Calhouns Can(n)ons

Chugga-Chugga, Toot-Toot

Elvis has left the building. The train has pulled out of the station. If you didn’t speak your peace at the Board of Supervisors’ “Oh Gawd, It’s Let’s Talk About Los Osos Time” yesterday, you will now forever hold your peace.

Yes, yes, I know, you’re free to show up at the Planning Commission on April 28 & 30th, and also the Coastal Commission whenever they meet and the RWQCB hearings & etc. and make all the comments you want, but if you wanted to ensure that Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee’s promise to bring to the community “fully vetted projects with real costs for an advisory vote,” (i.e. a gravity project and an “alternative” project) you’re outta luck. Not gonna happen. Was never gonna happen. Noel King spilled the beans from day one, even before the TAC was getting under way, by sending a clear signal that the county was going to build a gravity project, end of sentence.

Yes, I know, everyone tried to pooh-pooh and gloss over his remarks, heh-heh, and the County invested enormous amounts of time and money in the very public activities of the TAC, (with my deepest thanks to all those volunteer community members who served those bazillions of hours), but anyone who knew this game also knew what Mr. King’s “signal” meant: Big Dog Rules.

Happily, the system picked coincided with what the majority of those who returned the community survey wanted, indeed were willing to pay $49.99 MORE for – a gravity system with the treatment plant out of town. And as for Mr. Blakeslee’s promise? Well, politicians say many things in the course of getting legislation passed and communities pacified enough for legislation to get passed, and Mr. Blakeslee was nowhere to be seen at yesterday’s BOS meeting.

So, the short list going for RFPs remains short, no STEP firms need apply, bye-bye. The project, just like Mr. King said, will be a gravity system, and the “design-build” parameters will be carefully laid out, so bets, for those so inclined, can now be laid as to who gets what and what will or will not be allowed. And we’ll surely see what will be added to the mix when the Planning Commission [ next meeting April 23, 8:45 in BOS chambers] and the Coastal Commission and the RWQCB weighs in. Certainly, tertiary treated, Title 22 & etc. water is clearly on the radar, as is some sort of possible hybrid/sealed/vacuum system down by the bay and in other high-water areas, maybe.

And, of course, we’ll have to wait to see what Fish and Wildlife has on the map. That’s likely when the elephants will start to dance and at that point, we Los Osos mice had better be afraid, be very afraid.

So, once again with all things sewerish, stay tuned.