California State Water Board Announcement on Septics, Etc.

Those on septic tanks (or in the case of Los Osos, those remaining on septics after the PZ sewer system starts up) might want to review this. For example,

Septic tanks shall be pumped when any one of the following conditions exists:

i. The combined thickness of sludge and scum exceeds one-third of the tank depth of the first compartment.

ii. The scum layer is within 3 inches of the outlet device.

iii. The sludge layer is within 8 inches of the outlet device.

Seriously, do YOU KNOW where your sludge layer is?

 

This is a message from the State Water Resources 

Control Board.

Notice - The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) will hold a public meeting on September 23, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. to receive public comments on proposed General Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges to Land by Small Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems (General Order) and an associated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study/Negative Declaration (Negative Declaration).  The proposed General Order and Draft Initial Study/Negative Declaration have been posted on June 20, 2014 and is available at:http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/land_disposal/waste_discharge_requirements.shtml

For more information and any questions, please contact Timothy O’Brien at (916) 341-6904 ortobrien@waterboards.ca.gov.

SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS

The State Water Board will accept both written and oral comments on the proposed General Order and Initial Study/Negative Declaration.  Written comments must be received by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on July 25, 2014.

Tybee Island: Small # of Peeps With A Large Sewage Savvy

Unlike Los Osos, Tybee island, permanent population 3,067 (2012 census) has had a sewer, since at least 1972. For 42 years the groundwater has not had to deal with the problem that Los Osos has, nitrate contamination from septic tanks, which has caused over-pumping of Los Osos' lower aquifer because the upper aquifer has been too contaminated to drink since the 1970s. Our upper aquifer is now overfull from septic tank discharge and the excess water leaches into the bay.

So, where does Tybee Island's water supply come from?

"Although Tybee Island currently has a good supply of fresh groundwater, there is a potential for saltwater to enter the Upper Floridan aquifer, which is the principal source of fresh water in coastal Georgia..."

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3120#.U6Xf5ChOsy4

Like Los Osos' water supply, Tybee Island's water comes from below the town. However, due to a sewer system, nitrate contamination from septic tanks is not a problem. Maybe we would not have a water supply problem either if we hadn't been so careless with our sewage.

More on Tybee's water from USGS:

"The U.S. Geological Survey designed and installed the innovative system that uses satellite telemetry to monitor groundwater levels and salinity daily. Tybee Island is the most seaward municipality in the Savannah area and is vulnerable to groundwater contamination from seawater.  This new system will serve as an early warning indicator of saltwater encroachment toward public supply wells."

“'This state-of-the-art monitoring system is extremely important because it provides an early warning to protect our supply wells," said Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman. "With this information, we can effectively plan a response to possible contamination problems,' he added."

"These real-time-monitoring wells are part of a larger network of wells that the USGS annually samples for chloride concentration to determine relative movement of saltwater in the Upper Floridan aquifer in the Savannah, Georgia area. The wells are part of a statewide groundwater level monitoring network funded by the USGS and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The City of Tybee Island provided funding to upgrade the wells to enable real time monitoring of groundwater levels and salinity."

Pretty cool Georgia!

In our case, our water supply will be directly tied to the reuse of our treated wastewater. It is hopeful that we will pay closer attention to the saltwater intrusion problem that we have now once the Basin Plan kicks in, and that in 30 or so years, when the water we will be returning to the lower aquifer starts to halt the intrusion (starting in 2016), we will be thankful that we got a sewer when we did. 

Better late than later..............

Obi-Won Kenobi vs. the Obstructionists Wielding Cocktail "Swords"

WHEREAS, Paavo has advanced the work of the Department and has demonstrated high level of wisdom among staff earning the nickname “Obi-Won Kenobi” of Public Works...*

Soon-to-retire Director of Public Works Paavo Ogren, was honored at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 for his 23 years of service to the County of San Luis Obispo. You can view the meeting off this link (the part you want is after 1:30 PM, skip past the sewer teeth-gnashers at Public Comment):

http://slocounty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1789

Staff was not the only beneficiary of the Obi-Won Kenobi effect. There was no contest really, between Master Kenobi and the people who pretended to want a sewer but didn't really, who did everything they could think of to block one—and—Los Osos is actually getting a sewer. It is due to arrive in 2016, the hard part of pipes in the street already having been completed. Paavo was always three steps ahead, giving the appearance of being four steps behind, a tactic that worked phenomenally well.

Here is my take:

You get the drift. So do the sewer opponents. In recognition of this fact, they symbolically bash their chests, tear out their their hair and issue high-pitched knells of sewer grief weekly at the Board of Supervisors. None of which will change one little bit the fact that Los Osos is getting the sewer it picked out among the choices presented by the County and finessed into fruition by Paavo Ogren, SLO County's Obi-Won Kenobi. Paavo will long be remembered at various levels of government, by contractors of sewer projects across the nation and especially by the majority of the citizens of Los Osos who are happy at long last to be getting 21st century sanitation.

Thanks Paavo! We will never forget you and wish you the best in Oceano.

