OJAI VALLEY : Agency to Commission Sewage Plant Review

Reversing a decision made two months ago, an Ojai Valley agency will commission a full-scale environmental review on a sewage-treatment plant it is rebuilding near the Ventura River.

The Ojai Valley Sanitary District Board voted this week to approve the comprehensive environmental impact report on the plant, which treats the waste water of about 11,000 Ojai and Ventura residents.

Board members had voted in March to commission a briefer environmental review of the project, but public complaints led them to change that decision, said Eric Oltmann, the sanitary district’s general manager.

“Although we’ve concluded that the impact on the area will not be great, we felt enough questions had been raised to warrant a study,” Oltmann said.

Three years ago, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered the district to stop the treatment plant, at 6363 N. Ventura Ave., from discharging partly filtered effluent into the Ventura River.

The ruling spurred plans to modernize the plant that entail rebuilding 80% of the facility, Oltmann said.

The district has until July, 1996, to comply with state standards or face fines of up to $25,000 a day, Oltmann said.

Construction is expected to cost about $22 million, which will be passed on as rate hikes to customers, Oltmann said. Monthly bills will almost double from $18 to $30, Oltmann said.