Environmental Press # 73

Subj: OOG: Victory At OCSD. The Waiver Is Dead.
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 3:02:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Jon V3
To: Jon V3

Dear Ocean Outfall Group (OOG), dedicated to ending the 301(h) waiver held by the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD):

Well, gang, we did it. After an initial eloquent speech by Irvine Director Beth Krom, and a long and confusing discussion of a resolution by OCSD Director Brian Brady from IRWD, the OCSD Board passed the resolution calling for increased level of treatment to full secondary standards and no waiver. I do not have the full wording of the resolution at hand, but in the end, the discussion turned on a scare tactic by OCSD staff that the District would suffer fines and penalties if it did not at least apply for the waiver while it was implementing the conversion to full secondary. Thus the prospect of a temporary waiver (that might have turned out to be not so temporary) was raised that made people in the audience feel mighty uneasy. It was turning out to be: "The Waiver is dead. Long live the Waiver." But Director Tom Wilson, filling in for Director Jim Silva, called the question, and the vote came down to the Great City of La Palma, whose Mayor and Director Paul Walker gave a resounding Yes vote and the audience erupted in shouts and yells of congratulations and glee. So now we have to analyze the resolution and keep hound-dogging the case to make sure no backsliding occurs. I'll forward the resolution when I get a copy. Meanwhile, the