• See the complete Resolution off this link:

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/3478/UGFhdm8gUmVzb2x1dGlvbiBKdW5lIDIwMTQucGRm/12/n/29581.doc

A Slice of Savannah Sewage

I'm traveling and I'll admit the car was going pretty fast, but here is a shot of Savannah, Georgia's President Street Water Quality Control Facility Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant!

You might want to read further on this topic by visiting the engineering company'a page on this facility's website (Savannah's info on this plant is slender):

http://www.hgbd.com/portfolio/president-street-water-quality-control-facility-secondary-wastewater-treatment-plant/

Savannah has four water reclamation plants; the one above processes 40 million gallons per day.

You might want to read a brief description of Savanna's "sewer modeling" off of this link:

http://www.savannahga.gov/index.aspx?NID=727

The facility above is open for tours for schools and some corporations. I am bummed that I am in neither category!

Bart Simpson Blocking Sewer in Belfast

Go take a look!

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-27840723

Recycled Water Geek Out

Depending on your intellectual investment in recycled water, the State Water Resources Control Board's General Waste Discharge Requirements, adopted June 3 and published June 12, will be a riveting read or will be a useful document to promote slumber:

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_decisions/adopted_orders/water_quality/2014/wqo2014_0090.pdf

Our sewer project had jumped through its hoops to satisfy Special Condition No. 5 of the Coastal Development Permit and come out with this plan to recycle water:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/RWMP+-+Final+May+2012.pdf

For you geekiest of geeks out there, here is a useful link to Clean Water State Revolving Fund Laws and Regulations AND how the foul sewer water will get sparkly enough to be recycled:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/Design+Division/OTB/300448.08.02+Volume1D+AppendixG-O.pdf

Happy reading!

The Gang That Couldn't Poop Straight

Well, you knew THAT title was going to appear here someday, didn't you!?

Defining "straight" in this case refers to being honest, being forthright, being open. "Poop" refers to work product, or in this case, the deflection thereof.

Much has been made over many months from the usual and long-standing sewer detractors about our sewer facilitators NOT being "transparent," and of our sewer project having "NO oversight!" Paavo Ogren, our soon-to-depart Director of Public Works (he is going to work in Oceano and will wear many hats there) has been accused of subterfuge, and our newly re-elected-by-a-landslide District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson has been hammered with accusations of mistruths as well. These are untrue accusations of course, but when you believe something strongly as these people do, you don't let facts get in the way.

I have been inspired by two things to write this column, the word "transparency" (thanks sewer detractors!), AND what Los Osos' new General Manager Kathy Kivley has been doing lately, that is, going through all of the old journal entries in the books and wading into the long misunderstood finances (by the public) to get a true accounting of what the District has, what it owes, and even what it owes to itself. So I have been doing a little financial sleuthing of my own, because as far as transparency goes, a nasty net of sludge covered what was going on with the District's finances starting on September 27, 2005. Nasty enough to get the SLO County Grand Jury involved back in 2006.

In fact, you really should read what was said in the Grand Jury Report about Los Osos. Start on page 77 of the report on Los Osos:
http://slocourts.net/downloads/grand_jury/reports/2005/final-2005-2006.pdf

Basically, the Grand Jury wanted to investigate if public funds, namely LOCSD funds, were used by the post-Recall LOCSD Board members* to pay off a law firm hired by a citizen's group, CCLO (Concerned Citizens of Los Osos) and Al Barrow (CASE - Citizens for an Affordable and Safe Environment) that had sued the LOCSD and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and crafted Measure B (which stopped the sewer—but was later found to be invalid). All five post-Recall sitting directors had been heavily involved with the group suing the LOCSD and the Water Board, and in crafting and defending Measure B. This law firm (Burke, Williams and Sorenson, or BWS) was then hired by the LOCSD after the payoff. The settlement amount of the five cases was $488,617.

The Grand Jury wanted to see detailed time logs and billing records of the law firm and requested these documents through the SLO County Counsel's office—twice. What they got back was nothing the first time and the second time the documents were so heavily redacted it was impossible to determine anything. Billable tasks were left blank. Why? one would ask if you had nothing to hide?

These settlement negotiations were conducted in the Board's closed session meetings. They were handled between an attorney representing the LOCSD and an attorney from BWS.The post-Recall Board was given a single-settlement dollar amount. They were "...not offered, nor did they request any detailed information on the breakdown as to what activities were billed and included in the settlement amounts." Also, a Board member said to the Grand Jury that they wanted to settle the cases so that they could retain BWS for future work.

The Grand Jury felt that since public funds were used to settle the lawsuits, the public has a right to know just what legal services were rendered when.

Why wouldn't the Board want to see what they were being asked to settle? What public input or oversight was there? Where was the transparency in what they were doing?

Those questions still remain, along with an icky feeling of being had, either by stupidity or just plain dirty dealings. The Citizen's groups, CCLO and CASE could well have gotten nothing. The Grand Jury was stymied and never got us the answers we deserved.

In fact, CASE and BWS were stiffed later. They were among the 20 largest claims in the Bankruptcy and got pennies on the dollar:

So then a question remains.....where did all the money go that the LOCSD borrowed from reserves as GM Kivley has found, and "borrowed" from our tax monies for the CDF Fire tax payment and the Bond payment to Bank of New York?



