Sanitation meetings must move
Governor signs bill requiring policy-setting meetings to be held within SCV
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill requiring the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District to hold its board meetings inside district boundaries when it makes policy about contaminants that end up in the Santa Clara River, according to Assemblyman Scott Wilk, who introduced the legislation.
“This is a huge win for the ratepayers,” Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, said Tuesday. “No longer will citizens have to make a 90-minute trip to Whittier to give input to policy makers.”
Wilk authored AB 951 with one specific river contaminant in mind — chloride. Specifically, he wanted any policy decision regarding the maximum amount of chloride discharged by the district into the river watershed to be addressed at meetings held locally.
AB 951 takes effect Jan. 1.
“The chloride mitigations required by the regional water board is projected to cost about $130 million,” which will come out of ratepayers’ pockets, Wilk said. Decisions made on such costly policies must be made in a local forum, he said.
News Tuesday of the bill becoming law was welcomed Tuesday by at least one of the three members of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation
District Board.
“I think anytime we have (an allowable contaminants) issue, it does affect everyone here in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Laurene Weste.
“The state board regulates the (allowable contaminants) for the Santa Clarita Valley, so it would be appropriate for those meetings to happen here.”
The district regularly meets with other county sanitation districts in the city of Whittier, 50 miles from the community the board has jurisdiction over. Recently, however, meetings have been held at Santa Clarita City Hall.
“Naturally, (meeting in Whittier) discouraged public testimony from ratepayers and hindered their ability to stay informed on issues directly affecting their home values and water rates,” Wilk said in a news release issued Tuesday.