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PRESS RELEASE. From Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) on March 3rd, 2026.
Montara, CA – On Tuesday, March 3, Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) confirmed the end of the City of Half Moon Bay’s 2017 lawsuit related to the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) contract. With no appeal filed, the August 2025 Superior Court of Santa Clara County ruling stands – affirming GCSD and MWSD’s position that the SAM Joint Powers Agreement is clear and requires all SAM member agencies to share responsibility for operating and maintaining our consolidated community sewer system. This ends the City of Half Moon Bay’s wasteful 9-year legal action which cost Coastside residents millions.
In 2017, the City of Half Moon Bay abruptly sued its partners attempting to avoid paying its share of the millions needed to maintain and repair the SAM Intertie Pipeline System (IPS). The IPS conveys wastewater from Montara, Granada and Half Moon Bay to the centralized sewer treatment plant in Half Moon Bay. During heavy rain events, when increased wastewater flows from the City’s sewer system alone can overwhelm the treatment plant, the IPS provides critical storage and conveyance capacity. This capacity allows the City’s sewer flows to be treated first, and prevents releases of untreated sewage into coastal waters.
In 1976, in order to serve all three communities, the partners of SAM chose to construct, own, and operate consolidated wastewater infrastructure, including the IPS, and a single shared treatment plant to serve the Coastside. The SAM Agreement assigns the costs to be paid by each partner agency based on the partner agency’s share of wastewater conveyed into the SAM system.
Half Moon Bay’s lawsuit disregarded 45 years of established operational and financial partnership amongst the three partner agencies and the clear contractual language of the SAM Agreement.
The Superior Court’s 2025 judgment – which followed an earlier 2022 ruling in favor of MWSD and GCSD – affirms that the City of Half Moon Bay must fund maintenance work related to the SAM IPS, an integral part of our Coastside’s sewage system, for which all partners are responsible. Half Moon Bay spent almost nine years attempting to renege on the SAM contract and shift its financial obligations onto its northern partners. The City’s decision not to appeal brings this 9-year dispute to a close.
“MWSD and our ratepayers are finally free of the wasteful and costly burden of this lawsuit,” said MWSD Board President Scott Boyd. ‘Throughout these 9 years MWSD and GCSD have remained focused on maintaining and upgrading SAM’s critical system. We look forward now to making progress on needed investments.”
As a public utility, MWSD’s relies on bill and fee payments from its customers to fund all operations, infrastructure investment and legal fees.
For the benefit of its ratepayers, MWSD has filed a motion seeking reimbursement of over $1 million in attorney fees expended due to this litigation. As prevailing parties, both GCSD and MWSD may file for reimbursement of these fees to be paid by the City of Half Moon Bay, which the Court will consider in the coming months. Seeking reimbursement of this expense helps protect MWSD ratepayers and supports the continued operation and maintenance of SAM’s regional wastewater system, which serves the entire Coastside and protects coastal water quality and public health.
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SAM was formed in 1976 under a Joint Exercise of Powers Authority (JPA) contract between GCSD, HMB, and MWSD, and is tasked with protecting public health and our beautiful coastal environment.
For more than 45 years, SAM has operated and maintained constantly aging infrastructure. Throughout the years, the three agencies worked together to share staffing, maintenance, and repair costs.
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Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) works every day to deliver water, garbage, and sewer services for the residents of Montara and Moss Beach. Over 6,000 residents rely on our services for their homes and businesses.
The Joint Powers IPS Map (Inter-tie Pipeline System)
History of the SAM Lawsuit on Coastside Buzz
Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) was created in 1976 between City of Half Moon Bay (HMB), Granada Community Services District (GCSD) and Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD)
Original JPA 1976.
After 8 amendments and Consolidated Agreement was created in 2011.
All JPA Documents.