If you are interested in reading the LOCSD's finely crafted response to the Grand Jury (by BWS's Julie Biggs, no doubt), it is on pages 29-33:
http://slocourts.net/downloads/grand_jury/reports/2005/responses-2005-2006.pdf

* The LOCSD Board was: Lisa Schicker, Julie Tacker, Chuck Cesena, John Fouche, Steve Senet.

Riverside Sewer Woes Echo Here

Perhaps of interest to some of us who have followed Riverside's sewer issues:

http://www.pe.com/articles/sewer-695737-city-audit.html

Several city critics have repeatedly alleged the city improperly spent earlier sewer bond money and illegally made loans from the sewer fund to other city funds.

To address that concern, council members voted Tuesday, June 3, to ask their new outside audit firm to do a special audit of sewer fund transactions between 2000 to 2014, including use of loans and bond money.

It looks to mirror what is coming to light here again in Los Osos with the books at long last being put in order by our finance-minded new GM, Kathy Kivley.

In my opinion, the truly poor management decisions by the Recall board starting in October of 2005, plus reduced staffing due to the resultant bankruptcy, has caused financial and water problems since late 2005. So much sewer Sturm und Drang* has blocked the District from moving forward to solve its problems in any significant way!

General Manager Kivley has discovered a board resolution from May 4, 2006 that transferred $410,000 out from Fund 500 Water to fund "wastewater project studies." That money was to have been paid back into the Water fund at the same interest rate that the district gets on its investment funds. Needless to say, that has NOT happened.

She also reports a transfer out of the Solid Waste Fund 650 of $220,000 in 2006 for "wastewater project studies." This loan may also require repayment; staff is looking into when and if the funds were transferred.

You can look at GM Kivley's comments in this year's CSD budget at this link (it is a large file and loads slowly):
http://www.losososcsd.org/Library/2014%20Agenda%20Packet/06.05.14%20Agenda%20Packet/Agenda%20Item%207B%20Fiscal%20Year%202014-2015%20Budget.pdf

Also in 2006, our tax funds from the County that had been given to the LOCSD and set aside in April of 2006 to pay the old 2002 sewer bond, some $714,267.50 of tax monies, were gone by July 2006, so that payment could only be made by in dipping into the forbidden-to-used-by-contract reserve fund, the de facto "last month's rent" so to speak, to be left alone as the last bond payment. It was by agreement with Bank of New York to be repaid within one year. Being broke and in bankruptcy however, that money is being repaid at the rate of $25,000 a year, seemingly forever.

A quote from then CSD Director Joe Sparks from 2007 (this was originally published in the Tribune, but as accessing this now would cost money, I will provide a link to the entire text as copied into Ann Calhoun's blog, dated 8-6-2007, link),

The District has no full-time or permanent General Manager, even though the LOCSD Board had the opportunity three months ago to hire from multiple qualified candidates. 

The District has yet to re-pay approximately $400,000 borrowed from the Water Quality Trust Fund to fund the 2006 Ripley report, and Ripley remains a major creditor in the District’s Bankruptcy proceedings. 

The District has yet to re-pay approximately $700,000 that was borrowed from the Bond Reserve Fund to make a Bond Redemption payment because the District had insufficient funds to make the payment on September 1, 2006. From the period of October 2005 until April 2006, approximately $1,100,000 in assessment revenue (District General Ledger 4061) was deposited in District accounts for the purpose of making the September 1, 2006 Bond Redemption payment, yet those funds were not available to make the payment.

One of the commenters on this blog posting, former LOCSD Director Richard LeGros, wrote on that missing bond money,

Why was this "loan" not reviewed and approved by the LOCSD board in public, as required by law? 

Where did all this money go? The one wastewater study that came out, the Ripley report, that contract was for only around $500,000 and $100,000 of that total was a claim in the bankruptcy. Was all this money really moved to fund "wastewater project studies," or did it really go to attorneys in an useless attempt to defend against the indefensible? When the financial entries are all found and entered, will the books finally balance?

So  here we are in 2014, getting to the bottom of the financial mess the Recall Election put into motion. No, it wasn't really the recall itself, it didn't have to come to this, but the bad, no terrible, terrible decisions by the newly composed board, made it impossible to avoid.


*French Neoclassicism, a movement beginning in the early Baroque, with its emphasis on the rational, was the principal target of rebellion for adherents of the Sturm und Drang movement. Sentimentality and an objective view of life gave way to emotional turbulence and individuality. Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, empiricism, and universalism no longer captured the human condition; emotional extremes and subjectivity became the vogue during the Counter-Enlightenment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturm_und_Drang

Our Stalwart Bruce Gibson Wins Supe Seat Handily!

Someone who, from his position of elected official, has done all that he (or any superman) could, to shepherd through with much support and funding our contentious sewer project, was rewarded with his third term last night with 67% of ballots cast. Clearly, voters of the Second District are happy with his work in many areas, not just the Los Osos sewer, but since this is a sewer blog, I heartily commend his work for Los Osos and look forward to another four years. It takes a wise and patient man to sit through the tense discussions week after week and still positively support our sewer project. We are lucky to have him facing a task that few of us could stand.

