Something rare is happening in Sacramento: The entire San Diego County delegation has identified a problem and is working together to resolve it.

Poseidon Corp.'s effort, 11 years in the making, to build a desalination plant in Carlsbad to provide 8 percent of the county's water supply has won all regulatory approvals. All legal challenges have been defeated at least once. Still, myriad pre-construction conditions must be met and boxes of paperwork processed before permits expire Nov. 15. Poseidon plans to have everything in order by Sept. 15. But what if...? No public purpose would be served by going through years of wrangling again.

Hence a bill, co-authored by every member of our delegation, to automatically extend the permits for a year if necessary. That would remove the temptation for any bureaucratic mischief. The Coastal Commission staff already has let it be known that with furlough days and all it just might not ...

Praise is due state Sens. Christine Kehoe, Denise Moreno Ducheny, Dennis Hollingsworth and Mark Wyland, all of San Diego County, and John Benoit of Riverside, and local Assembly members Mary Salas, Joel Anderson, Nathan Fletcher, Martin Garrick, Diane Harkey, Kevin Jeffries and Lori Saldana.

The urgency bill, requiring a two-thirds vote, starts with a Senate committee today. The entire Legislature must sign off before it breaks Sept. 11. We and a drought-stricken state implore the Legislature to do so.

For the public good, we also urge the Coastkeeper and Surfrider organizations to recognize the fight is over. Surfrider's mission statement includes the phrase “enjoyment of the world's oceans ... for all people.” What could provide more enjoyment for all than to judiciously tap into the ocean to help fulfill our water needs, whether it be landscaping, the baby's bath or fueling the biotech industry's pursuit of medical breakthroughs?