 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
According to Mr. Anderson at the time, these were serious estimates which might vary slightly, but not by more than 10%, since the bulk of the budget was already committed for other projects, and secondary added a relatively small amount. So the cost of moving to secondary was known and much less than the current request. Hence, the cost increase projection now put out by Mr. Anderson (that the bill would rise to $217 in 5 years) seems unwarranted. It might appear either that Mr. Anderson was previously completely unprepared to give the right numbers for the move to full secondary, and hence indicated a job performance problem; or else that the current estimates cannot be supported as any more valid than a political ploy. If the numbers befuddle you, don't feel chagrin; that seems to be the way OCSD staff works, throwing out sets of numbers to suit their argument du jour. There is a letter writing utility at http://LAWetlands.org/h301.htm, or you can simply use the following letter, suggested by Dr. Jan Vandersloot of OOG. It can be customized and sent to the OCRegister by EMAIL very simply, it counts as a regular letter, at: ------------------------------------------ RE: Sewer Rate Increase Dear Editor: The recently announced hike in sewer fees is wrongly being blamed on the decision by the Board of Directors of the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) to increase the level of sewage treatment to full secondary standards before sewage is discharged into the ocean. Fully 80% of the total increase, however, is due to OCSD's upgrades of its aging sewer line and facilities. This maintenance will have to be done in any case, and has little to do with the move to secondary standards. Less than 20% of the rate increase, or $30 of the ultimate $217 bill, is due to cleaning the sewage more thoroughly so as to have a cleaner ocean without a waiver from the Clean Water Act standards. I think most people accept a $30 annual charge, or only $2.50 a month, to ensure a clean ocean, that will be less contaminated by discharged human sewage. Let's be accurate and fair in detailing the actual cost for a cleaner ocean. Sincerely, Name_________________ Address___________________ Phone number____________________ Back to T.O.C. 3
|
|