April Sewer Project Update!

The County has posted its latest progress report for April 2014. Of particular interest, the photos of the treatment plant area and what is being done there. Quite fascinating, take a look!

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/PM+Monthly+Update+Apr2014.pdf

The Mysterious Ordinance 3209

Really, Water Board give us a break!

Bruce Gibson spoke at the Central Coast Regions Water Board meeting on May 22, 2014 asking for the Los Osos Prohibition Zone CDOs to be rescinded. He was asked by the Board as to what the County could do to enforce compliance to hook up should they remove the CDOs.

This is when the mysterious Ordinance 3209 popped up which the Water Board apparently was unaware of (as was most of us too, although it was very public in its adoption if you were paying attention)!

This ordinance was introduced on October 5, 2010 and adopted December 14, 2010 by the Supes and you can read it off this link (it is toward the end of the staff report). Yes, it has TEETH!

http://slocounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1002&meta_id=198936

Here's how it went down:

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Board of Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo, and ex-officio the governing body of all other special assessment and taxing districts for which said Board so acts, met in regular session at 09:00 a.m. 

PRESENT:	Supervisors: Bruce S. Gibson, Adam Hill, James R. Patterson, and Chairperson Frank Mecham
ABSENT:	Supervisor: K.H. 'Katcho' Achadjian

13

C-2

This is the time set for hearing to consider protests to an ordinance establishing a mandatory sewer connection requirement and sewer service charges for the Los Osos Wastewater project; and adoption of the ordinance if no majority protest exists; 2nd District.  (02:13 PM)

Staff Report

Chairperson Mecham:  opens the floor to public comment.

Mr. Tom Murphy, Mr. Hugo Conti, Ms. Gail McPherson, Dr. C. Hite, Mr. Don Bearden, Ms. Maureen Cormier, Mr. Bill Moylan, Mr. Bill Garfinkel, Ms. Beverley DeWitt-Moylan, Mr. Bo Cooper, Ms. Lacey Cooper, Mr. Al Barrow, Mr. Richard Margetson, Ms. Piper Reilly, Mr. Ben DiFatta, Mr. Chuck Cesena, Ms. Leslie Sands, Mr. Bruce Payne, Ms. Joyce Albright, Mr. Keith Wimer, Mr. Jeff Edwards, Ms. Julie Tacker, Ms. Linde Owen, Ms. Anna Easter, Ms. Elaine Watson, Mr. Alon Perlman, Mr. Dan Gilmore – Los Osos Community Services District General Manager, and Ms. Kathleen Jensen: speak.

A motion by Supervisor Bruce S. Gibson, seconded by Supervisor Adam Hill, to adopt the rates and charges ordinance, is discussed.  Mr. Warren Jensen, County Counsel, asks the Board to first make a motion finding a majority of protests was not received prior to approving the ordinance, with the motion maker and second withdrawing their motion.

Thereafter, on motion of Supervisor Bruce S. Gibson, seconded by Supervisor Adam Hill, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: Supervisors: Bruce S. Gibson, Adam Hill, James R. Patterson, Chairperson Frank Mecham NOES: None ABSENT: Supervisor: K.H. 'Katcho' Achadjian the Board finds a majority protest has not been successful having received 801 written protests.

Thereafter, on motion of Supervisor Bruce S. Gibson, seconded by Supervisor Adam Hill, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: Supervisors: Bruce S. Gibson, Adam Hill, James R. Patterson, Chairperson Frank Mecham NOES: None ABSENT: Supervisor: K.H. 'Katcho' Achadjian the reading of the proposed ordinance is waived and said proposed ordinance is read by title only and ORDINANCE NO. 3209, ordinance establishing a mandatory sewer connection requirement and sewer service charges for the Los Osos Wastewater Project, adopted. Footnote: If you have time to watch the video of this, don't miss the comments (rantings) by Tom (Reclamator, or as I prefer "Wrecklamator") Murphy! He cites the "National Standards Enforcement Agency" and some confused words about the County of SLO and $500 million! Always entertaining that Mr. Murphy!

IGM Will Get Up to $291,000 a Year

Ahhh, now for an interesting bit of sewer history!

Much has been made of Paavo Ogren's salary as the new General Manager of Oceano. But in searching around the internet, I found an overlooked bit of history about our own Los Osos CSD from 2005. Apparently one of those yelling the loudest about the Oceano General Manager's salary was a supporter of a Los Osos INTERIM General Manager making a TON more money than Mr. Ogren!

The facts on this mountain of money for an IGM for Los Osos were published in The Sun Bulletin (a Tribune subsidiary back then) on October 19, 2005. I had to go into the archives and pay $2.95 at NewsLibrary.com, the service provider for the SLO Tribune Archives, so I can't point to a link to the article directly, but you can access it yourself if you want to pay, google this title in the Trib's archives (there is more than one article too):

October 19, 2005 INTERIM LOS OSOS MANAGER WILL GET $140 AN HOUR PRIVATE ENGINEER HIRED BY NEW SERVICES DISTRICT BOARD COULD COST $14,500 TO $24,000 A MONTH AGENCY ALSO HIRES NEW INTERIM SPOKESWOMAN Author: The Sun Bulletin (I will add the writer named at the bottom of the story, Nathan Welton.)

