Level 3 Water Severity? Talk to The Hand

James Caruso from County Planning, came to the LOCAC meeting last night to present portions of the SLO County Resource Capacity Study 2007, the report that declares Los Osos is in a level 3 (severe) water shortage (“severe” as in, right now 500 acre feet a year in overdraft, with salt water intrusions permanently ruining portions of the lower aquifer, more overdraft if building is continued to occur). And, naturally, the LOCAC members point out that they repeatedly “advise” against County Planning issuing building permits (homes outside the PZ and even some inside are still being built/remodeled & etc.) and are repeatedly ignored since County can’t do anything about anything, it’s the water purveyors’ job, and their in litigation now to try to figure out something, but meantime, Oh, well, nobody can do anything, well, maybe LOCAC could ask the Planning Commissioners and/or the BOS to slap on a “temporary” moratorium until the wastewater system is finalized and the water purveyor’s legal wrangling is finished???

In short, nobody’s in charge of anything except wasting time on a “Resource Capacity Study” that indicates a “severity” about which nobody can do anything, Oh Darn. And people outside the PZ but inside the Overdrafted Severity Level Basin are free to build and draw water out of the same overdrafted pool thereby overdrafting it more, while those inside the PZ can’t build diddly. Go figure.

Gloss! Gloss! Get Me My Gloss! But For God’s Sake, Don’t Send A Copy To Ron Crawford! We’ll Never Hear The End Of All The Déjà vu!

Got my really cool, high-gloss Brochure 1 on the “Los Osos Wastewater Project” put out by the Dept of Public Works. Very spiffy. In the center spread, there’s three boxes with cute little pictures and diagrams and arrows, showing how “Viable Project Alternatives” get developed. And in the center box, under the Prop 218 Viable Project Alternatives, there’s a picture of a hand calculator, some greenbbacks and two apples.

Two apples? Apples? I looked around for the oranges, but they’re not there. I suspect the apples were put in there as a graphic illustration of the word “General Benefit” as in apples are good for you hence a benefit? The drawings of greenbacks make sense since that portion of the graphic is referring to $$. But apples? Will the author please ‘splain?

At any rate, a copy of your way cool brochure should be in your mailboxes now. And you can sign up for reports and updates online. The brochure itself is pretty slim pickings because the engineers are still chug-chugging along gathering steam and figuring out which pieces of the track should get laid.

This community can only hope that County Engineering will make sure of their destination BEFORE laying track. After all, a prudent man does not decide to go to Fiji and then start immediately building a locomotive in order to make the entire trip. Just as the job determines the tool to be used, a wastewater system will take its shape and scope and placement from the final end-use plans. Get that right, and the rest falls into place.

Apropos of Ron, he’s posted another document over on his blogsite (http://www.sewerwatch.blogspot.com/) “Why let silly little things like ‘facts and figures’ get in the way of a good sewer-park?” I emailed him to ask about the date of the publication he’s posted vis a vis the Coastal Commission and other reports on the Solutions Group solution. (documents and reports he has cached at his blogsite)

His reply: “ Cuesta Study = July 1998. The Coastal Commission comparative study that corroborated the Questa Study, and where [CC staff Steve] Monowitz writes, ‘Pursuit of the Solution Group alternative also has the potential to result in significant delays to the implementation of a wastewater treatment project for theLlos Osos area”[ was] October 1998. The “working Group” that included members of the County, RWQCB, CC, and Solution Group, where all those agencies were telling the Solution Group their plan wasn’t going to work = All through 1998”

The reason why I was curious about those dates, -- 1998? The Coast & Ocean article is dated Spring 2000. Huh?

It’s The Rock!

Latest copy of The Rock is out now. Here’s a few snipes from the front page:

“’Great Los Osos News Blackout’ Continues: Tribune ignores Ripley peer review report by NWRI panel and buries CDO hearings more than a week after the proceedings.”

“Ret. Judge Goldin on the RWQCB: ‘The Most Incredible Kangaroo Court I’ve Ever Observed’: Forty-plus years of experience in the law did not prepare Judge Goldin for the travesty of justice she witnessed at the RWQCB’s Jan 22 CDO hearing.”

