OJAI VALLEY : District Ordered to Study Air Pollutants

The Ojai Valley Sanitary District must begin by August a study of what toxic air pollutants it is releasing from its Ventura Avenue waste-water treatment plant, district directors were notified Monday.

However, the study may be moot, because district officials have already decided to improve the treatment plant to meet more stringent state pollution laws that become effective in 1993.

To comply with the federal Clean Air Act, the sanitary district must inventory 400 air pollutants and test for health risks if levels exceed federal standards.

The inventory is expected to cost $40,000 and further tests an additional $180,000, said Eric Oltmann, general manager for the sanitary district.

As the air-pollution inventory progresses, the sanitary district will move ahead with plans to revamp its treatment plant, which will probably make the inventory irrelevant, Oltmann said.

Either major modifications to the existing plant will be made or a new treatment plant will have to be built at a cost of between $15 million and $25 million, Oltmann said. The monthly sewer rate of the typical sanitary district customer probably would increase from $16.15 to at least $35 to pay for the new plant, Oltmann said.

Oltmann said the sanitary district is going to negotiate with the Air Pollution Control District to try to delay the inventory until plant improvements are completed.