The gist of the article says that Dan Bleskey will replace Bruce Buel as GM. Buel earned $94,000 year plus benefits. LOCSD President Lisa Schicker reported that Bleskey would work 3-5 days a week. He will cost the District between $14,500 to $24,000 a MONTH!

So, for a former LOCSD Director to raise a stink about a salary to a permanent General Manager (who by the way will be working two jobs under that title) in another town in which she does not live, seems hypocritical at the very least, but to those who follow sewer politics, it seems like an angry punishment toward a person who, as Public Works Director, offered so much expertise, support and hard work toward getting Los Osos a much delayed sewer, which this same CSD Director didn't seem entirely sold on our town even needing.

This Could Be Los Osos

USA Today reported that E. coli bacteria were found in the water supply of the area of and around Portland, Oregon. All water for drinking, food prep, tooth brushing and ice must be boiled for one at least one minute. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/23/e-coli-portland-water/9499929/

NBC reported 670,000 customers were affected. 

"Animal waste" — fecal matter — in the water was the likely source of the E. coli, they said.

And in April, Portland had to divert 36,000 gallons of water out of a reservoir because a person peed into it.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/e-coli-contaminates-portland-ore-tap-water-n113321

So here we sit Los Osos, people and animals alike, peeing and pooping ON TOP of our water supply. I can't wait until we are hooked up to our sewer and it is just the animals alone doing such. There are far less of them than of us, and the output is far smaller unless you have a Great Dane.

September Love...from the Regional Water Quality Control Board

Remember the song "September Love?" Or how about "See You in September?" That's the next step after today's Regional Water Quality Control Board informational meeting in San Luis Obispo on the topic of CDOs, or Cease and Desist Orders (September 22, 2014). Let's hope September's song will be in tune with what the community wants. Dump the CDOs! Take a step toward healing the community rift over inequity.

If you don't know the story, you probably don't want to. Let it be simply said, that the RWQCB was sick of having the sewer rug pulled out from under them by Los Ososians. Sewers 1 (by the County) and 2 (by the Los Osos Community Services District) were both stopped and there looked like little hope for a third iteration (due to the LOCSD's bankruptcy), so the RWQCB stepped in with a big disincentive to vote no to funding the next (State mandated) sewer, thrust upon the County of SLO to build (should they decide to accept the mission—they did). Thus the Los Osos CDO was born. Hook up by a certain date or expect to pay $5,000 per day to flush (or $10/gallon), plus pump your septic tank every three years.

In 2006, when these orders were first levied on 45 residents of the Prohibition Zone, the next step was to order a bunch more, continuing until every PZ household had one. But the hearings were so lengthy and onerous to both staff, board and citizens (read every meeting and every dollar in the Board's coffers could be dedicated to this task), the RWQCB stopped the process. So some people were under orders requiring them to pump their septic tanks and the rest of us were not. We only got Notices of Violation, which meant that if some day, when the sewer came along, if we didn't hook up, we'd get a Cease and Desist order. Some CDO holders got very, very upset, others just signed a settlement with the Board that they would hook up to the sewer when the time came.

These orders were in place since 2006 and might have gone away once the 218 vote had passed and the County started building sewer #3, had holders of those orders not decided to sue the RWQCB. That kept the orders in place—at least until the case was NOT accepted by the California Supreme Court, hence today's review of the CDOs and what to do about them.

Our District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson, many the CDO holders/friends of CDO holders and even me, a non-CDO holder, thought that they ought to go away, via written letters or by public testimony. They are unnecessary and unfair to those few under the mandate to pump when the rest of us don't. We should all be treated the same since no one will be suing the RWQCB any more!

So the Board will hear two items on this in September: an informational item to explain to the Board what the options are to vacating the CDOs and then a hearing to DO something about them, rescind them or not!

So mark your calendars for the SLO meeting of the Water Board in September for the next step in this seemingly endless, ever serpentine, sewer saga.

For the record, here was my speech:

My name is Lynette Tornatzky, I live in Los Osos and I have a Notice of Violation, not a Cease and Desist Order. I moved to Los Osos in April of 2005 and voted AGAINST the recall and AGAINST Measure B. I have been and still am in favor of your board holding the people of Los Osos responsible for cleaning up the obvious water pollution by ORDERS of some sort. 

However, considering the lawsuit against you by CDO holders was thrown out of court and not unlikely to come at you again, I support equality in the orders against us, whichever type they are—we should all NOW be under the SAME orders. 

There is always a chance, especially in Los Osos, that some people won't hook up to the sewer. But of the current 38 CDO orders that are in effect on less than 1% of the population out of a total of the approximately 4800 households, I would suggest that there is a far greater chance that the non-compliance would come from the sector that has Notices of Violation, the remaining 99% of Los Osos. 

