Share the Sewage Bill

As the City of San Diego contemplates raising $1.5 billion to pay for upgrading its sewage system and building a federally mandated secondary treatment plant, cities and sanitation districts around the county that belong to the Metropolitan Sewerage System are wondering if they will be socked with additional charges and higher rates.

Already, some have suggested they would not willingly pay more, arguing that the City Council decided unilaterally to convert to secondary treatment without consulting the other agencies. This is a very poor argument.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has told the city it must treat at the secondary level--it is not optional. Building the plant to meet that order is expected to cost about $1 billion. For the 15 smaller members of the metro sewage system to try to opt out of sharing in the expense would be wrong.

City Atty. John Witt has advised the City Council that he believes the city’s contracts with the other agencies entitle the city to spread the cost of building new facilities. He has cautioned that the new charges must be fair and equitable, taking into consideration the amount of sewage an agency contributes to the system and its quality in terms of strength and toxic matter.

The smaller agencies account for 30% of the sewage flow. They should own up to their fair share of the coming improvements in the system, improvements that basically have to do with taking care of the ocean from which we all benefit.