West County residents living in and around Occidental and Guerneville can attend a public hearing tonight, February 16, at Monte Rio Community Center to share their thoughts to Sonoma County Water Agency’s board on proposed changes to the Occidental County Sanitation District Wastewater Transport Compliance Project.
The water agency has proposed a plan to truck wastewater from Occidental to Guerneville and to Airport-Larkfield-Wikiup Buisness Park in north Santa Rosa. The 5,000-gallon trucks would make five to 15 trips a day
Those who cannot make it to the meeting tonight have until 5 p.m. Feb 24 to submit comment to the Sonoma County Water Agency.
Sierra Club Sonoma Group submitted comments on the project noting that the proposal does not adequately address the challenging road conditions and potential for raw sewage spills into Dutch Bill Creek—a critical habitat for endangered Coho salmon. Sierra Club also points out that increased truck trips (five a day during the week and 15 a day during significant storms) would contribute to worsening road conditions, pose safety threats to cyclists and increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Seeing this proposal as a stopgap measure and not a solution to the problem that has been around for decades, Sierra Club has encouraged the water agency to make limits on storm water incursions into the Occidental wastewater system a top priority and continue conservation efforts.
Provide your comments by Feb. 24 to Jeff Church at the Sonoma County Water Agency by emailing jchurch@scwa.ca.gov
What You Can Do: The Sonoma County Water Agency is accepting comments until February 24, 2017. Send your comments to Jeff Church at jchurch@scwa.ca.gov