Sanitation District Is Polluting With Impunity
Re “Sewage Fears May Close Beach Again,” May 9:
No mention was made that the Orange County Sanitation District is operating under a waiver to the Clean Water Act. This allows the district to discharge a mix of primarily and secondarily treated sewage through the ocean outfall.
Half of the effluent going into the ocean is only primarily treated. About 120 million gallons of almost-raw sewage a day is going into the ocean. The fact that this plume is bad stuff is apparent by the effort and expense to determine if indeed the outfall plume is the culprit. Why is this partially treated sewage considered OK when it does not reach the shore?
The district plans on reapplying for the waiver in the near future. The alternative to this is for the district to start now in planning to completely meet the directives of the Clean Water Act. As the article reported, it could cost as much as $400 million to accomplish this. This would be money well spent.
Dennis Baker
Corona del Mar
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