It's official: "wastewater treatment facility anticipated to be east of town."

"If we delay further, the State or the County will build the current, permitted project at the same location for higher cost."
-- Save the Dream newsletter, 2005, pre-recall

Los Osos? Today, you should be outraged.

Why?

Because for five years, from 2000 - 2005, you were told by your Los Osos Community Services District that, when it comes to siting a sewer plant for the town, there was only one place it could be built -- the intensely controversial, wildly unpopular, environmentally sensitive, mid-town "Tri-W" site.

However, according to a just-released document from county officials, the Tri-W site, these days, doesn't even make the short-list for potential sewer plant sites in Los Osos.

"Potential sites for the wastewater treatment plant include Giacomazzi, Cemetery, Branin, Tonini Ranch, Turri Road, Gorby, Morosin, Andre 2, and Robbins 1 and 2, among others," reads the Revised Final Draft of the Out-of-Town Conveyance technical memorandum.

The document also states, "... the wastewater treatment facility anticipated to be east of town."

This morning, I sent the following e-mail to SLO County Public Works Director, Paavo Ogren:

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Hello Paavo,

In the Revised Final Draft of the Out-of-Town Conveyance technical memorandum, it reads:

"Potential sites for the wastewater treatment plant include Giacomazzi, Cemetery, Branin, Tonini Ranch, Turri Road, Gorby, Morosin, Andre 2, and Robbins 1 and 2, among others."

Does that mean that the Tri-W site is no longer being considered as a potential site for the wastewater treatment plant?
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He has yet to reply.

Now that we've had two years to contrast the county's technical documents for the Los Osos Wastewater project, to the 2000 - 2005 LOCSD's technical documents for their Tri-W project, it's time to be frank.

Los Osos? Without question, you were lied to by the 2000 - 2005 LOCSD Board majority... over, and over, and over again.

They told you (and the Coastal Commission) that there were no other feasible locations for the sewer plant, other than the downtown, environmentally sensitive Tri-W site. That was a lie.

They told you (and the Coastal Commission) that they conducted an "exhaustive assessment of alternative sites" to determine if there was a feasible option to the unpopular, mid-town site. That was a lie.

They told you (and the Coastal Commission) that the Tri-W location would be cheaper because it wouldn't take as much pipe and energy due to its central location. That was a lie.

They told you that out-of-town sites wouldn't work because there was a creek that would have to be crossed. That was a lie. (They didn't tell that lie to the Coastal Commission, however, because the Commission's staff, namely, Steve Monowitz, knew that one was a lie. And, you know who bit onto that lie the hardest? Former 2nd District Supervisor, Shirley Bianchi.)

They told you (and the Coastal Commission) that there was a "strongly held community value" in Los Osos, that any sewer plant must also double as a "centrally located recreational asset." That was a lie.

Everything -- everything -- they told you (and the Coastal Commission) about why they selected a site in the middle of town for their sewer plant, was a lie.

And they spent over $20 million of your money developing those lies, and those five years worth of lies also cost State taxpayers anywhere from $50 - $100 million, and counting.

And, worst of all, Los Osos, you paid them to lie to you, and, because you paid them to lie to you for years about why they had to build their sewer plant at a wildly unpopular, three-blocks-upwind-from-downtown, environmentally sensitive location, your town was promptly ripped apart, and, of course, hurled into bankruptcy.

So, why was Tri-W REALLY selected?

Los Osos, the Coastal Commission, and California taxpayers (especially California taxpayers) all deserve to know the answer to that question... lord knows we've paid for it.

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