Carlsbad, CA – Mayors from throughout San Diego County joined together today at the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) to urge the California Coastal Commission to issue its final approval to Poseidon Resources’ Carlsbad Desalination Project. The event was attended by Carlsbad Mayor Claude "Bud" Lewis, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, Encinitas Mayor Jerome Stocks, Poway Mayor Mickey Cafagna, San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond, Imperial Beach Mayor Jim Janney, as well as Robert Gilleskie, CCSE’s director of engineering.
The gathering of the mayors illustrated the regional benefits of the project. Nine public water agencies serving ratepayers throughout the County have signed long-term agreements to receive water from the Carlsbad Desalination Project. The project will provide San Diego County with approximately 9% of its total water supply, enough drinking water for 300,000 San Diegans. Every municipality in San Diego County will benefit directly or indirectly as a result of having a new local, drought-proof water supply.
"I am very appreciative that so many of my colleagues have chosen to voice their support for the Carlsbad Desalination Project today and over the last several years. It has been ten years since we launched this effort. And the message today is that time is not on our side," said Mayor Bud Lewis. "We cannot make it rain in San Diego and we cannot stop the cuts to our imported water. But the Carlsbad Desalination Plant will give us drought-proof water that is under our control here in San Diego. The Coastal Commission must act without delay so we can construct the facility. The entire region is counting on this project."
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders urged San Diego’s representatives on the Coastal Commission, Chairman Pat Kruer and San Diego Councilman Ben Hueso, to ensure that this project is approved at next week’s hearing. "The urgency of our state’s water crisis has come to the forefront in the past few months with the Governor’s declaration of a statewide drought. San Diego County has been hit hard by cutbacks in our imported water supply," said Mayor Jerry Sanders. "The situation in our city is so critical that I have declared a state of water emergency. It’s important for all of us to aggressively pursue water conservation efforts, and opportunities like the Carlsbad Desalination Project, which is an important part of the solution for the whole region."
In November 2007, the Coastal Commission approved the Carlsbad Desalination Project’s Coastal Development Permit and attached two conditions to the permit with Poseidon’s consent. Poseidon has since fulfilled its obligation under the project’s permit conditions by submitting two action plans to the Commission – an Energy Minimization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan and a Marine Life Mitigation Plan. The Coastal Commission’s approval of these two plans will complete the Commission’s two-year approval process, and move the desalination plant one step closer to its scheduled 2009 construction.
"Poseidon’s use of the latest and most efficient desalination technology is evident, and its emphasis on plant efficiency as the first priority is consistent with good energy-management practice," said Robert Gilleskie, director of engineering at CCSE. "Poseidon's voluntary commitment to make its Carlsbad project carbon-neutral is exactly the kind of environmental leadership we need from companies doing business in California. The project represents a terrific opportunity to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to monitor, evaluate and learn from Poseidon's leading, landmark commitment to make the plant carbon neutral," said Gilleskie.
Additionally, the Marine Life Mitigation Plan includes a wetland restoration project of up to 42.5 acres and a commitment to serve as the steward of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon once the Encina Power Station is fully decommissioned.
"We have submitted two action plans that fully meet and exceed our requirements under the Coastal Act to protect the environment," said Peter MacLaggan, Senior Vice President of Poseidon Resources. "The plans reflect the project’s ability to maintain, restore and enhance the environment while providing a desperately needed local, drought-proof water supply," said MacLaggan.
The Coastal Commission’s approval of the permit conditions and a subsequent lease agreement from the California State Lands Commission (hearing tentatively scheduled for August 22) will give the Carlsbad Desalination Project the remaining permit approvals needed to advance to construction. Construction is expected to begin the first half of 2009.
A copy of Poseidon’s Energy Minimization and Green House Gas Reduction Plan and Marine Life Mitigation Plan can be found at http://www.carlsbad-desal.com/environmental_stewardship.asp
Poseidon Resources specializes in developing and financing water infrastructure projects, primarily seawater desalination and water treatment plants. These projects are implemented through innovative public-private partnerships in which private enterprise assumes the developmental and financial risks. For more information on Poseidon Resources and the Carlsbad desalination plant visit our website at www.carlsbad-desal.com
PHOTO CAPTION: San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders urges the California Coastal Commission to approve the Carlsbad Desalination Project. From L-R, Mayor Jim Janney, Mayor Jerome Stocks, Mayor Bud Lewis, Mayor Jim Desmond, Mayor Cheryl Cox, Poseidon Resources’ Peter MacLaggan.