“S.O.S. From Afar: ‘There’s something Going on in Los Osos – it’s Bad:’ David ‘The Waterguy’ Vehnuizen’s recent online thread on Los Osos provoked an array of responses from experts from across the U.S. . . . who are aware and watching.”

Plus an extensive interview with Dana Ripley of Ripley Pacific company, which prepared the Project Update Report as well as a proposal for a STEP system/AgExhange Los Osos wastewater plan.

Too bad the County didn’t include a copy of The Rock tucked inside their glossy brochure. That would have been a more balanced diet: Eye candy AND a good chunk of nourishing information (besides apples?) for the citizens to chew on.)

(For readers who live outside the Los Osos area where The Rock is distributed, you might call them at 528-1224 or email them at TheRockReader@yahoo.com to see about having a copy mailed to you.)

HOORAY! For AGP Video

AGP Video donated a good chunk of its own time to make sure the citizens could view the “kangaroo court” proceedings of the January 22 RWQCB CDO hearings. If you haven’t already sent them a donation to offset that incredible Public Service gesture, please do so: Their address is: 1600 Preston Lane, Morro Bay 93442.

Meantime, Good Karma and Good Job: AGP Video won the contract to “tape and show state Coastal Commission gatherings on the Internet.”

Reported the Trib: “Sarah Christie, legislative coordinator for the commission, “This is part of a growing trend in state and local government to make public meetings available to the public over the Internet.”

Hooray!

SIGN UP NOW !

Yooo Hooo, Los Osos. Hellooooooo? HELLOOOO!

The County has a site you can sign up to receive email updates of the Hideous Los Osos Sewer Project and/or receive regular reports via US mail. I would urge all of you in the community to sign up now. Chooo! Choooo! Toot! Toot! This Sewer Train is fixin’ to leave the station and if this community wants to avoid another train wreck at the end of the line, this community better make sure the train’s heading in the direction they want it to be heading. So, sign up now.

County Los Osos Waste Water Planning Mailing List:Starting in February, 2007, the County Public Works Department intends to send regular Project updates by U.S. Mail to all property owners and residents in the Prohibition Zone. If you have not received the Project updates, or live outside the Prohibition Zone, you can join our mailing list

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP/Mailing_List.htm

WaterBoarding Games

If you thought the recent CDO hearings for The Los Osos 45 were a sadistic mess that completely trampled on citizens’ rights, get a load of this. Some of The Los Osos 45 who were given CDOs appealed their case to the State Water Board. (That’s the entity that “oversees” the Regional Boards). Keep in mind, citizens cannot go into a “real” court of law to get protection from the “real” law UNTIL THE ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES HAVE ALL BEEN EXHAUSTED. So, here’s what the SWB is up to:

The RWQCB was asked by our Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee to “stand down” with the CDOs to give the County and community “breathing room” for the County to take over the wastewater project and get up to speed. NO! said the RWQCB. They had to had to rush-rush these CDO hearings through, including going non stop over Christmas, over New Years, moving goal posts, time-crunching citizens with impossible to meet deadlines, running them ragged, hurry, hurry, hurry!

Then, when the appeal on those few who were processed and issued CDOs was sent in, on time, with 94 reasons for vacating the decisions and a box of evidence and exhibits, suddenly, Oh, Gosh!, Oh, No, THESE WON’T DO. You have to separate out each document for each individual petitioner, and you have 5 working days to do all that and get them to us, said The State Water Board, Hurry! Hurry!Hurry! And if you need access to the documents, the docs are posted on the RWQCB’s web site . . . OH, WAIT, heh-heh. Uh, no, suddenly they’re . . . gone. Removed. Oh, gee, so how’s a person to do a document search? Oh, you’ll have to submit a Public Records Request and wait, oh, months? Weeks? Whatever, to get a reply.

