Foes urge plant battle

Dave Brooks

Opponents of a planned desalination plant are hoping to stop its

construction the same way they did in December 2003 -- by going after

the environmental report.

Officials with Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources recently

resubmitted their report for public viewing, nearly a year-and-a-half

after the City Council ruled the original draft didn’t adequately

address environmental concerns.

During a special desalination forum at City Hall hosted by project

opponent and Councilwoman Debbie Cook, the opposition again

encouraged local residents to argue that the latest report failed to

address several environmental worries.

Jonas Minton of the Planning and Conservation League of California

said the report still doesn’t deal with concerns about the

environmental safety of the $250 million project’s ocean intake line,

which could draw in more than 100 million gallons of seawater per

day. Minton said he is worried that marine life and larvae would be

killed when they are sucked through the pipeline. He also said the

report doesn’t adequately look at other alternatives.

“We are concerned that the recirculated [environmental report]

prepared by Poseidon does not look at all the impacts of intake,”

Minton said, adding that it also does not look at the alternatives

for how other areas in Orange County could find new water supplies.

Poseidon Senior Vice President Billy Owens said an assessment of

the intake pipe is the responsibility of the AES power plant, the

only major power plant in Orange County, which has controlled the

pipeline for years. He said the desalination plant would only be

using water that AES had already collected for its single-pass

cooling system, rerouting the water to the desalination plant instead

of depositing it directly back into the ocean.

Owens said a statewide study is already underway to determine the

affect of single-pass cooling facilities on marine life.

“From that study, whatever changes are identified that need to be

made, need to be made by the power plant,” Owens said.

Desalination opponents like Minton also encouraged local residents

to challenge Poseidon and leading water agency assertions that

conservation efforts won’t do enough, citing a recent report from the

Department of Water Resource arguing that California could make up

the bulk of its water deficiencies by expanding conservation and

awareness.

Owens cited a different report from the Metropolitan Water

District, which concluded that water conservation was just one

component of Southern California’s greater water needs.

“Given most projections for growth, Southern California is going

to need both conservation and new technologies,” he said. “Included

in that is a call for desalination.”

A public hearing on the project is still months away, but Poseidon

is continuing to push ahead with its public relations campaign

managed by Irvine firm M4 Strategies. Besides drafting dozens of

color glossy brochures and literature, M4 is beginning to enlist

endorsements from community leaders like Dale Dunn of the Huntington

Beach Chamber of Commerce and former City Council candidate Bill

Borden.

Poseidon also is attempting to broaden its argument for the plant

beyond past assertions about the environmental safety and necessity

for the water source, appealing to the city’s general fund needs.

Owens said the plant will generate $1.8 million in tax revenue for

Huntington Beach coffers, a revenue stream that will remain in place

as long as the plant operates.

Besides targeting the environmental report, opponents of a

desalination plant in Huntington Beach argue that the proposed

facility could usher in the privatization of water.

Also at issue is who will get Poseidon’s proposed 50 million

gallons of water per day. While no Southern California water agencies

have agreed to purchase water from Poseidon, Owens said he believes a

deal could easily be reached after the company has received the bulk

of its permits, or is in full operation.