. 2 and a surgical center at Hazel Hawkins Hospital. The semi-monthly meeting took place in San Luis Obispo on Friday.
In September 2002, that same board imposed the cease and desist order – or building moratorium. It stemmed from a 15-million gallon sewage spill into the San Benito River bed in May of that year.
The penalty, which disallows most new building permits, came after repeated warnings from the water board about Hollister’s wastewater treatment ponds exceeding capacity limits.
A new plant is scheduled for completion in October 2005 – also when the moratorium would expire.
Hollister officials had expressed confidence that none of the three projects would add stress to the system because of water conservation efforts. The water board’s own engineering staff even recommended that exemptions be granted for all three projects.
But the Board denied the two requests anyway. Hook-ups won’t be allowed for the fire station or surgical center, at the earliest, until the city secures all its financing for the new waste water plant.
City Manager Dale Shaddox, who was briefed by Public Works Director Clint Quilter on Friday, said the water board remains “very, very cautious” toward the city. Though Hollister has complied – and thus avoided any fines – with all requirements of the water board set forth 17 months ago.
“They were not happy with Hollister,” said Jean Burns Slater, the school district’s superintendent, who attended the meeting.
But Shaddox said he was satisfied with the decision. Hollister has secured $16 million thus far for the $30 million project. And officials plan to sell sewer bonds to obtain about $20 million, he said.
He expects that to happen by August, which would give the city time to go before the water board – with financing – and again request the exemptions before the fire station’s completion in early 2005.
Meanwhile, the water board is fine with construction moving forward on the wastewater plant and the surgical center, Shaddox said.
“We’re OK with the outcome,” Shaddox said, “because we have confidence we’re going to be able to perform.”
Hollister’s backup plan for the fire station was to use a holding tank until the moratorium ends.
Shaddox was unsure how the new timeline for possibly hooking up to the sewer system would affect the hospital project, he said.
Slater was pleased with the outcome, though nervous at times before the board’s decision, she said. She was joined in San Luis Obispo by Steve DeLay, the school district’s finance director.
“I think they saw the need for the sewer connection in light of the school (expansion) being 90 percent constructed,” DeLay said.
Plus, half of the projected $16 million on the entire construction – including an undetermined Phase II – came from the state. And the district has until mid 2007 to spend that money.
The first phase of the expansion – which includes 24 classrooms and four labs – is scheduled for completion this summer, Slater said. The buildings should be occupied by August 2004, she said.
