(February 9) The East Valley Water District has requested that the city of Highland allow it to relocate its planned sewage treatment plant from its previously-approved site on Sterling Avenue to another point in the Del Rosa area.
While East Valley Water District General Manager/CEO John Mura maintains the plant involves the most modern of technology and would accordingly produce no noise and no odor, the district’s effort to locate it on Sterling Avenue was nonetheless insensitive to the wishes of adjoining property owners, Mura said.
By putting the facility in the Del Rosa area instead of at the Sterling Avenue location, Mura said concerns of those around the Sterling Avenue site can be alleviated and the district can sell that property to finance purchasing the Del Rosa property.
Former councilmembers Ross Jones and Dennis Johnson said they were in favor of the transition and four of the current council members raised no objections.
But Mayor Larry McCallon, who is a voting member of the San Bernardino County Local Agency Formation Commission board, said the district was rushing the matter by approaching the city council for the change at this point.
“You don’t even have a state permit,” McCallon said. The Local Agency Formation Commission must examine and vote on the matter. McCallon said he did not want to prejudge the matter as a member of the council if he was going to have to pass judgment on the issue at a later date in his capacity as a commission member.
There will also be an environmental review of locating the plant in Del Rosa.
The plant will treat effluent and then inject the treated and reclaimed water into the Bunker Hill Basin to replenish the water table. Adjoining the plant, according to Mura will be a park and community center, plus a satellite district office where customers can pay their water bills. The city council voted to accept a notice of intent for relocating the plant.