I don't know what your enforcement process would look like to an NOV holder as opposed to a CDO holder. It seems to me that most CDO holders have just accepted a settlement and gone on with their lives. I don't know their backstories. I only know the very public and unhappy CDO holders that filed that PZLDF lawsuit against you which failed rather miserably and cost you a lot of money. But even those defiant ones seemed to have been complying with the CDO requirements. So knowing that—LOGICALLY, the category most likely TO not COMPLY would come out of the NOV-holder category.  

Since we are already paying part of the money of the sewer assessment on our taxes, to assess your risk in non-compliance, you might find out how many are protesting the sewer by not paying the sewer portion of tax on their property tax bill. I'd bet that the number is very small, and that those people are not all concentrated in the CDO-holder category. 

Looking at the staff report, the reasons for leaving the CDOs in place were three. On point #1, barring devastating earthquake or terrorism, I don't see how the County won't complete the sewer. They have gone through a hateful verbal fire-and-brimstone punishment for this project to be realized AND they have survived thus far; they are not going to quit now. I agree with points 2 and 3 though, SOMETHING should remain in place as a disincentive. 

However, looking at where the numbers of possible violators are placed, in the NOV category, it would make more sense that everyone should ACTUALLY be under a CDO if that effects a more likely compliance. BUT, looking at how costly that CDO process has been on you, I think putting everyone in the NOV category, where no hearings would need to occur until non-compliance occurs, would make the most sense. 

(I ran out of time, so didn't deliver this part.) Today's item is only for discussion, but I would hope that you might put this on a future agenda for action, either for Closed Session, as there may be things legal going on here that I don't know about or understand, or in a future Open Session. 

Thank you.

Of Bathroom Interest

Don't miss these "must doo" places to poop!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/spenceralthouse/places-you-have-to-poop-at-before-you-die

(SLO County's Madonna Inn made the list!)

Bid Dig Los Osos Adieu!

Dig Los Osos says the digging is just about complete! The last bits will be done in July. This is their LAST blog post, so please take a look!

http://www.diglososos.com/2014/05/15/final-farewell-from-dig-los-osos/

I for one am sorry to see you go. You have been a huge help to the community with all of your updates! Thank you for your wonderful help through these last two years!!! I wish you all the best in your next jobs!

Change Order Areas B & C!

Next Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at the Board of Supes:

Consent Agenda - Public Works Items:

15. Request for authorization of a Change Order for the Project Collection System Areas B & C Contract in the amount of $180,000 for additional collection system work, Los Osos Wastewater Project, Los Osos. District 2.

Watch .002% of the total budget elicit howls of outrage (start viewing at 9:00 AM next week, so as not to miss the performance)! Watch in person, on your computer or on Channel 21!

A link will be posted to the staff report when it becomes available!

Read the report and other documents at this link!

Julie's Speculations: Tried in Truth Court, Fails (Miserably)

Julie Tacker wrote an opinion piece on CalCoastNews which, sadly for her, drops her credibility even lower due to many the misstatements and just plain untruths.

Let's go through them one by one:

Ogren likely chose to skip his stint as the LOCSD manager because in a sworn statement Buel admits Ogren directed Buel to back-date a contract that ultimately landed the district in court and was integral to the district ultimately filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Firstly, none of us has seen Mr. Ogren's resume. We must presume it was either a handout at the Wednesday meeting that you Julie must have attended, or you got it quickly through a public records request. OK, for this purpose of refutation, we believe that the LOCSD stint as IGM was not mentioned. You then make a wild assumption that this omission must be due to the back dating of a contract Ogren directed causing the bankruptcy!

NOT TRUE! Your board's stopping the project caused the bankruptcy! All the time, money and effort you and Lisa put in to trying to make the backdated contract a lawsuit was for absolutely NOTHING, it was and still is a non-issue! Spending money on speculative will-it-stick-on-the-wall issues like this is what caused the bankruptcy in Los Osos!

I won't even go into your silly speculations on a county official influencing a CSD director.

The only way to afford his exorbitant salary is to raise rates and/or sell Oceano’s most valuable asset – its water.

NOT TRUE! You really have no idea what monies he can save in crafting an actual budget, something so screwed up in Oceano, it hasn't managed a timely audit in years. For instance, the vacant accountant position will be his and the car allowance won't. Our new GM in Los Osos is still trying to unscramble the mess your board made of the money, so you are in NO position to opine on finances.

The OCSD last met in closed session on April 23rd and there was “no reportable action” taken. Somehow direction was given to legal counsel to negotiate and draft a contract.

Now Julie, you know how that works, remember the PZLDF contract with attorney Shaunna Sullivan that YOUR board wrote with no public knowledge at all, enraging even your supporters?

A tremendous amount of work went into finagling the formula in which to pay this kind of salary. How was this direction given by a majority of the board if there was no reportable action on the 23rd? The result smells of the all-to-often Brown Act violating practices that OCSD board members believe they are immune from. 