Then, it gets better. Here’s section 2050.5 (b):


The State Board shall review and act on the petition within 270 days from the date of mailing the notification described in (a), unless a hearing is held by the State Board. If a hearing is held, the State board shall act within 330 days from the date of mailing the notification described in (a) or 120 days of the close of the hearing, which ever is later. If a formal disposition is not made by the State within those time limits the petition is deemed denied. These time limits may be extended for a period not to exceed 60 days with written agreement from the petitioner.

Count e‘m, folks, count ’em. 270 days. . . 330 days. . . plus 60 days . . . That’s how long the State Water Board can sit on these appeals, thereby preventing any citizen from getting anywhere near a “real” court of law to get redress of their grievances in anything close to “a timely manner.”

So, now check the date of the county’s 218 vote for the new sewer. Is it now becoming clear just what these CDO’s are really all about? And since citizens can get NO LEGAL protection of their rights until AFTER 270 days, 330 days, plus 60 days, (i.e. “exhaust the administrative remedies”) the citizens will get no legal protection of their rights. Unless a local judge understands this game for what it is and issues a “stay” against the CDO proceedings altogether. [Update: Just got an email noting that attorney Shauna Sullivan, who's representing some of the Los Osos 45 in their appeal, has re-filed in court with Judge LaBarbara and "served a default on the SWRCB for the quashing of the Briggs deposition and not making him available for hearings." So while the SWRCB may wish to try to delay and make all of this moot, the actions of some of these Los Osos 45 and Judge La Barbara may ensure that all the rest of the community will finally be afforded "real" protection from "real" laws in their appeal to a "real" judge in a "real" court. This is an effort that this whole community had better be paying attention to and help support since the outcome for the Los Osos 45 is the outcome for the entire community. Those few people are the template for the town.]

On the other hand, look how nicely this Administrative Process Schedule locks in with the County’s 218 vote.

Not that any illegal electioneering’s going on here. Oh, sure a Board member noted that what was needed to be done in Los Osos was to “change the political will” of the people and if and when this appeal gets to a “real court,” the whole issue will be moot since the critical vote would already have been taken so who cares if the entire case gets tossed out then– it’s real purpose will have already been served -- but heaven forefend that somebody suspect that electioneering’s going on here, using a regulatory agency to do it. Why, we’re shocked you would even think such a thing, aren’t we?

And if you’re wondering, Gosh, where’s the press? Neil Farrell, the Managing Editor of the Bay News, our little local paper that should be all over this story like white on rice, noted this in an editorial comment to a recent letter-to-the-editor: “I know for a fact the water board staff considers the Los Osos sewer situation to be a direct defiance of their authority.” That’s from the managing editor. What Mr. Farrell apparently doesn’t know is that the RWQCB is not mandated to punish citizens because some staff members feel their “authority” is being defied. Worse yet, the citizens of Los Osos were not “defying” anything; they were simply trying to move a sewer plant out of the middle of their town. That a managing editor of our local paper so misapprehends what happened in Los Osos and misapprehends what this Board is supposed to be doing explains why this entire process has gone so wrong and just how a regulatory board can run so badly amok without even the simplest check from a “watchdog” press.

So, if ever you want to see a regulatory system run amok, this is the case for y ou. Wolves guarding foxes running the chicken coops. Los Osos is the test case for the rest of the state. Looking for checks and balances? You’ve come to the wrong place.

But here’s a challenge for Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee. What happened here in Los Osos is a textbook case of how and why this system has failed and continues to fail. Who in Sacramento has the courage to start hearings into ways to get the SWB & RWQCBs back on track, make the institutional and procedural changes needed to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future, get better funding so that the Regional Boards have the resources needed to run competently ( i.e. for a start, institute the recommendations found in the recent Science & Technology report issued by the SWB itself), and put in place vital checks and balances that can give better protections to prevent future citizens from being harassed and injured by a Board and staff bent on illegally and improperly abusing its powers.

As water issues become more important throughout the state, reform of the SWB should be a top priority to every person and every city and county in the state. If communities and government agencies think, Oh, it can’t happen to me, think again. It can and it will.

Molly Ivins Can’t Die, Can She?

