Loose Ends for 2021

Here are some things we haven’t seen resolved in 2021 that we’ll need to watch for in 2022. But let’s make this quick and conversational, I understand you have shopping and holiday activities on your plate.  Consider this a Starter Kit for New Years Resolution issues…

Cypress point for sale?

Speaking of Resisting Density…  All of a sudden there’s a For Sale sign on the 11 acre asbestos-infested property which MidPen Financial had been pushing to use for its Cypress Point Affordable Housing complex.  While the parallels to developing atop the radioactive waste at Hunters Point are sardonically bemusing, what’s interesting is that MidPen (which has an OPTION to buy that land) did not know the property was up for sale by the Union owners!  Could it be that undesirable density, with reduced water and fire security, and even more congested traffic and disaster evacuation risks, is going to be delayed?  Can we get an open space group to acquire that land?

Sewer smells and costs

Last we heard, SAM had incurred between $1 million and 2 million in extra costs and/or accelerated capital expenditures to deal with a series of upsets to the sewer system that had been going on for over a year, on and off.  A national engineering firm said they had never seen levels of pollution that high.  While SAM staff has valiantly struggled to keep things under control, there were days they were in violation, and now they face higher operating costs going forward because of the extensive chemical pre-treatment required.  Yet the SAM board has still not updated and enforced a Non-Domestic Wastewater Source Control Program to control the problematic influents.  Nor have I heard anything about reimbursing residential users for the extra costs which have assuredly come from commercial users….

Sewer spills: recent and upcoming

Pacifica had a 3 million gallon spill in late October.  All of a sudden the reported spill is down to 44k gal.  I’m told by Pacifica residents the head of sewer quit the day after the spill, before the feces and toilet paper had even been flushed from neighborhood streets.   But who changed that reported number, and why? (well, we KNOW WHY, but are they going to get away with it?)  We need the Regional Water Quality Control Board to get involved there.

But then there’s Half Moon Bay.  The SAM system came within six (6) inches of having an overflow during the same storm.  We were saved by the 200,000 gals of additional wet weather storage (WWS) added just this past year, to supplement MWSD’s storage at the Walker Tank and the prior WWS added a few years back and funded by MWSD and GCSD (NOT HMB).  In fact, HMB blocked adding 400,000 gals in the latest addition, after holding up the project for years, but that extra 200,000 gals is sure looking necessary.  In fact, HMB has Zero (0) WWS in its system.  Recently the SAM plant was holding back flows from MWSD and GCSD and was STILL experiencing 15 Mgal peak hourly flows at the plant.  Think about that, with ONLY HMB flows, the plant has reached its theoretical capacity during storm surges.  Time for HMB to pony up and pay for WWS on its system before we have more spills.  Wait, what’s that I hear about unreported sewer spills in HMB this week?….

Sewer lawsuit

Speaking of sewer controversy, that lawsuit HMB filed against its partner agencies?  It’s now delayed until January for a hearing after every party filed for a summary judgment.  It should be obvious to everyone involved, as just explained above, the benefit to HMB from having the upstream pipes and WWS provided by its partners.  Then again, do courts read the papers?

Sewer monitoring

So we measure the fluid volume of flows into the SAM plant.  Why don’t we measure the biological and chemical composition of those flows, from each agency and from each major user?  There are real-time monitoring devices available these days which could avoid the hit-or-miss measurement attempts of the past year plus.   If we don’t have a good audit process, some users are going to keep abusing our sewer system, and you’re going to keep paying for it.  Asking for a friend.

Airport noise, and more

Residents are still disturbed regularly by small aircraft at Half Moon Bay airport.  A group has been formed on NextDoor.  Pilots have weighed in with their needs for a practice site and proposed flight path changes. But the MCC has still not had this item on the agenda, and there’s also the issue of lead pollution from aviation gas, and farmers are growing crops for sale near the airport – untested for lead, AFAICT.  My suggestion: write a petition and gather signatures.  This will help ensure the MCC treats this as a matter of broad public interest, and not just concerns of a vocal minority.  The petition route worked for the Medio Creek Bridge, and certainly raised consciousness regarding Wildfire.

MCC leadership

There will be 4 MCC members up for reelection in 2022.  I doubt all the current qualified members will opt to run again.  I forsee a need for qualified residents to step up and help serve and steer our MidCoast.   If you want to know what’s involved, MWSD ran a leadership series on public office.  Expect more orientation sessions soon: Elected Community Service Academy | Montara Water & Sanitary District.   Please get involved.

<< At left is the relevant message:

Wildfire followup

The consulting study to assess wildfire risks in El Granada has started, but without a single El Granada resident yet involved directly.  The Wildfire Warriors did submit a well-considered email to the RCD and MCC, documenting their concerns about the lack of progress in their immediate area, and I gave our MCC Chair the attached list of issues, but I haven’t yet seen the list of attendees from the first meeting, any minutes, or any list of materials submitted and under consideration.    I wrote a similar document to the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 13th, 2020, and a year plus later we have seen progress in: thinning eucalyptus in Quarry Park, widening fire roads, removing eucalyptus on EG medians, CalTrans trimming back eucalyptus at Frenchman’s Creek and Medio Ave, permit processes for eucalyptus removal improved (temporarily), and the CFPD fire code modestly improved.  But our evacuation through and north of the tunnel remains at risk, and we’re 20 years behind San Diego in removing and re-vegetating eucalyptus.

HMB electrification …moving forward, or backwards, depending on your viewpoint

The only study on the merits of the HMB program to shut off natural gas that I could find was on the Peninsula Clean Energy website (and I asked Harvey Rarback several times).  It was a sponsored consulting study, and we know consultants give their clients the answers they want – otherwise they don’t get hired again.  Even the electrical industry’s sponsored study said electrification wouldn’t pay off in the Bay Area, and was marginal for new construction (but raised the cost of that housing).    Yet, without knowing that residents will have reliable utilities, which PG&E is not, the HMB city council is still pushing ahead to adopt this ordinance.  Signalling virtue, while raising the cost of housing and undermining its residents’ interests.  Will there be new candidates for HMB City Council in 2022 willing to listen to their voters?

Oh, and the Pandemic…

Omicron is now in at least 36 states, and taking over.  Much more infectious, but we hope less deadly than prior variants, and we REALLY  hope it doesn’t add to the iceberg of Long COVID cases.  But we gave you the tools to use in assessing and managing your risk this Holiday Season, now what you do with them is up to you.  Please help our pharmacies sell out of COVID test kits for the Holidays…   And here’s what happened when Omicron and Delta met in a bar… [link broken]

Be careful out there…

Some more sewer and/or stormwater concerns by HMB residents…

Cypress Point Mid-Pen property Sale Flyer

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.coastsidebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Moss-Beach_Flyer-CypressPt-Carlos.pdf” title=”Moss Beach_Flyer – CypressPt – Carlos”]