Yes, we in Los Osos would like to know how the reserves vanished under YOUR watch in 2006. Brown Act violations? Finagling? When did your board direct the GM to withdraw monies held in RESERVE for fire department and water department improvements because you had somehow spent those reserves AND had no funds left to pay the bond payment either! There is no public record on how or where that money went at all! Now that smells even to this day as we are still paying the money back! Your board did not have a clue as to the meaning of the word "transparency."

Ogren will likely be out of touch with its citizens.

Why? He certainly is very well acquainted with many Los Osos citizens in all income brackets.

 Los Osos Waste Water Project is mid-way through construction; already $10 million over budget and $15 to $20 million in lawsuits and claims for damages are lining up.

NOT TRUE! The project is NOT over budget, the extra costs for the treatment plant are WITHIN the budget. The lawsuit is Paavo's fault? NOT TRUE. And you don't even consider the County's counter suit as having any validity in this? You just assume ARB is correct? 

In Oceano, Ogren’s work as public works director at the county has been unsuccessful at getting a Habitat Conservation Plan in place for the Arroyo Grande Creek.

NOT TRUE!  it is listed in the Special Districts Budget for 2013/14. Page 5 reads: "The 2013/14 budget was endorsed by the Flood Control Zone 3 Advisory Committee on March 21, 2013. Ongoing efforts include the Arroyo Grande Creek Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)…"
http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/AD/2013-14+Special+Districts+Budget.pdf

Perhaps Ms. Tacker is not aware of how long these things actually take. The one for Los Osos was stopped in 2005 due to the recall board stopping the sewer project. Since the county took over and began actual sewer project work, our plan is finally in the works again and with years ahead of it too.

Ogren is as a former employee of the Wallace Group.

So.....? What does that have to do with anything?

It did not go unnoticed that the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District, under the leadership of John Wallace, failed to hold the county responsible for flood-waters rising and pouring off the county owned airport contributing to the cause of the massive sewage spill.

Oh, so Mr. Ogren worked for the Wallace group, and the Wallace Group didn't ding the County on the spill.....because Mr. Ogren once worked for them? No. You are off-the-wall conflating responsibilities and events in an untrue and illogical manner.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/09/07/2216530/south-county-sanitation-district.html

The spill was on December 19 and 20. However, the County had already gone for a permit from the Water Board, called an Emergency Coastal Development permit, issued December 16. They were working on the upcoming problem. It was bad news for everyone that the spill happened, but it wasn't the County's fault, so John Wallace did not hold them accountable for a reason.
http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2011/1/F6-1-2011.pdf

Ogren’s departure from the county is welcomed.

No, it isn't. You speak only for yourself and the weekly anti-County ranting crew.

His arrival in Oceano will likely bankrupt the community services district and he needs just four years to do it.

It took your board less than a year to do in Los Osos. I guess you don't want to speculate that even someone you despise could do a "better" job at bankrupting a community than you did! Pitiful, really.

Paavo Ogren to Leave County PW Director Job for Oceano GM Position

I have sat here for a few hours trying to write something. I have been in a sort of shock. Actually kind of fearful and depressed. Our head of SLO County Public Works, who has been with us pre-County sewer inception, is moving on from leading a large department of 180 in eight divisions, to a tiny staff of six in the beleaguered Oceano Community Services District. Talk about a change!

Well, we will all just have to get past the surprise, fear and depression, as I know I can't be the only one.

Sometimes a large job change is just needed. The sewer project is virtually in the bag. Really, aside from the ribbon cutting, should there be one, it is over half way to being done completely, all the parts left to go are already in place. It is under careful and excellent oversight. The other County projects are in good hands. (The lawsuit from ARB is so nothing compared to the CSD's bankruptcy over stopping the Tri-W project. Besides, what's a Los Osos sewer project without litigation?)

Life needs challenges, not glide paths. Paavo, you have done a stellar job for us in Los Osos. You have been essential to getting this reluctant town critical infrastructure for its health and our continued residency here. You have my gratitude and that of many others as well.  I wish you all the best.  Especially the odd joys of getting in there and fixing something that is an acknowledged mess. Oceano is beyond lucky to get you! I look forward to reading about Oceano's future successes.

Read the Tribune's story off this link:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/05/09/3058508/paavo-ogren-oceano-csd.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

CDO ALERT!

OK, the time has come for the CDO issue to be on the agenda for the next Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting on Thursday May 22, 2014 here in SLO!

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

Thursday, May 22, 2014, 8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 23, 2014, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Central Coast Water Board Hearing Room

895 Aerovista Place, Suite 101, San Luis Obispo

See Item 14 under,

Discussion/Informational Items

14.  Los Osos Cease and Desist Orders 

      [Harvey Packard, 805/542-4639, harvey.packard@waterboards.ca.gov]

Click the link to see the page with links to the relevant documents!

Also of Los Osos' interest:

 Friday, May 23, 2014, 9:00 a.m. 

Closed Session

4.    Los Osos CSD v. Central Coast Water Board (San Luis Obispo County Case No. CV 060146 (TSO 00-131)

6.    Ken Berry, et al. v. Central Coast Water Board, et al. (Sacramento Superior Court; CEQA Challenge to Los Osos CDOs)

Ken Berry again!

