Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Senate Bill 1081, introduced by Sen. John Laird and co-sponsored by the City of San Juan Bautista, would help ease one of the financial burdens imposed on the city as it faces additional issues arising from its now-decommissioned wastewater treatment plant: a $258,000 fine imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board.
City Manager Ashley Collick, in a statement to BenitoLink, said, “Those penalties place a substantial burden on our residents and limit our ability to invest directly in the infrastructure improvements that would resolve the underlying issues.”
The state currently allows such fines to be applied toward the costs of completing a water quality improvement project rather than being imposed as penalties, but only for communities with low median income, high unemployment or low population density.
The city had conducted a survey under former city manager Don Reynolds to qualify for the exemption, but the median income was too high.
The bill would create a new exemption for publicly owned treatment works, such as the city’s, that serve communities with fewer than 3,000 residents.
“When you have a small number in a community,” Laird told BenitoLink, “you have a very small rate base. You can get grants for much of it, but if nothing else, the operations fall to local ratepayers. On the face of it, then, it is a hardship to undertake a significant capital project.”
Collick said that the City of San Juan Bautista is proud to sponsor Senate Bill 1081, which she said “would bring fairness and practical solutions to very small communities working to resolve wastewater compliance challenges.”
Laird’s bill was sparked by a visit with city officials to the wastewater plant, which has been supplanted by the $18.7 million San Juan Bautista Sanitary Sewer Force Main project, which routes the city’s wastewater to Hollister for processing.
“The discussions revealed the water board is actually fining them for not having the project, and yet they’re moving toward the project, and it’s not fair,” Laird said. “It was very important that they have the opportunity, if they’re moving to comply, of using these fines toward a project.”
Laird said he first approached the chair of the water board to see if something could be done for the city at the administrative level, but was told it would require legislation—so he introduced his bill.
Communities applying for relief under the bill would have five years to successfully resolve issues with their waste treatment plants, which Laird said he believes is sufficient time.
“There’s a chicken-and-egg issue here,” he said. “You have to have something hanging over people’s heads to make sure they finish a project. We’re not relieving that thing, but if it’s not workable over time, we can look at it. The idea here is to make sure projects actually happen.”
Laird said a community has to be responsibly working to resolve the issues for the exception to apply.
“If there is a complete flagrant violation where a community doesn’t respond in any way, the water board still has its authority to act and fine,” he said. “It doesn’t take away the water board’s ability to pressure a community for failing to respond.”
Laird said there were already mechanisms in place to ensure that the outcome of the process would be improved water quality rather than merely reducing the financial burden of a community.
“The water board does some monitoring on that already,” he said, “and when they do an enforcement action, it’s based on whether or not a local district is complying with providing clean, safe drinking water in a way that should be measurable.”
Collick said she believes the bill shows the city is not avoiding responsibility, but taking action.
“The city has decommissioned its outdated treatment plant and has constructed infrastructure to convey wastewater to the City of Hollister,” she said. “This partnership represents a major investment in environmental protection, regulatory compliance, and long-term sustainability.”
Colic said that redirecting penalty funds directly to compliance projects works to improve water quality, modernize infrastructure, and protect public health.
“For a city of our size,” she said, “every dollar matters. We appreciate Senator Laird’s leadership and his recognition that small communities need flexibility to solve problems.”
Related stories
BL Special Report: San Juan Bautista’s water problems reaching critical mass
BL Special Report: Why San Juan Bautista’s ‘million-dollar’ water fix was never implemented
BL Special Report: San Juan’s wastewater treatment plant adds to city’s water woes
BL Special Report: Solving San Juan Bautista’s water problems
San Juan Bautista adopts sewer project mitigation report
San Juan Bautista to begin $18 million wastewater project
Q&A with SJB City Manager Don Reynolds on the water and waste projects
San Juan council OKs over $10 million in loans for wastewater project
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.