ORANGE COUNTY VOICES / PATRICK C. WALL : Moving the World Is a Loner’s Job

The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) has decided it wants to continue the daily dumping of millions of gallons of partially treated sewage offshore for at least another five years. The fact that it is still impossible to find toxin-free fish anywhere in Southern California waters doesn’t seem to bother them in the least.

A waiver of Clean Water Act standards would allow the OCSD to dump untreated sewage into coastal waters if it can demonstrate that the discharge is harmless. In 1985, Orange County had no problem “demonstrating” this.

Today, more than 92 million gallons of sewage enters Orange County waters daily after having undergone only primary treatment, not the full secondary treatment originally required by the Clean Water Act. The sewage is transported through a pipe to a submarine canyon 200 feet deep. Where once these cold, deep waters provided nutrients for the abundant sea life, they now also contain years of human excrement. Major currents, heavy storms and a rare phenomenon known as “up-welling” can quickly distribute these contaminants into shallower waters.

Orange County’s existing waiver requires removal of 75% of the suspended solids. Full secondary treatment would remove 90% at a cost of about $25 extra per household per year, or about eight cents per family per day. In Orange County, where the yearly household income averages over $40,000, this would hardly be considered an economic burden.

Besides the $25 per household per year, OCSD’s reasons for not going to full secondary are easily refuted. For example, the county cites the problem of the extra sludge extracted from the sewage through full secondary. But half of the sludge is sold to a commercial composter who resells it. Why can’t the sludge bosses encourage this type of new business instead of paying to have it trucked to landfills?

Orange County officials forget that half the county’s cities are backing a move to make the ocean area between the county and Catalina Island an ocean sanctuary--a sort of marine nature reserve. This move would certainly improve Orange County’s tourism, which already contributes $4 billion a year to the county’s economy. It does not make sense or cents to further damage such a valuable resource.

The discharge is already visibly damaging the marine environment. Some previously abundant sea life around the pipe’s outfall area have vanished. Although scientists do not understand why they disappeared, some think it could be an indicator of increased threats to the local marine ecosystem. If the waiver is granted, the affected area around the outfall, now 16 acres, will over time increase to 18 acres. If the waiver is denied and full secondary treatment is reached, this degraded area will decrease to 5 acres.

While at one time receiving a waiver was as easy as flushing your toilet, these days it is becoming more difficult. Inspired by their 1985 victory over the city of Los Angeles’ waiver request, environmentalists have worked hard to deny requests from other places as well, including Oxnard and most recently, Los Angeles County.

The OCSD says that without the waiver, a major expansion of the treatment facilities would be necessary. So what? At its current rate of growth, expansion will be necessary within 10 years anyway.

It also says that its sewage does not require secondary treatment because of its relatively clean condition. However, every day at least 550 pounds of toxic materials are released into the ocean. If the waiver extension is denied and full secondary is reached, the daily discharge of toxins will drop to 370 pounds per day, that’s 33 fewer tons of poison being dumped into the ocean off Orange County each year.

If the people of Orange County don’t want to see their beautiful coast become like the more polluted areas in Los Angeles County, they must let their elected officials know how they feel now. There might not be another chance for five more years.