See you on Thursday, May 22!

The Softer Side of Sludge

Here is a very different take than SLO County's on sewer sludge at The Aichi Prefectural Toyo River Sanitation Center and other places in Japan:

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20140505p2a00m0na002000c.html

The article states:

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) set up a strategy team for such "sewer assets" last summer, and this April, a public relations campaign was spearheaded with the publication of the first-ever cookbook using recipes of food grown from this method.

BOS 5-13-14 Ad for Construction Bids!

Next Tuesday at the Supes, South Bay Boulevard from Los Osos Valley Road to SantaYsabel has the number one spot on the Consent Agenda for approving a bid for construction of Asphalt Overlay!

Bid Opening:

1. Letter transmitting plans and specifications (Clerk’s File) for 2013-14 Asphalt Overlay, South Bay Boulevard from Los Osos Valley Road to Santa Ysabel Avenue, Los Osos, CA, for Board approval and advertisement for construction bids. Bid opening date set for Thursday, June 12, 2014. District 2.

When the relevant documents are up on the Supes site, I will post them! The sooner South Bay Boulevard gets fixed, the better. Construction vehicles have taken their toll to its surface.

A Select Group We Are!

Many, if not most of us living in Los Osos, came from someplace else. Some from larger towns or cities with sanitary infrastructure already in place, maybe even RE-placed by the time we were using it. Some from houses that had a septic tanks already in use (or maybe you were on a replacement tank at that point, a step up from the redwood barrel that once served the earlier homeowners. Not too many from the hippie days of an outhouse off in a field I would guess, although there may be a few who had that unique experience. What one does while camping way out in the sticks does NOT count, unless you LIVED there for months or years).

Think about it, in 2016, WE of the PZ are going to go where very few of us have gone before! We are getting brand spanking new, fresh sewer pipes to... to... So—! how many of us HAVE EVER HAD pristine, new pipes to christen!

Their use might be a small unnoticed event for many or most perhaps, this emergence into the 21st century of urban life with something the Romans had centuries ago. But my first flush might just be the contents of a bottle of champagne: first to reflect on and honor the humble pipes that took years of battle, money, hard work and tears to place into the ground. And I'll do it too for a future without that ever present drone of sewer anger cautioning and framing acceptable speech amongst my new acquaintances here in Los Osos.

Sewer Web Game!

Well, I couldn't get this to work. I installed the Unity Web Player for Mac (several times). "The Unity Web Player enables you to view blazing 3D content created with Unity directly in your browser, and autoupdates as necessary."  But it never launched using either Safari, Chrome or Firefox, which it is supposed to do but wouldn't, due to some sort of update problem. Poop. (I don't have a PC anymore, so I couldn't try it there.)

So maybe you might want to see if you can play an outer space, on-line sewer game! Good luck!

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2014/05/02/it-came-from-the-sewer-the-post-mortem/

If it doesn't work for you either, the author made a cool time-lapse video of creating the game! You can see that here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlN8nSGgQlU

The Grim Future for Sewer Sludge in SLO-Co....

Sewer sludge aficionados probably do not exist in this county. Even the operators of the wastewater treatment plants that produce it are probably not that fond of it as it must be trucked out of the County, to Santa Maria or the San Joaquin Valley for disposal.

Of course, our wastewater treatment facility is not built yet, so this is more conceptual than personal to Los Osians at this point.......

At the Board of Supes Tuesday, May 6, 2014:

Hearings:

21. Hearing to consider an ordinance to continue the provisions and restrictions that were in place in the Land Application of Treated Sewage Sludge/Biosolids interim ordinance for a period of four years, and find the ordinance consistent with the previously approved Negative Declaration/Environmental Determination No. ED03-149. All Districts.

The relevant documents can be found here:

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html?select=3289

This is why it is not applied to land here:

http://www.slocountywater.org/site/Water%20Resources/Advisory%20Committee/Submittals/pdf/20121205%20D.Broadwater%20Submittal.pdf

Naturally, the sewage sludge industry feels differently about this!

http://www.sludgenews.org/industry/

The Times Press recorder tells us in an article published on March 25, 2013, 

"The county’s 17 wastewater treatment plants generate 11,500 tons of sewage sludge annually, with the majority of the material  6,100 tons trucked to a composting facility in Santa Maria. 

Some of the material does come back to the county in the form of fertilizer, while the other roughly 50 percent of the 11,500 tons of generated sludge is disposed of in landfills or hauled to the San Joaquin Valley for disposal."

Some day we will be adding our own personal contributions to this amount shown above and those who have not pumped for many, many years will add the most - go Al's!

World's Largest Sewer Related Research Program Wins Award!

"Sewer Corrosion and Odour Research Program: Putting Science in Sewers."

Read about it here!

http://www.uq.edu.au/news/node/113663

Little Known Sewer Rat Factoid

Seriously....

Good info if you intend to become a sewer rat wrangler for the movies however!

https://twitter.com/GreatDismal/status/459566192273813504

Public service notice for rat rescue, sewer or otherwise:

http://www.rathelp.org/Shelters.html