Ventura Water and Public Interest Groups Protect Santa Clara River Estuary with Settlement
Press Release
Mati Waiya, Wishtoyo Foundation/Ventura Coastkeeper, 805-794-1248 Jason Weiner, Staff Attorney Wishtoyo/Ventura Coastkeeper, 805-823-3301 Christopher Sproul, Attorney Wishtoyo/Ventura Coastkeeper, 415-533-3376 Matthew King, Heal the Bay, 310-451-1500
Ventura Coastkeeper
08/17/2011
Heal the Bay, Wishtoyo Foundation’s Ventura Coastkeeper Program and Ventura Water today announced a Memorandum of Settlement that outlines the terms of a proposed agreement to resolve legal actions associated with the City’s wastewater facility discharges of tertiary treated water into the Santa Clara River Estuary. The Ventura City Council is expected to vote on a final settlement and consent decree following a 120-day extensive public outreach effort that will conclude in December 2011.
“We as a community will have to have a discussion about the terms of the settlement and the long-term environmental benefits of the proposed plan as well as the cost impacts to rates,” said Mayor Bill Fulton. “We feel that this agreement, in the end, aligns with Ventura’s deeply-held commitment to preserve and protect our natural heritage.”
“We applaud Ventura for its commitment to protect the Santa Clara River’s natural cultural resources that the Chumash People and all of the County’s current and future residents depend upon,” said Mati Waiya, Chumash Ceremonial Elder and Executive Director of the Wishtoyo Foundation and its Ventura Coastkeeper Program. “Our Foundation is excited about what this will provide for the endangered “Isha’kowoch” (Chumash name for Southern California Steelhead), and the revitalization of all native wildlife in the Estuary and the watershed.”
This historic agreement leads the region in promoting the use of reclaimed water, while establishing a process to alter the current discharge practice to create optimal conditions for the sensitive species and environmental resources of the Santa Clara River Estuary. The major deal points of the three-party settlement include:
• A commitment to attempt to divert a minimum of 50% and up to 100% of tertiary treated water from direct discharge to the Estuary to reclaimed water uses, and to send all tertiary treated water not reclaimed through a treatment wetland designed to further treat the effluent;
• Creation of a process and schedule to determine how much tertiary treated water can be diverted to reclaimed uses and how much can be discharged through the treatment wetland to the Santa Clara River Estuary to protect its ecology;
• Creation of a technical process and schedule to select a preferred infrastructure alternative(s) to divert more water to reclaimed uses and treatment wetlands.
• Commitment to design, environmentally review, permit and construct the diversion infrastructure by 2025;
• Commitments to establish a budget and obtain funding sources to implement the diversion infrastructure by 2025; and
• Creation of a more solid and integrated working relationship amongst the environmental community and Ventura Water.
Settlement negotiations began in response to an administrative challenge filed by Heal the Bay and a lawsuit filed by Wishtoyo Foundation and its Ventura Coastkeeper Program against the City of Ventura for, among other things, releasing tertiary treated water to the Santa Clara River Estuary, which those groups assert is harmful to its sensitive aquatic species. The City of Ventura has had a permit authorizing release of treated water to the Estuary since the 1970’s, but for at least 10 years, regulators, environmental groups and the City have disagreed about the volume of discharge that should be released to the Estuary to protect its ecological resources, including the endangered, threatened and sensitive species that occupy the Estuary, and about the volume of discharge that should be reclaimed.
All three parties see this settlement as a first step in a long and close relationship to protect water resources in Ventura. “This agreement is critical to the health of the Estuary’s species and the River’s ecosystem, Santa Clara River steelhead restoration efforts, and the provision of water supply and security for a plethora of beneficial uses in the City and in the watershed,” said Jason Weiner, Staff Attorney for Wishtoyo Foundation and its Ventura Coastkeeper Program. “It’s a win for the City, the County, the watershed’s residents, businesses, and visitors.”
“The solution will result in a healthier estuary, the creation of new wetland habitat, and increased water recycling”, said Heal the Bay President, Mark Gold. “All parties worked together to develop innovative beneficial solutions to a chronic environmental problem.”
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