The following was emailed to me by a friend. It’s a tribute written by her column editor. In the Feb 1, L.A. Times obit, are two observations: One by Lewis Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper’s magazine, “She reminds us that dissent is what rescues democracy from a quite death behind closed doors.” And PBS news anchor Jim Lehrer: “her targets ‘are the hides and egos of just about everybody in the politics and gutters of today. Her language is that smooth whiplash thing called Texan Sharp, of which Molly is a laureate.’” Hers is one sharp, funny voice that will be greatly missed.


Goodbye, Molly

Anthony Zurcher
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
(01-31) 18:51 PST -- MOLLY IVINS is gone, and her words will never grace these pages again - for this, we will mourn. But Molly wasn't the type of woman who would want us to grieve. More likely, she'd say something like, "Hang in there, keep fightin' for freedom, raise more hell, and don't forget to laugh, too."
If there was one thing Molly wanted us to understand, it is that the world of politics is absurd. Because we can't cry, we might as well laugh. And in case we ever forgot, Molly would remind us in her own unique style.
Shortly after becoming editor of Molly's syndicated column, I learned one of my most important jobs was to tell her newspaper clients that, yes, Molly meant to write it that way. We called her linguistic peculiarities "Molly-isms." Administration officials were "Bushies," government was in fact spelled "guvment," business was "bidness." And if someone was "madder than a peach orchard boar," well, he was quite mad indeed.
Of course, having grown up in Texas, all of this made sense to me. But to newspaper editors in Seattle, Chicago, Detroit and beyond -- Yankee land, as Molly would say -- her folksy language could be a mystery. "That's just Molly being Molly," I would explain and leave it at that.
But there was more to Molly Ivins than insightful political commentary packaged in an aw-shucks Southern charm. In the coming days, much will be made of Molly's contributions to the liberal cause, how important she was as an authentic female voice on opinion pages across the country, her passionate and eloquent defense of the poorest and the weakest among us against the corruption of the most powerful, and the joy she took in celebrating the uniqueness of American culture -- and all of this is true. But more than that, Molly Ivins was a woman who loved and cared deeply for the world around her. And her warm and generous spirit was apparent in all her words and deeds.
Molly's work was truly her passion. She would regularly turn down lucrative speaking engagements to give rally-the-troops speeches at liberalism's loneliest outposts. And when she did rub elbows with the highfalutin' well-to-do, the encounter would invariable end up as comedic grist for future columns.
For a woman who made a profession of offering her opinion to others, Molly was remarkably humble. She was known for hosting unforgettable parties at her Austin home, which would feature rollicking political discussions, and impromptu poetry recitals and satirical songs. At one such event, I noticed her dining table was littered with various awards and distinguished speaker plaques, put to use as trivets for steaming plates of tamales, chili and fajita meat. When I called this to her attention, Molly matter-of-factly replied, "Well, what else am I going to do with 'em?"
Perhaps the most astounding aspect of Molly's life is the love she engendered from her legions of fans. If Molly missed a column for any reason, her newspapers would hear about it the next day. As word of Molly's illness spread, the letters, cards, e-mails and gifts poured in.
Even as Molly fought her last battle with cancer, she continued to make public appearances. When she was too weak to write, she dictated her final two columns. Although her body was failing, she still had so much to say. Last fall, before an audience at the University of Texas, her voice began as barely a whisper. But as she went on, she drew strength from the standing-room-only crowd until, at the end of the hour, she was forcefully imploring the students to get involved and make a difference. As Molly once wrote, "Politics is not a picture on a wall or a television sitcom that you can decide you don't much care for."
For me, Molly's greatest words of wisdom came with three children's books she gave my son when he was born. In her inimitable way, she captured the spirit of each in one-sentence inscriptions. In "Alice in Wonderland," she offered, "Here's to six impossible things before breakfast." For "The Wind in the Willows," it was, "May you have Toad's zest for life." And in "The Little Prince," she wrote, "May your heart always see clearly."
Like the Little Prince, Molly Ivins has left us for a journey of her own. But while she was here, her heart never failed to see clear and true -- and for that, we can all be grateful.
Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Anthony Zurcher, a Creators Syndicate editor based in Austin, Texas, has been Molly Ivins' editor and friend for many years.
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Calhoun’s Cannons, The Bay News, Morro Bay, CA, For Jan 31 07


