I Guess the Trib, like Supervisor Patterson, Just Doesn't Care that Santa Margarita Will Soon Be a Los Osos

In my last post, I wrote that a recent county staff report addressing the the Regional Water Quality Board's Basin Plan Update, states:

"In areas like Santa Margarita (with clay soils, high groundwater and frequent flooding), this [Mandatory Septic Management Programs] could create a defacto septic moratorium."

I also wrote that I would report back if Barry Tolle, onsite waste water specialist for the county, ever returned my phone call.

Well, he returned my phone call yesterday morning, just before he spoke on this very subject at the Board of Supervisor's meeting yesterday afternoon.

I asked him, point blank, "Does 'defacto septic moratorium' mean that Santa Margarita will become a Los Osos after the county completes its soon-to-be-required Septic Management Program -- with no new building until a sewer system is on line?

His answer? "Yes. It's very possible."

I also asked him about the existing homes in Santa Margarita with septic tanks. Would they be required to hook up to the sewer system once it's on line? He did not commit to an answer.

Now, here's the part that I find interesting: Santa Margarita is on the verge of becoming a Los Osos, and no one seems to care!

When addressing the BOS yesterday, Tolle read this quote, "In areas like Santa Margarita (with clay soils, high groundwater and frequent flooding), this [Mandatory Septic Management Programs] could create a defacto septic moratorium," out loud, for all to hear, including Supervisor Jim Patterson, whose district includes Santa Margarita. And, Patterson didn't ask one question regarding Tolle's amazing quote.

Gets worse. One day after Tolle told me that it is "very possible" that Santa Margarita will be a Los Osos in about a year -- after the county develops its mandated, complex septic system management plan -- like Patterson, the Tribune doesn't seem to care, either. They didn't write a word about Tolle's astonishing quote on their web site today.

So, just to recap:

- On March 27, I published a story on SewerWatch where I hypothesized how the local Water Board's proposed policy changes could instantly turn Santa Margarita into a Los Osos.

- Then, on April 18, I published a story that quotes county staff, "In areas like Santa Margarita (with clay soils, high groundwater and frequent flooding), this [Mandatory Septic Management Programs] could create a defacto septic moratorium."

- THEN, yesterday, I asked Tolle if "defacto septic moratorium" in Santa Margarita meant that the town would be a Los Osos when the county completes their soon-to-be-required Septic Management Plan, and he tells me, "Yes. (Due to its clay soils, and proximity to groundwater), it's very possible."

- THEN, later that same day, Tolle appeared before county supervisors, and said, out loud, in to a hot microphone, for ALL to hear, "In areas like Santa Margarita (with clay soils, high groundwater and frequent flooding), this [Mandatory Septic Management Programs] could create a defacto septic moratorium," and no one says a word. Not Patterson. Not ONE person from Santa Margarita. And, of course, not the Trib.

No one but SewerWatch!

Sometimes I think government's favorite thing is the fact that nearly every adult in this country has to work 40 - 80 hours a week, just to make ends meet, and therefore, they have zero time to contemplate extremely important things, like the Regional Water Quality Board's complex Basin Plan Update, or the rationale for going to war.

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