Here are three of the most substantial issues that were raised by the commissioners of the California Coastal Commission regarding the Los Osos wastewater project permit (in no particular order). They will be the limited focus of the Commission’s de novo hearing in April:
1. “Double dipping” at the Broderson site. The Broderson site used 72 acres as mitigation of impacts for the original site (Tri-W) and plan in 2004, but there are nine acres that impact environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA). This ESHA is reserved for conservation of the Morro manzanita, Monterey spineflower, Blochman leaf daisy, Morro shoulderband snail, Morro Bay kangaroo rat and the monarch butterfly. County staff did not set aside land for mitigation of that ESHA since the County intends to use all of the 72 acres for the wastewater project. Failure to address the “double dipping” will result in enforcement. Even if it were to go to enforcement, by the time the County completes work on the Broderson site, there will be no acreage left to mitigate ESHA. Additionally, if the language was left unmodified, the burden to mitigate the ESHA would fall on nearby property owners.
2. Questionable application of wetland delineation. Wetland delineation is defined as a determination of the landward extent of a wetland. The County’s EIR analyzed the wetlands strictly as jurisdictional wetlands (in accordance to Section 404 of the Clean Water act) but the County did not specify whether some of the wetlands sampled were wetlands as defined by the Coastal Act (as specified in 14 CCR §13577). The Coastal Act applies a one parameter definition for delineating wetlands. Only one of the three criteria needs to be met for soil, vegetation and hydrology to determine wetland conditions. It’s possible that the County data is compliant with the Coastal Act’s standards, but if it’s not, it’s also possible that the County underestimated the number and extent of wetlands on the Giacomazzi site, which would indicate the project could not avoid facility development on wetlands.
3. No implementation of specific water conservation plan. The County did not specify how and when their water conservation plan would be implemented. Since there are no specifics to follow, there is no feasible way to bring enforcement action. In his October 18, 2009 appeal to the County, Keith Wimer of the Los Osos Sustainability Group (LOSG) recommended a basin-wide management plan to be implemented within one year of the project approval in order to aggressively combat saltwater intrusion. Wimer also suggested that the plan include the goal to stop at least 900 acre-feet of water per year (AFY) of pumping from the lower aquifer within two years. However, County staff recommended the motion to deny all appeals, including Wimer’s, which had a prepared remedy for what would later become a substantial issue.
The January 14th California Coastal Commission hearing was all about the County of San Luis Obispo not going far enough to ensure that the project would preserve environmentally sensitive habit and wetlands. It is truly remarkable that a project of such magnitude would have several “fill in the blanks” that would cause significant delay. Since nobody else in Los Osos has had the ability to delay the wastewater project based on three critical flaws that could have been remedied previously within their jurisdiction, by process of elimination, do we now know who the real obstructionists are?
– Aaron Ochs