Yes, It’s The January 22nd RWQCB’s Ongoing Disgraceful DumbShow Presentation of “Torquemada’s Mad Hatter Tea Party & Auto-de-fe Public Beheading & Traveling CDO Show Of The Los Osos 45, Part, Uh, Oh, Heck, I Can’t Remember, There Have Been So Many of Them”

First, the dumbshow boffo laffs as The Grand Inquisitor, Reed Sato, tried to claim that NOBODY connected with the RWQCB and/or staff would ever, EVER use the phrase . . . “vacate the premises . . “ as what will happen if the CDO’s drop dead date of 2011 comes and there is no sewer to hook up to. He further tried to make clear that NOBODY, except a COMPLETE MORON, would ever, EVER think, for a moment, that “vacating the premises” was even on the radar, was even the REMOTEST possibility, so he couldn’t figure out WHERE THESE STUPID CDO PEOPLE GOT THAT IDEA, THAT PHRASE, THOSE WORDS!

Until RWQCB staff member Matt Thompson was asked (under oath) if he ever said to a CDO recipient that if there were no sewer by 2011 “. . . you’d have to vacate the premises. . .” and Matt answered, “Uh, yeah, I guess I did . . .”

Oh, right. THAT’S where these stupid CDO people got that idea. From the staff go-to guy, the Main Man, the Primary Contact for all things CDOish, the Horse’s Mouth.

Then, The Weirdness: The RWQCB’s attorneys have fought from day one to make sure NOTHING gets into the record, except what they want there, which always raises the question: What is that Board scared might get into the record? If it’s irrelevant, a “real court of law” will dismiss it. If it IS relevant, a “real court of law” will have need of it. So what’s the problem? Unless this Board is afraid of certain evidence even as they deny the need for any evidence to justify what they’re doing.

Next up, The Scary Part: From the start, the game here has not been a legitimate process intended on solving a real problem. Even though the requirements of pump, repair, inspect is given as the reason for issuing a CDO, evidence had already been presented that this mitigation would NOT do diddly to the groundwater during the short delay until the county completes its new wastewater project. But, this process does have one clear function as a blandly deniable illegal electioneering tactic for the homeowners’ upcoming 218 vote by tying their vote directly and ultimately to the requirement to “vacate [your] premises” if the vote fails.

Hence the CDO tactic of moving the goal posts, changing the rules, even sending out some critical time sensitive documents that demanded responses within very tight time frames using a postal meter WITH THE WRONG YEAR ON IT, constantly morphing the language of the CDOs in an effort to create a Kafkaesque process designed to confuse, harass, exhaust and keep The Los Osos 45 chasing their tails until, under exhausted duress, they’d finally sign anything, thereby turning the fate of their property over to a bunch of guys who didn’t know how to set a postal meter correctly.

But it was the Board itself that remained the curious dark star in this proceeding. CDO recipient Bill Moylan challenged the Board to stop what they were doing since it wasn’t necessary, made no sense and that they alone had the power to stop harassing sick old people with a pointless procedure that was causing real damage to people’s health and lives.

The Board members and Staff sat passive and indifferent. Had their actions damaged people? Oh, yes. They knew that. They’d seen first hand evidence of what this process was doing to people. Were their policies irrational? Contradictory? Bait & Switchy? Mad Hatterish? Pointless? Intended to beat citizens down into exhaustion? Oh, yes. They knew that too.

But they simply didn’t care. To choose an ethical and common sense approach might actually require the smallest effort. Clearly that was out of the question. And to actually care about the people appearing before them would take courage they either didn’t have or chose not to have.

Instead, they again portrayed themselves as helpless victims, washing their soft hands of any responsibility, taking refuge in rules they had invented in order protect themselves, choosing expediency over meaningful action.

Finally turning away, smiling secretly sadistic smiles, these frightened, passive men, men who were faced with a moral decision, instead reached for a self-serving hankie, then left the room.