City must vote on Brightwater pipeline

The City Council has 13 more days to approve a pipeline that would

pull water all the way from Cypress for the proposed Brightwater

development on the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

Environmentalists who oppose development on the mesa have been

keeping close tabs on the pipeline project as it works its way

through the approval procedures of each of the cities it would run

through.

The seven-mile pipe would run underground from Cypress to

Huntington Beach, snaking through Garden Grove, Westminster and Seal

Beach on its way. It would provide water to 388 homes that Hearthside

Homes is proposing to build on the upper bench of the mesa.

The project was not automatically guaranteed city water, since it

would be built on county-owned land, and Hearthside turned to the

Southern California Water Company rather than seek water through the

city.

“If you’re not in the city, then you’re not entitled to water,”

Deputy City Attorney Scott Field said.

The water company did, however, request that the city approve a

franchise agreement to operate a public utility.

Huntington Beach was sued after delaying its decision on the

franchise agreement, and in a court hearing on June 13, the city was ordered to approve or deny the agreement by Aug. 6. But even if the

city denies the agreement, the water company can still acquire right

of way by condemnation.

“The permits required are progressing,” said Stan Yarbrough,

district engineer for the Orange County district of the Southern

California Water Company. “Everything is in place for the project to

continue.”

The pipeline has already been approved by the Public Utilities

Commission.

Developers are waiting for the Coastal Commission to review the

development project itself, said Lucy Dunn, executive vice president

for Hearthside Homes.

“We have demonstrated that we have sufficient supplies to supply

all of our current customers and the new development,” Yarbrough

said.

Along with widespread environmental opposition to the development,

residents are concerned about the effects that construction, which

will involve digging a trench down Bolsa Chica Street, will have on

the area.

“It’s a major street with Boeing there and it’s a gateway to the

freeways,” resident and local environmentalist Julie Bixby said. “PCH

will probably be impacted negatively by people using that as an

alternate route. ... Also, it means development on the mesa.”

-- Jenny Marder

Rohrabacher succeeds in environmental lobbying

Congress approved funding for a handful of environmental projects

after lobbying by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a spokesman for Surf City’s

congressman said Friday.

In passing the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, Congress

approved funding for an Orange County reclaimed water program, a

flood-control project for the Santa Ana River and two water reuse

projects in Long Beach.

The bill provides $4 million for the Groundwater Replenishment

System, a joint project overseen by two county agencies to purify

wastewater for drinking.

The bill also gives $25.7 million for flood control efforts along

the Santa Ana River. The Army Corps of Engineers has been reinforcing

levies, raising dams and building new dams to shield Orange County

from catastrophic flooding.

Once the project is complete, owners of Costa Mesa and Huntington

Beach homes in the flood plain will no longer be required to purchase

flood insurance.

In addition, the bill gives $700,000 for the Long Beach

Desalination Plant, which has not been completed. The plant will

provide “thousands of acre feet of water for Southern California,”

said Aaron Lewis, Rohrabacher’s spokesman.

Lastly, the bill provides $1.8 million for the Long Beach Water

Reuse facility, which will provide 3,000 acre feet of water per year

when running at full capacity.

-- Paul Clinton

Environmental award applications available

Applications for awards for the city’s most active

environmentalists will be available until July 31.

The ninth annual Awards and Recognition Program will be presented

by the city of Huntington Beach Environmental Board and the

Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce at a November City Council

meeting.

All Surf City businesses, community organizations, schools and

people who have helped to protect and preserve the environment are

encouraged to apply. Winners will be recognized at a chamber meeting

and in a chamber newsletter and will receive a wall plaque before the

City Council in November. Their names will also be inscribed on a

plaque that will hang in City Hall.

For more information, call the Planning Department at (714)

536-5271.

-- Jenny Marder