San Diego

The county grand jury on Thursday issued a report chastising San Diego city officials for their management of the municipal sewage system but applauding their fight for a waiver from stringent sewage treatment standards created by the federal government.

The 13-page report, prepared by the jury’s Environmental Management Committee, criticized the city for its record on maintenance of sewer pipes and pumping stations and recommended greater personnel training and mechanical backup systems to prevent future sewage spills.

Jurors agreed with officials in the city’s Water Utilities Department that increases in residential sewer rates are necessary to finance a new treatment plant. But they also recommend a hike in sewer hook-up fees to fund future system expansions.

The report’s toughest language was reserved for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its requirement that cities discharging sewage into the ocean upgrade treatment standards by July, 1988, a deadline San Diego will miss.

The jury called the EPA’s requirements “a sweeping course of action that is arbitrary and lacking in good faith and fair dealing,” and urged city officials to reconsider their decision to upgrade to advanced sewage treatment and explore other options.