BOARD TAKES UP SEWAGE $4 MILLION ASSESSMENT, NEW PLANT ON THE TABLE.

Byline: JIM SKEEN

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- A lengthy and contentious battle about Antelope Valley's sewage treatment efforts will take a new turn this week as the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board considers whether to approve a $4 million assessment and permit for a new Lancaster treatment plant.

The hearing Wednesday comes as the Los Angeles County sanitation districts serving Lancaster and Palmdale are pushing forward with plans to expand treatment and storage facilities to serve a growing population and comply with state orders to keep sewage off Air Force property and clean up contaminated groundwater.

"We're at a crossroads," said Steve Maguin, general manager of the districts. "We're saying let's get this done and let's get this behind us."

But at issue are two cease-and-desist orders Lahontan made in 2004. Lahontan ordered the Lancaster district to keep sewage off Rosamond dry lake, which belongs to Edwards Air Force Base. It also ordered the Palmdale district to clean up groundwater nitrates.

But district officials said the timetables -- 2008 and 2009 -- were unreasonable. District officials filed litigation, triggering nearly two years of talks that have resulted in a proposed $4 million assessment.

"It's the largest assessment our board has ever done, and it's one of the largest in the state," said Harold Singer, executive director of the Lahontan board. "Most of it is due to a lack of early planning. The districts didn't plan for this growth in time."

Under the proposal, the districts would pay $4 million to the state with $3.8 million to be used for a recycled-water distribution system in Antelope Valley.

38 miles of pipeline

The project, estimated to cost $119 million, would include 38 miles of pipeline, three storage reservoirs and five pump stations to link wastewater-treatment plants serving Lancaster, Palmdale and Rosamond.

"It looks like a really good project that will have benefits for the whole area," Singer said. "From our perspective, it's a good seed fund. This is a very positive supplemental environmental project."

In the proposed settlement, $152,000 also would go to the State Water Resources Control Board's Waste Discharge Permit Fund, and $48,000 would go to the California Department of Justice for consultant costs associated with representing the water boards.

The sanitation district boards have approved the settlement -- which also sets 2010 for compliance with the board's cease-and-desist orders.

Proposal criticized

But the deal is drawing criticism from Gene Nebeker, a former Lahontan board member who owns a Lancaster farm that takes in effluent from the sanitation districts to irrigate his crops.

"The whole project doesn't give the valley what it needs. We need to dispose of a lot of water," Nebeker said. "We need to put the water in the ground."

Sanitation district officials said they looked at groundwater recharge, but getting approval for that would take as long as a decade.

"Recharge is not off the table as an option, but we're not going to put water into the ground so any farmer can pump it out," Maguin said.

But Nebeker also argues that the proposed settlement is small compared with the environmental damage the sanitation districts have done.

And he says the community members should have been involved in developing the proposed deal.

"They need to involve the people who are really hurt -- namely the people of the Antelope Valley," Nebeker said.

The Lahontan board will hear details and accept testimony on the proposed settlement, but a decision is not expected until May.

Considering new site

The board also will consider whether to approve a permit for construction of a Lancaster plant as part of the sanitation districts' efforts to expand.

The districts both want "tertiary" treatment plants, large storage reservoirs and the ability to use effluent to irrigate crops such as alfalfa.

Each of the projects comes with hefty price tags -- about $370 million apiece -- and would be paid for through fee hikes.

Lancaster residents would see their rates climb from $161 to $360 a year.

In Palmdale, which has fewer users, residents would see their rates climb from $161 to $381 by the year 2010.

In both districts, connection fees would nearly double, from $3,190 to $6,190 by 2010.

"In both districts, the population grew faster than we could find new uses," Maguin said.

In Palmdale, another issue is groundwater quality, including cleaning up nitrates. Of the district's 27 monitoring wells, two have had readings above the state standard of 10milligrams per liter.

The Lahontan board has issued an interim order requiring the district to get all water quality back up to the state standards.

james.skeen@dailynews

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