Calhouns Can(n)ons

Whereas I Find The County’s Proclamation Will Formally Cover The RWQCB’s Behind While Tossing The Los Osos 45 To The Wolves

Today, at 2 pm, during the Oh Lord, Let’s Deal With Los Osos portion of the BOS meeting, apparently without any notice or input from citizens or the CSD, the BOS is going to vote on and sign off on a Resolution that will hang Los Osos out to dry, possibly officially jeopardize The Los Osos 45’s case to secure their due process rights, all the while pretending the County’s hands are clean and making sure the RWQCB’s behind is fully protected. The citizens of Los Osos, of course, are irrelevant.

Below, an excerpt from the resolution, my email to the BOS, followed by an email letter to Paavo from Ron Crawford, who’s asking some questions about this resolution as well. As Ron’s email points out, a whole lot of Whereas's are missing from this Resolution. A whole lot. Indeed, if you visit his website at www.sewerwatch.blogspot.com you can read reams of the "missing stuff. "

This resolution really goes to the heart of the question: Does the County have the interests of the citizens of Los Osos close to its heart, or is it just making sure it scratches covers various backs? If you think the County was concerned with the citizens, then why were none of them in the back room while this document was being drafted? And why no notice of this proclamation in a timely manner so the citizens of this fair burg could chime in to fix the “inaccuracies” in this document, many of them coming directly from the RWQCB? And why in the world isn’t Supervisor Bruce Gibson leading a charge to have this thing changed so it's at least accurate?

Well, hopefully you'll show up today to find out who actually does understand just how bad this thing is for 45 citizens at least. Katcho? Who doesn't even live in the district? Jim Patterson? Lenthall, who keeps stressing how he wants this process to be clean and fair? Who?


From BOS resolution:

Whereas the County recognizes the the RWQCB still has legitimate concerns about the successful implementation of a project by the County, and that critics of the RWQCB overlook the current practical effect of individual enforcement actions, including the following statemenmts from their staff report of December 7, 2007:

A. Prior project efforts have progressed further than the current County efforts only to be "derailed" and that "the very real possibility (exists) that attempts will be made to derail the project again."
B. "Others have stated their intent to file a lawsuit challenging the (County's Proposition) 218 vote."
C. "The Cease and Desist Orders and settlemnt agreeements are being litigated in San Luis Obsipo Superior Court."
D. "The Cease and Desist Orders and settment agreements do not require any burdensome actions now or in the near future."




Dear Supervisors,

The resolution you are apparently going to pass today states at the end that "the foregoing recitals are true and correct." There's one problem with that. The foregoing recitals are NOT true and correct and if you sign this document, you are signing on to falsehoods.

For example, consider the final "list" of "findings."

A. The CDOs for the Los Osos 45 will do nothing to stop any project from being "derailed." If enough citizens decide to derail any project, the Los Osos 45 will have no effect on the matter. So, that "recital" is false.
B. "Others'" opinions and intents have no bearing on the Los Osos 45. They are NOT responsible for what other people do or say. That "recital" is also false.
C. The PZLDF case is about due process issues and has no bearing on anything. That "recital" is irrelevant. Worse, is it the intent of this Board to sign on to a document that officially approves of citizens having their due process rights suspended while they are being held hostage and abused by a regulatory agency?
D. The CDO's ARE burdensome on The 45, since they alone have been singled out for "punishment," and carry with them a time clock that has not been imposed on the other residents. Again, the issue they raise is about due process and fairness, not sewers or the RWQCB's authority. So that "recital" is false as well.

In addition to enshrining falsehoods as "true," it's interesting what your resolution FAILS to note: The Blakeslee compromise asked everyone to "stand down." The RWQCB FAILED to do so and your resolution FAILED to mention that failure. You have also failed to note that the RWQCB can, at any time, rescind the 45 CDO's they have unfairly imposed and fairly re-issue CDOs to the entire community. Since this document states as true that CDOs are not burdensome, that should not be a problem. Instead, this document does nothing to fix that basic unfairness, it only seeks to officially approve and support it.

Which means, if you pass this thing, you will not only be signing onto falsehoods, you will be adding insult to an already injured community. I beg you to reconsider.

Ann Calhoun
Los Osos, CA


Ron’s email:


Hello Paavo,
In the Resolution concerning the RWQCB enforcement actions for tomorrow's meeting, it reads:"the failures of the LOCSD in 2005"

Which "failures" is the Resolution referring to?

This one?

The failure to construct a mid-town sewer plant that was called "bait and switchy" by Dave Potter of the Coastal Commission in 2004, and that also relied on an unsupported, and therefore illegal, Statement of Overriding Considerations to retain the sewer plant at its unpopular mid-town location, and also included, for absolutely no logical reason whatsoever, a multi-million dollar public park that not only dictated the expensive and unpopular sewer plant location, but also included an amphitheater, picnic area, and tot lot that was all being funded by the State Revolving Fund (while dozens of other California communities couldn't get a dime of SRF funding for their badly needed, amphitheater-less water quality projects), despite the fact that the SRF Policy so brilliantly states: "Ineligible for (SRF) funding -- Decorative Items?"

Is that the "failure" that tomorrow's resolution is referring to... the "failure" to build that project?

If that's not accurate, please clarify which "failures" the resolution is referring to.

As always, much thanks,

Ron