A Runoff Election in San Clemente

Urban runoff has been a problem as long as people have lived along the oceanside. In recent years, as coastal (and surfing) populations have exploded, the issue has become quite serious. Spurned by increasingly outraged ocean users, a fed up U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and various regional water quality boards, many cities and counties across the country have begun to tackle the issue head on. Nowhere is this more evident in the southern Orange County cities of Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente. Recently, under the prodding of the Surfrider Foundation and the San Diego Water Quality District, San Clemente embarked on one of the more comprehensive runoff-treatment solutions in the nation. The question is: will its voters approve it?

Mark Cousineau is the head of San Clemente’s Surfrider chapter, an environmental engineering consultant and proprietor of the town’s Bagel Shack. He also charges big Cottons.

"Surfrider and others in the community had been pushing San Clemente get a plan to deal with urban runoff," says Cousineau. "And we were able to make it the city’s top priority."

"We got an urban runoff management plan partly funded through the EPA," says councilwoman Stephanie Dorey. "That gave us the guidelines on what we needed to do and suggested some ways to do it. Some structural and some educational. We’re still in the learning stages as to what actually works."

Dorey says the plan came about as a result of something called the Drainage Area Management Plan, and because of high-profile pollution and runoff cases like Aliso Creek in Laguna Beach. Towns would say that they had management plans, and many did, but they were not implementing them. "I think the Regional Water Quality Board got fed up with that and said, ‘Okay, we’re going to make you do some things. We’re going to tighten up everything.’ Boy, the towns were squawking and whining. They said RWQ regulations were ‘onerous’. It was unbelievable. I just applaud the fact that the Board did it. It woke everyone up."

The initial San Clemente plan includes a wastewater treatment system at Poche beach, treatment systems at North Beach, diversions for other runoff sources into the sewer system during the dry season, and filters and collectors for trash and rough debris along the city’s various storm drain locations. Additionally, the plan calls for increased street sweeping, which it had cut back on about ten years ago. Street sweeping can be particularly important because a good street sweeping machine can pick up much of the oil, brake dust and animal waste that would otherwise run to the ocean.

"The plan looks at dealing with the acute problems we have now," says Cousineau, "and then educating and changing people’s behavior for the long term. There’s also a town water conservation person who has already been hired." The plan even goes so far as to print thousands of copies of Surfrider’s "20 Ways You Can Keep the Ocean Clean" in Spanish.

Cousineau and Dorey both feel the plan could be somewhat more stringent and innovative, but both feel that it will accomplish what it was set up to do. The problem will be paying the $1.7 million that the plan will cost annually. Originally, the plan was to add $5.00 per month to the existing $2.83 storm drain fee that San Clemente property owners currently pay. But a law passed a few years ago said that if a city wanted to start charging new fees, it had to put the fees to a vote. Fearing that the $5.00 increase might not stand up in court, San Clemente mailed out a ballot to property owners on the 16^th of September asking them if a clean ocean was worth an extra $5.00 a month.

The San Diego Regional water quality board has already put into motion new regulations that most coastal towns from Irvine south will have to follow. Should voters in all towns not approve such motions, the towns will still have to instigate them. Thus, San Clemente is a test case for all of California and perhaps much of the nation.

"We have this program," says Cousineau, "and we have to pay for it. If the vote fails, we still have to eventually set up this kind of a program, so it will become a matter of what programs do we cut. Lifeguards? Parks Service? City Programs? After school care? Something will have to go and it’s not going to be police or fire. It becomes a question: Is your beach worth five bucks a month? That’s one beer after work at the Fisherman’s or a pack of smokes. If the city doesn’t comply with this permit, it will face fines of $27,000 a day – that money will go to the state – not to San Clemente."

Dorey, who was essentially the first San Clemente Councilperson to ever win on an environmental platform, helped put together a poll that asked what the town’s environmental concerns were. "With ocean pollution, we found that the level of satisfaction was extremely low and the willingness to make it better was extremely high. In a poll, the people voted for a clean ocean. Let’s see if they’ll actually do it."

To Cousineau, having this measure pass is not only a measure of civic pride, but of gauging people’s environmental commitment. "Are we a greening society? Are we willing to put our money where out mouth is? Environmentalism doesn’t come free. My guess is that this issue is going to come up more and more in the coming years. You want clean water, are you willing to pay for it?"

According to Cousineau and Dorey, the jury is still out on whether or not the city will pay for it. Mostly, according to Cousineau, those who oppose the measure are the same folks who oppose taxation on any grounds, and those on fixed income or Social Security for whom $5.00 goes a long way.

"It’s never going to be completely fair," says Dorey. "You try to do the best you can. Every time I talk to someone about this, I say, ‘we’re all part of the problem’. Let’s all be part of the solution."

Discuss This Article on Surfermag.com's Bulletin Board

Environmental Protection Agency's Urban Runoff Information Page

Surfrider Forum Explores Runoff Fee

San Clemente City Government's Page on the Urban Runoff Fee