The controversial ban by the regional water board would phase out septic systems in commercial areas by 2015 and in residential areas by 2019.
By Jonathan Friedman / The Malibu Times
Malibu officials will be in Sacramento on Tuesday to speak at the State Water Resources Control Board meeting, during which the proposed Malibu Civic Center Area septic system ban will be up for a vote. But the effort will likely be a lost cause because experts say the state board rarely overturns a regional board decision.
The Los Angeles board approved the ban last November in an effort to reduce Malibu watershed pollution it says is mostly due to human contamination. State Water staff has recommended approval.
The proposed ban would put an immediate halt to permitting of septic systems in the commercial areas of the Civic Center and the stretch of Pacific Coast Highway from Serra Road to Sweetwater Canyon, as well as the residential areas of Malibu Colony, Malibu Road, Serra Retreat, Sweetwater Mesa and the Malibu Knolls. The plan calls for the phasing out of existing septic systems in commercial areas by 2015 and in residential areas by 2019. Those with projects that are already underway or in the permitting process will be allowed to install septic systems, but they must also meet those deadlines.
“We were hoping for a better compromise, a middle-of-the-road plan that would emphasize the city’s [proposed plan] because we feel that’s politically achievable as well as scientifically achievable,” said City Manager Jim Thorsen about the State Water staff recommendation.
The city has estimated that the costs could be as high as $400 to $500 per household per month in the residential areas to implement the proposed ban and pay for a central wastewater treatment facility.
City officials and consultant California Strategies have lobbied State Water staff and some board members during the past year. Thorsen and Mayor Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner said they are hopeful the state board vote could differ from the staff recommendation, but they admitted it was a long shot.
This proposed prohibition is based on studies that determined septic systems are the main cause of pollution in Malibu Creek and Lagoon as well as Surfrider Beach. But Malibu officials say other studies affiliated with the city that were recently finished or are near conclusion tell a different story. Also, the city has a proposal of its own that involves fewer residential areas and eliminates septic systems in a two-phase process. It also does not include an immediate halt to septic permitting.
“We want clean water,” Thorsen said. “We want to put in a system that works. And the way for it to be done is to allow the local agency to determine how to do that. And that’s what we’ve done.”
Thorsen said the city’s plan has support from most of the affected residents and businesses while Regional Water’s plan does not. He said even if this ban is approved, the assessment district needed to pay for a centralized treatment plan could not be created because there are note enough votes to do it.
Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, supports the prohibition. He said the state board’s approval would mostly be formality, although he added that nothing is ever a guarantee. But he said once this happens, modifications can still be made to the plan at the regional level. Although Regional Water officials refused when asked by Malibu to delay the process so that new studies could be completed, Gold said Regional Water officials would be willing to consider the results of the studies and reasonable modifications to the prohibition from Malibu. But this could only be done with a prohibition in place.
“We’re going to have much more effective negotiations if they’re held to a prohibition that is going to ensure clean water rather than having every single issue still up in the air,” Gold said.
Gold added that the environmental community has received too many broken promises from Malibu.
“The thing about Malibu is, forget about second chances, they’ve been given fifth chances and sixth chances, and the water quality speaks for itself at the Lagoon and Surfrider Beach,” Gold said. “It’s unacceptable.”
Defending the Regional Water’s refusal to delay the process and wait for the results to come in from new studies, Gold said, “Malibu has not been held legally accountable for water quality protection during their entire cityhood life. And that culture, that dynamic needed to change.”
Gold will also be in Sacramento on Tuesday to speak in favor of the prohibition. His organization has some disagreements with the boundaries of the prohibition area, but they are on the same page overall with the Regional Water plan. He also said that he believes environmentalists and Malibu officials are 90 percent in agreement.
“Part of the 10 percent we strongly disagree with is that there should be a prohibition in place first and modifications made second, whereas Malibu just absolutely is opposed to any prohibition going forward.”
Details of proposed septic system prohibition
– No new systems are allowed for any properties within the prohibition area.
– All commercial systems in the area must be phased out by 2015.
– All residential systems in the area must be phased out by 2019.
– Residential projects that were approved or are in the pipeline can continue, but the new system must be discontinued by 2019.