Once again, a community is endangered due to the radical concern for a frog.
Thanks t that, the people of Nipomo will not get a better sewer system and save 30% on their bills.
“The NCSD decided that decommissioning the current Blacklake Water Reclamation Facility and piping that wastewater from Blacklake to the district’s Southland Wastewater Treatment Facility would be the most cost-effective option, according to a Sept. 27 staff report.
“By combining these two wastewater plants, we can reduce the folks at Blacklake’s cost of sewer services in the magnitude of 40 to 30 percent,” Iglesias said. “They’re going to see a drop in their sewer bills.”
Blacklake residents are footing the costs through a bond, Iglesias said.
Obviously the frog lovers have no concern about people.
Endangered frogs halt $11 million construction project in Nipomo
BY SAMANTHA HERRERA, New Times, 10/5/23
The NCSD decided that decommissioning the current Blacklake Water Reclamation Facility and piping that wastewater from Blacklake to the district’s Southland Wastewater Treatment Facility would be the most cost-effective option, according to a Sept. 27 staff report.
“By combining these two wastewater plants, we can reduce the folks at Blacklake’s cost of sewer services in the magnitude of 40 to 30 percent,” Iglesias said. “They’re going to see a drop in their sewer bills.”
Blacklake residents are footing the costs through a bond, Iglesias said.
The NCSD decided that decommissioning the current Blacklake Water Reclamation Facility and piping that wastewater from Blacklake to the district’s Southland Wastewater Treatment Facility would be the most cost-effective option, according to a Sept. 27 staff report.
“By combining these two wastewater plants, we can reduce the folks at Blacklake’s cost of sewer services in the magnitude of 40 to 30 percent,” Iglesias said. “They’re going to see a drop in their sewer bills.”
Blacklake residents are footing the costs through a bond, Iglesias said.
The Nipomo Community Services District’s (NCSD) plans to consolidate its sewer system with Blacklake’s is on hold thanks to endangered California red-legged frogs found in a pond adjacent to construction.
Mario Iglesias, NCSD’s general manager, said the project’s been waiting around a year to hear back from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for an incidental take permit so it can move forward with construction. That process usually takes 12 to 16 months, which Iglesias said will be exhausted by the end of this year.
“During the environmental review of the project, biologists found red-legged frogs in a pond next to our wastewater plant, so they want to build within the envelope of their habitation, and therefore we have to go Fish and Wildlife so that we can go ahead and move forward with the construction of that lift station,” Iglesias said.
The $11 million Blacklake Sewer System Consolidation Project consists of three parts, and Iglesias said while waiting for the take permit might delay one part, the NCSD can still move forward with constructing the part of the project that’s farther away from the pond.
“One of the elements [in this project] is a pipe that carries materials from Blacklake to the town sewer system. Fish and Wildlife saw that we were outside of the [red-legged frog’s] habitat sphere, so they allowed us to go ahead and construct that pipeline,” he said. “We’re probably about 70 percent done finishing that pipeline [and will complete it] sometime in January.”
Although pricey, the project is important to help manage the cost of sewer services for the people who live around Blacklake and to help the district’s overall capability for managing wastewater on the mesa, Iglesias said.
“The state water resources board was reissuing permits for wastewater plants, and when they were reissuing the permit for Blacklake Wastewater Plant, there were improvements that exceeded $5 million that were going to have to be done to keep the plant up and running,” he said. “So we worked with the community over the last three years to come up with a solution that would help manage their wastewater fees in a more sustainable manner.”
The NCSD decided that decommissioning the current Blacklake Water Reclamation Facility and piping that wastewater from Blacklake to the district’s Southland Wastewater Treatment Facility would be the most cost-effective option, according to a Sept. 27 staff report.
“By combining these two wastewater plants, we can reduce the folks at Blacklake’s cost of sewer services in the magnitude of 40 to 30 percent,” Iglesias said. “They’re going to see a drop in their sewer bills.”
Blacklake residents are footing the costs through a bond, Iglesias said.
“We went to the community and proposed creating an assessment district, and the district came up with an $11 million bond,” he said. “We put that bond in front of the community for a vote, and 72 percent of the community voted to support the bond and we’ve been working on that consolidation project ever since.” Δ
