Zeanah Criticizes Mayor Over Letter to State on Sewer Plan

THOUSAND OAKS —  Decrying a letter from Mayor Judy Lazar on the city’s sewer treatment plant as inaccurate and politically motivated, Councilwoman Elois Zeanah has demanded that the City Council send a revised letter to state regulators outlining the progress made on the issue.

Lazar’s Dec. 30 letter officially informed state regulators of the city’s failure to meet an end-of-the year deadline to submit plans for improving the city’s aging sewage treatment plant.

But in a subsequent memo to Lazar, Zeanah said the letter “contains significant omissions and misrepresentations of council actions and public records. Unfortunately, your letter makes political overtures to falsely point the finger at two council members instead of being responsible and taking a leadership role to help our city in resolving a problem and address the progress made to date.”

In the memo, Zeanah also said she had asked that a revised letter to state regulators be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.

In her letter to the State Water Resources Control Board, Lazar said that because two council members refused to approve plans for a $2.50 monthly sewer fee hike and move forward with the upgrades, Thousand Oaks had failed to meet the state deadline.

“I am embarrassed to say that the city cannot provide you with the timetable or assure you with any certainty that a timetable is forthcoming,” she said.

Last month, Zeanah and Councilwoman Linda Parks voted against the fee hike, but joined with a reluctant Lazar in voting to borrow $2.3 million from another city fund to begin paying for a portion of the upgrades.

Lazar said in an interview Thursday that her letter was simply “a reflection of the difficulty that the council has had in reaching any kind of agreement as to how to fund . . . the needed improvements. It was a factual statement of where we are,” she said.

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This disagreement is the latest development in an ongoing political squabble over the $75-million plan to upgrade Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant. Because the city failed to meet the state-imposed deadline, it could now face fines and could be asked to repay up to $12.5 million in federal water-quality grants.

The State Water Resources Control Board warned the city last year that the 35-year-old sewer plant did not meet health and safety requirements, and that city officials had to approve a timetable to upgrade the facility by Dec. 31 or be sanctioned.

But it is unlikely that the city will be hit with fines any time soon, according to Ronald Blair, a state water regulator. He said his office had not received Lazar’s letter by Thursday.

“If we decide that there is no further hope for Thousand Oaks to come into compliance, we inform [the Environmental Protection Agency], and it is up to them to decide what to do,” Blair said. The EPA’s response, Blair said, could range from “a slap on the hand” to making the city ineligible for further grants and forcing it to repay the money.

“But if they are still trying to move forward, then we are going to work with them,” Blair added.

Zeanah, who said the upgrades could be made for less than $75 million, said Lazar’s letter should have been more positive and pointed out steps the city has taken to improve the plant.

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“Their concern is that the health and safety issues be taken care of . . . and show them that we are serious by submitting a timetable [to upgrade the plant],” Zeanah said. “I just want the letter to point out what has been done.”

Zeanah said the city has taken care of most of the health and safety concerns cited by the state by initiating a $6.6-million portion of the required upgrades.

But Zeanah and Parks refused to approve the corresponding fee hike--which requires a four-fifths vote--to pay for the upgrades. Instead, the council voted 3 to 2 to borrow $2.3 million from another city fund--without specifying how the city would repay the money.

The crux of the stalemate is determining precisely how the city will finance the needed upgrades.

State law requires that the cost of sewer-plant improvements be divided between current residents, who contribute in the form of higher sewer fees, and future residents, who pay the sewer connection fees levied against developers as part of the price of new homes.

Zeanah and Parks have said that a sewer fee hike would place too much of the burden on existing ratepayers. They argue that developers should pay for a larger portion of the upgrades.

Council members have agreed to conduct a study session to continue discussing the thorny issue.

Meanwhile, officials believe the state water board will keep a closer eye on the city’s progress.

“We have not complied with their directive,” said Public Works Director Don Nelson. “I would expect that unless the issue is resolved that we will be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny.”