The OC Transportation Corridor Authority (TCA) is applying for a waste discharge permit for the first segment of the Foothill South Tollroad that it is calling the Tesoro Extension. It is believed that the San Diego Water Board staff is planning on recommending the approval of this permit at the June 19 Board of Directors meeting in San Diego.
We urgently need volunteers to turn out to this meeting to persuade the Directors to not accept the recommendation of its staff and reject the application. This hearing is a follow up to the March 13 meeting where TCA had local city politicians, given their right to speak first, filibuster away the public’s time. This resulted in none of the opposition having a chance to speak.
This time the public will get a chance to speak, and officially at least, those who spoke at the first meeting will be barred from speaking again. The hearing on the Extension will not start before 1PM however we recommend you get there earlier in order to get a seat and sign up to speak. At the first meeting proponents of the toll road filled the seats and aisles early leaving many of us out in the cold.
The hearing will be at the Water Board Chambers at Suite 100, 9174 Sky Park Court in San Diego between I-805 and I-15. We are working with many other local environmental groups including the Sierra Club’s San Diego Chapter to get a good turnout even if you don’t wish to speak. The Surfrider's are spearheading the effort and will have a booth in the Board’s parking lot to which you should head on arrival to get materials and other information.
Talking points are restricted to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) segmentation and hydrology issues that were not addressed at the March 9 hearing. This would mean arguing that the Tesoro Extension is a nothing but a segment of the Foothill South Tollroad. Segmentation is illegal under CEQA. The hydrology issue is that TCA should do the hydrology studies as required by the Orange County Water Quality Management Plan MS4 before the permit is issued. TCA claims to be exempt from MS4 and doesn’t plan to do any further hydrology studies until after the permit is issued. MS4 was implemented in 2011 and designed to protect against downstream erosion from post construction urban runoff.
Parking at the Chamber offices is limited and we are arranging for a bus as well as encouraging carpooling. You will be alerted as to free park and ride locations where you can meet up. One obvious location is on the east side of the I-5 at the Junipero Serra exit in San Juan Capistrano. This could mean first come first served if the bus(es) fills up.. Please contact Bill Holmes at bill.holmes@att.net if you are interested in going by bus or car for times and location.
If the Board turns down the request for a waste discharge permit this could be a death knell for the toll road.
Hope to see you there.
Bill Holmes, Chair Friends of the Foothills Taskforce
Photo by Chay Peterson