Sewers in owners’ hands

Barbara Diamond

City officials gave a thumbs-up Tuesday to a watered-down version of

an ordinance regulating sewage lines running from private property.

“Is the ordinance perfect?” asked Mayor Cheryl Kinsman. “No, but

it’s way ahead of other cities.”

The revised ordinance relies on private property owners

voluntarily taking action to maintain fully functional laterals --

the pipes that carry wastewater from structures to city sewers --

unless they propose to substantially upgrade their homes. A

point-of-sale component, vehemently opposed by city Realtors as a

deal breaker, was dropped.

“We saw point-of-sale as analogous to the termite report

requirement,” said Surfrider Foundation spokesman Rick Wilson. “I

guess the Realtors have a better lobby than the residents.”

Billed as an “awareness program” by the city’s water quality

department, the ordinance authorizes the city to notify private

property owners if deficiencies are detected in the laterals of their

residential or commercial properties. The laterals flow into the

public sewer system, but are the responsibility of the private

property owner.

Property owners will have 180 days after notification to rectify

the problem. They will be allowed to decide whether to maintain their

laterals by routine cleaning, by repair or by replacement.

Fines can be imposed, at the discretion of the City Council, if a

sewage spill occurs due to a private property owner’s failure to at

least make a good faith effort to correct the problem.

“The grease ordinance was diluted and this too is a shadow of its

former self,” said Clean Water Now! founder Roger von Butow.

City officials had voted in August of 2001 to require restaurants

to install grease interceptors or an acceptable alternative. The City

Council delayed voting on the ordinance in November 2001, giving the

restaurant owners, who opposed the requirement, an opportunity to

study the proposal. In February of 2002, the council revised the

ordinance and required restaurants to use the much more affordable

“best management practices” to avoid spills caused by grease-clogged

drains.

No spills from restaurants have been reported since August 2001,

city officials said.

The lateral ordinance, as given preliminary approval Tuesday,

emphasizes routine cleaning and maintenance -- a sort of best

management practice for private property owners. However, permanent

repairs are recommended.

Video inspections are mandatory every five years for multi-unit

developments and on remodels with an increase in value of 40 percent

or more or upgraded kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms.

The ordinance exempts private laterals less than 10 years old from

video inspection unless the city directly observes a problem.

Notices of deficiencies and corrections, if any, will be entered

in the city’s real property reports for residential lots.

The city will provide a list of plumbers qualified to provide

specified services and committed to reporting problems with

significant root masses, which can cause sewage spills when pushed

out of the private laterals into the city’s system.

Councilman Wayne Baglin will include the ordinance in a

presentation he is preparing for the state Regional Water Quality

Board that will meet Wednesday in Laguna Beach.

“One member of the board still wants to fine Laguna Beach,

although I don’t understand that now,” said Baglin, a former member

of the regional board that oversees San Diego County and parts of

Orange County, including parts of Laguna Beach.

During his term on the board, the city was fined, but a settlement

was reached and since then the city has committed significant

resources to improving the sewer system, often in advance of other

communities.

Laguna’s private lateral ordinance is believed to be ahead of the

curve in California.

“This is brand new,” Baglin said. “We are moving ahead and now we

have the tools to take action that we couldn’t take before. “

Baglin, a real estate broker, said that Realtors have been put on

notice that if the ordinance doesn’t do the job, the council will

consider reintroducing the point-of-sale component. The Environmental

Protection Agency has reserved the right to approve the ordinance and

could request modifications.

“This is a mostly voluntary ordinance, but I think a lot of people

will get with the program,” Kinsman said.