City let off probation early

A county court sliced 2 1/2 years off of Surf City’s five-year

probation sentence, imposed after the city plead guilty to violating

state water laws by failing to fix leaky sewer pipes in 2001.

The probation was lifted as of Sept. 19 after a district court

found that the city had made considerable efforts to correct the

sewer problems.

“Probation is a hammer,” City Atty. Jennifer McGrath said.

“Because of our efforts, we’ve demonstrated that we don’t need the

hammer.”

On the city’s behalf, former Mayor Pam Julien Houchen plead guilty

to three criminal counts in connection with the widespread sewer

leaks.

In addition to placing Huntington Beach on misdemeanor probation,

the county court, in March 2001, fined the city $75,000 for violating

sections of the state water code governing negligent and intentional

discharge of pollutants and ordered it to spend at least $250,000 to

clean up any remaining sewage residue.

It was in 1996 that the city identified the need to repair the

sewer system in Downtown by using video cameras to trace pipelines.

Those findings, which included massive leaks that may have let

loose more than 70,000 gallons of raw sewage a day into the ground,

were not reported to the water board.

The city chose to accept probation when charged rather than fight

the charge at a costly trial.

It was never determined how much sewage was spilling from the

pipes, and in 2002, water quality testers found no evidence of sewage

in the Downtown groundwater.

“Subsequent to the court action, we received results back that

indicated no evidence of sewage in the groundwater in the downtown

area,” Director of Public Works Robert Beardsley said.

The court action was a false indication of how the city does

business, Beardsley said. Millions of dollars have been spent on

sewer repairs in the past five years, he said, adding that the start

of Downtown sewer projects preceded the court action by three years.

“We’ve always been spending a significant amount of resources --

personnel and financial resources -- on environmental issues in this

community,” Beardsley said. “Getting off probation takes away this

black eye from 2001.”

Governor signs bill to restore sand dunes

A patch of sensitive sand dunes will be restored to its natural

state, thanks to a bill authored by Assemblyman Tom Harman and signed

into law last week.

Assembly Bill 13 authorizes the California Department of

Transportation to hand over seven acres to the Huntington Beach

Wetlands Conservancy, a local nonprofit group dedicated to protecting

sensitive coastal habitat.

The transfer is intended to offset environmental effects caused by

Caltrans during highway construction projects.

The Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy is now responsible for

caring for and maintaining the land, which stretches along Pacific

Coast Highway between Brookhurst Street and Beach Boulevard.

“I think this is important for Huntington Beach and the effort to

preserve and protect wetlands in the area by the power plant,” Harman

said. “This will allow Caltrans to transfer the property to the

Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, who will then restore the

property and take care of it the way it should be taken care of.”

The conservancy already owns the 43 acres adjacent to the sand

dunes and recently got a $1.2-million grant from the California

Coastal Conservancy to acquire and restore other wetlands areas.

The law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2004.

Macaroni Grill union petition denied

A petition by Romano’s Macaroni Grill employees to form a union

was denied after the servers heading the campaign failed to appear at

a court hearing.

James F. Small, acting regional director of the National Labor

Relations Board, said in a letter addressed to employee Cory McCune,

leader of the effort to unionize, that the petition was dismissed

after McCune failed to appear at the hearing and gave no explanation

for his absence.

Calls to McCune were not returned.

Employees decided to form a union after the restaurant announced

plans to scale back their employee benefits package. The employees’

initial hope was to get their benefits back, develop a stronger

collective bargaining voice and one day expand the union beyond

Huntington Beach.

“The National Labor Relations Board rules and standards are not

trivial,” said James N. Foster, the attorney representing the

Macaroni Grill. “Unions and employees must comply with their

procedures. This dismissal was clearly appropriate.”

City Council denies Brightwater pipeline

The City Council voted on Aug. 4 to deny a franchise agreement

that would pull water all the way from Cypress to the proposed

Hearthside Homes development on the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

Southern California Water Company can still acquire right of way

to build the pipeline by condemnation, however, a factor that went

into the city’s decision to deny the agreement.

“It’s kind of like when the city decides to widen a street,” City

Atty. Jennifer McGrath said. “By eminent domain, it can mandate the

purchase of that property. In turn, Southern California Water can do

that, too.”

Hearthside turned to Southern California Water rather than seeking

water from the city, since the project would be built on county-owned

land. The water company did, however, request that the city approve a

franchise agreement to operate a public utility.

The fact that money has already been secured under Proposition 50,

the Clean Water and Coastal Protection Bond of 2002, to save the site

from development was also a part of the decision, McGrath said.

The Clean Water and Coastal Protection Bond of 2002 includes

funding that would allow local groups to purchase land in the name of

wetlands and watershed protection.

The seven-mile pipe would run underground from Cypress to

Huntington Beach, snaking through Garden Grove, Westminster and Seal

Beach on its way. It would provide water to 388 homes that Hearthside

Homes is proposing to build on the upper bench of the mesa.

-- Compiled by Jenny Marder