Timeline
2015. Mediation took place in San Jose under the supervision of a retired superior court judge.
2/2022. Santa Clara Superior Court (Judge Rudy) Summary Judgement ~ HMB responsible for repairs
10/2023. California 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Summary Judgement: reversed Judge Rudy’s decision – “We conclude the agreement is ambiguous and capable of multiple reasonable interpretations regarding what constitutes “maintenance” or a “project,” and that the extrinsic evidence is conflicting, thereby creating a triable issue of material fact precluding summary judgment. Accordingly, we reverse and remand with directions to enter a new order denying all parties’ motions for summary judgment.”
Lawsuit Posts in Chronological Order
(bolded posts highlight Court Actions)
City of Half Moon Bay Encourages Renewed Negotiation of Sewer Authority Lawsuit Issues, to Update the JPA, and to Avoid Court; February 8, 2024
6th Circuit Court of Appeal’s LIVE Oral Argument for the Lawsuit “Half Moon Bay vs Granada Sanitary District and Montara Water and Sanitary District”; October 5, 2023
Santa Clara Superior Court Sets 2024 Date for Appeal Review for Half Moon Bay vs GCSD and MWSD Sewer Lawsuit; July 13, 2023
SAM Board Continue to Disagree on 2023/2024 Budget as Staff Warns of Violations, Criminal Charges and Plant Closure; June 29, 2023
SAM Inter-tie Lawsuit Lumbers Along ~ Judge Currently Scheduled to Hear Oral Arguments in October with a Decision in 6 Months (4/2024); June 15, 2023
GCSD Chair, Nancy Marsh, Calls Out Mayor Penrose’s Sewer Inter-tie Op-Ed as Factually Incorrect and a Convenient Fallacy; May 22, 2023
Montara Water and Sanitary District Factually Rebuts Mayor Penrose’s Claim that Half Moon Bay Does Not Use the Inter-tie; May 22, 2023
Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside Attorney Warns of Contempt of Court and Receivership and GM Begs Board to Adopt a Budget; May 11, 2023
Amid HMB Lawsuit Protests, Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside Attorney Warns BOD that to Vote Against the General Budget will Violate 5C of the JPA; April 27, 2023
Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) Directors from GCSD and MWSD Question HMB’s Budget Approval Under IPS Protest; May 19, 2022
HMB Sewer Lawsuit Dismissed, AGAIN?; April 28, 2022
Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) Statement on Costs of City of Half Moon Bay’s Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) Lawsuit; April 11, 2022
Three City Council Members Double-Down by Appealing Superior Court Summary Judgment Telling City to Pay for Shared Sewer Repairs; March 16, 2022
SAM sewer lawsuit … all over but the shouting?; February 10, 2022
Summary Judgment: Superior Court of California Finds HMB is Responsible for Repairs to Sewer;
City of Half Moon Bay Lawsuit Fails, Must Pay Its Share of Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside Costs; February 10, 2022
MWSD Statement on Preliminary Ruling ~ Half Moon Bay Must Pay Its Share of Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside Costs; January 19, 2022
HMB Floods Sewer Plant, and more…; January 13, 2022
Rush To Judgment… SAM Lawsuit Update; October 14, 2021
Coastside Water and Sewer Jurisdiction Map Comparison Study Session; September 1, 2021
Sewer: We Have Met The Enemy, and He Is Us.; August 19, 2021
Districts spent combined $700000 on sewer dispute; HMB Review, June 7th, 2021.
City of Half Moon Bay Responds to Midcoast Community Council’s Letter on the SAM Lawsuit; June 26, 2021
Fear and Loathing on the MidCoast; May 27, 2021
Anatomy of a Lawsuit: $6 million and counting; March 18, 2021
The History of the Relationship Between Montara Water and Sanitary District and Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside; December 16, 2020
To Protect its Ratepayers Granada Community Services District (GCSD) Rejects Tentative Lawsuit Settlement with Half Moon Bay; October 11, 2020
Montara Sanitary and Water District Responds to City of HMB’s Sewer Lawsuit; October 10, 2020
More on the City of Half Moon Bay on Coastside Buzz
More on Granada Community Services District on Coastside Buzz
More on Montara Water and Sanitary District on Coastside Buzz
Who is on the MWSD Board of Directors?
All Board members may be reached by sending an email to info@mwsd.net.
Author: mdrag
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