Water district starts court-ordered review

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- The Irvine Ranch Water District has begun its

environmental review of a controversial plan to use the San Joaquin

Reservoir for reclaimed water, nearly two months after saying it would do

so.

The move immediately drew fire from the district’s leading nemesis,

who said the agency was dragging its feet.

Bob Caustin, the founder of Defend the Bay, sued the district last

Jan. 17, claiming it hadn’t preformed an adequate environmental review of

the project. On Sept. 28, a judge agreed, requiring the district to

complete a full Environmental Impact Report.

The district’s $3.8-million plan to use the now-empty 994-gallon

reservoir in the unincorporated Newport Coast area to store treated waste

water has raised Caustin’s ire.

“I’m forcing them to do what they need to do,” Caustin said. “They’re

like little kids who don’t want to do what they need to do.”

District officials quickly dismissed the environmentalist’s critique

as unfair. Greg Heiertz, the district’s director of engineering and

planning, said his agency would appropriately analyze the project’s

effect on the surrounding neighborhood.

“We will have a very thorough analysis,” Heiertz said. “It will show

that there is no significant impact from the project.”

On Dec. 19, the district issued a “notice of preparation” informing

the public it was beginning the formal environmental review.

In his ruling, Orange County Superior Court Judge William McDonald

said the project could cause “significant negative environmental

impacts.” McDonald also cited a number of problems with the district’s

prior review -- a deficient program to handle the “seepage” of 4.2

million gallons of treated sewage into the ground each week.

While they perform the environmental review, district officials are

also planning to appeal McDonald’s ruling.

The district plans to release a preliminary environmental report in

March, certify the document in May and start filling the reservoir by the

end of 2003.

“We’re anxious to move forward with this project,” Heiertz said. “We

think it’s a good project.”

The agency has also been pursuing settlement talks with Caustin, as

they decide how and when to appeal McDonald’s decision.

On Dec. 17, the district’s board held a closed session discussion on

the issue.

“I’m not going to cave in to their wimpy demands,” Caustin said. “The

judge has told them what they need to do and they don’t like it.”

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .