Committee OKs Bill Targeting Waste Water

A state bill that would make it illegal to discharge recycled water into the Upper Newport Bay ecological reserve was passed by the Senate Committee of Natural Resources and Wildlife this week and sent to the Appropriations Committee.

Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Irvine) introduced the bill in February after thousands of residents protested Irvine Ranch Water District’s Wetlands Water Supply project, which would empty 5 million gallons of treated waste water daily into a tributary of the bay.

AB 3344 would make discharging treated sewage water within two miles of where a waterway flows into an ecological reserve a misdemeanor. After Tuesday’s committee action, the bill, passed May 30 by the Assembly, is only a step away from the Senate floor.

State Sen. Tom Hayden spoke in favor of the bill and cited scientific research provided by environmentalist group Defend the Bay, a grass-roots Newport Beach organization formed to thwart the Irvine Ranch plan.

Bob Caustin, founding director of Defend the Bay, said Wednesday: “We think the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee is sending out a clear message that putting reclaimed water into the bay without adequate science and regulatory protections is not acceptable.”

The committee vote precedes a permit hearing Monday by the state Regional Water Quality Control Board for the water project. Irvine Ranch district officials have said they are confident that the proposal will win approval.

Newport Beach City Manager Kevin J. Murphy, however, said that the legislative action gives the city more leverage to seek an alternative to the project.

The city and Irvine Ranch have been negotiating with the Orange County Water District for another outlet for Irvine’s excess recycled water.