The Sorrow of Morro Bay : City Caught in Bureaucratic Tangle Over Sea Pollution

MORRO BAY, Calif. —  No one disputes that the bay is polluted. And few residents oppose the state health department’s decision to close it to shellfish harvesting.

But two state agencies disagree about the source of the problem, and two federal agencies disagree about the solution.

“This is bureaucracy at its finest and Morro Bay is caught in the middle,” said Chris Thompson, head of the city’s Chamber of Commerce. “We are dependent on tourism, and this mess has got to hurt us. The image of Morro Bay is a tranquil, beautiful healthy environment. People won’t visit if they think that’s all changed.”

Water samples indicate that Morro Bay has up to 10 times more than the allowable limits of fecal coliform bacteria, and shellfish have been found with up to 1,000 times the allowable limit, a state spokesman said.

The solution is simple, according to state health officials. The pollution could be cleaned up, they say, if the city would just disinfect its treated sewage by chlorinating it. The cost would be between $10,000 and $15,000 a year, local and state officials say.

But the city does not want to spend the money, and the state and federal agencies who monitor its sewage-treatment plant will not order the chlorination. The three agencies say they do not want to take action until they are certain that the plant is the source of the pollution.

The fishermen of Morro Bay who harvest mussels and oysters say that $15,000 is a small price to pay. Morro Bay is the fourth-largest commercial shellfish area in the state, but the pollution has decimated the businesses. The state Department of Health Services imposed a temporary ban on commercial shellfishing in October, and on Wednesday the department plans to ban it indefinitely until the problem is resolved.

Larry Qualman, who owns one of the two main oyster-harvesting operations in Morro Bay, has left the area and says he will not return until the problem is cleared up. He is suing the city and state for damages.

The harvesters who remain must transport their shellfish to tanks for purifying before they can sell them, a process that doubles their cost.

“What’s $15,000? You can’t even buy a decent car for that,” said oyster harvester Gary Taylor. “Why can’t they give it a try and see if it works? I can’t believe they’re willing to sell this city down the river for that kind of money. . . . They don’t call this town Morro. They call it Morro Bay for a reason.”

A city of 10,000 about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Morro Bay survives on its pristine image. At mid-morning, fog shrouds the base of enormous Morro Rock--a volcanic outcropping at the edge of the bay--and columns of sunlight illuminate its tip. A strip of sand dunes separates the ocean from the bay, a calm body of water rippled only by an occasional sailboat.

This natural beauty draws thousands of visitors a year to Morro Bay, and its motels and harbor-front restaurants are dependent on the tourists. Although only shellfish harvesting is affected by the ban--the impurities are concentrated in the animals’ digestive systems and can transmit hepatitis, typhoid and cholera--the city’s $5-million-a-year commercial fishing industry could also suffer.

“People come into my store and ask if this or that fish came from Morro Bay and if they’re polluted,” said Mike DeGarimore, owner of two local fish markets and a seafood processing and distribution company. “I hate to see us get that kind of reputation.”

The problem began in 1983, according to the state health department, when the city renovated its sewage treatment plant and began dumping treated sewage farther out into the ocean. As a result, the city determined that it was no longer necessary to disinfect its sewage with chlorine.

The agencies that regulate the plant--the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board--agreed, and granted the facility a permit. But shortly after that, high levels of coliform bacteria began to be detected in the bay.

High levels of coliform had been noted occasionally in the past, often after heavy rains, but never had the pollution level been so high for so long, according to the state health department. Water and shellfish samples averaged about five to 10 times the allowable limit of bacteria, with some counts much higher.

“I’d never found such consistently high counts before from a body of water,” said Doug Price, a shellfish specialist with the health department.

Result of Studies

The department conducted studies in 1984 and 1985 that indicated the absence of chlorination had caused the dramatic increase in pollution. A federal Food and Drug Administration study in October, 1985, using dye to trace the treated sewage, found that it was flowing from the ocean outfall into the bay.

The state water board declined to participate in the FDA study. And when the FDA presented its conclusions, the board and the EPA did not accept the findings.

Ken Jones, the local executive for the state water board, said the study was “poorly planned” and he did not want to “waste any time and effort.” But, he added, his department does not have the funds to thoroughly investigate the source of the pollution.

The problem could be caused by houseboats in the bay, dairies in the area, sewage from an overcrowded state prison in the area and even wildlife, Jones said. So chlorinating the city’s sewage, he said, might not solve the problem.

An EPA spokesman said the agency is reluctant to take any action until it sees the completed FDA study.

Playing a Game

“That’s the game they want to play,” said John Musselman, a staff engineer for the FDA unit responsible for the pollution study. “The bulk of the information has been imparted to them a while ago. We haven’t had time yet to finish writing up a pretty-looking report with every bit of information.”

Because the EPA and the state water board granted the sanitation plant permission to cease disinfecting, Musselman said, they are now reluctant to admit the mistake.

“The other state agency hasn’t done anything to show what they think the problem is,” said Price of the health department. “All they’ve done is disagree. . . . I think our data is good and the dye test is pretty conclusive.”

The health department decided to close the bay to commercial shellfishing on the basis of the FDA results and information from previous studies. It also advised the county to forbid weekend fishermen from taking mussels, clams or oysters.

“The solution to this problem is not recalcitrance and reluctance--I can’t understand these agencies . . . just dragging out the whole problem,” said Bud Laurent, a marine biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game who is based in Morro Bay. “This could cause diseases to fish and people; nobody really knows the implications. I don’t think the taxpayers are served when you have all these agencies at odds.”