The Capistrano Insider

New Recycling Center Opens off La Pata

From Supervisor Pat Bates' Friday report:

Prima Deshecha Material Recovery Facility

I attended the grand-opening ceremony today for the new Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Prima Deshecha Landfill, the County landfill that occupies 1,500 acres between San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

The MRF was built exclusively for self-haul waste that comes to the landfill from private individuals, mostly contractors or landscapers, for disposal. It will entail a drive-through for visitors to leave their trash at a drop-off station. The load will then be transferred to a processing facility two miles away, where recyclables will be separated from garbage. According to CR&R, the trash-hauling company that manages the landfill, about 70 to 80 percent of all self-haul waste is recyclable.

By using the MRF, customers will help prolong the life of this landfill which benefits all of Orange County residents and businesses. The longer we have landfill capacity, the cheaper our disposal rates will be a longer period of time. The MRF will be open to the public starting Monday, November 1, at 7:00 a.m.

To view photos of the grand-opening celebration, please click here.

County Extends Regional Watershed Study

From Supervisor Pat Bates

Board Approves San Juan Watershed Study Extension

The Board of Supervisors has extended an agreement with Rancho Mission Viejo (RMV) and Pacific Advanced Civil Engineering to conduct and prepare a study of the San Juan Creek Watershed. This study will focus on issues surrounding hydrology, river hydraulics, sedimentation accumulation and stream bed erosion. The original agreement approved in 2005 required RMV to fund $950,000 of this study, with RMV and Pacific Advanced Civil Engineering performing the work.

The original agreement allowed two years to complete the study; however it has been extended twice to allow additional time to perform the required work. The amendment approved by the Board of Supervisors this week will allow this study to continue for an additional year until July 31, 2009.

Wash Your Driveway and Your Car This Weekend

Because the City Council on Tuesday is expected to declare a "Stage 2" water emergency, meaning it will be illegal to hose off hard surfaces (unless its' a health/safety issue), as well as wash your car at home. There's other rules, too, about running your sprinklers and fountains.

Here's the city's release:

The City Council on Tuesday will consider declaring a “Stage 2” water shortage effective July 1, along with financial incentives for residents in support of mandatory water conservation.

Considering mandatory measures comes on the heels of the 10 percent water use reduction the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ordered last month. Policymakers and scientists are increasingly concerned about the long-term drought. Several parched years, including some of the driest seasons on record, and an environmental ruling impacting imported supplies have reduced Southern California’s water supply.  

The City updated its drought response last year with the City Council-adopted water conservation ordinance. The ordinance, which put in place a four-stage plan for water shortages, provides guidelines for prudent water use along with the tools to enforce year-round water conservation. The ordinance restricts such things as restaurants serving water unless a customer asks for it and the hours residents can run their sprinklers. The law also bans pools from being emptied or refilled, barring repairs and health and safety issues. Stage 2 moves from the voluntary conservation mode to the mandatory, adding additional prohibited uses. Those include requiring all major water users to reduce their usage by a percentage deemed necessary by staff to sustain adequate water supply; prohibiting residents from washing pavement, and from washing their cars other than at a commercial car wash; turning off decorative fountains; and reducing lawn watering and landscape irrigation. New construction permits for pools and spas will not be issued. The full water conservation ordinance is available at www.sanjuancapistrano.org.

Council members on Tuesday will also consider approving $10,000 in funding for a toilet retrofit incentive program to support conservation efforts. In homes without water-conserving fixtures, toilet flushing accounts for one third of indoor water use. By retrofitting all pre-1993 toilets, the total potential water savings to all customers per year is estimated at $370,000.

The City Council meets at  6:30 p.m. May 19 in Council Chambers at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto.  

Here's the staff report.

Orange Coast Magazine Takes Notice of Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano is one of the best places in Orange County to live, at least according to the current issue of Orange Coast Magazine.

 “Orange County’s smartest places to live may be the five walkable and historical rail towns, which seem oddly futuristic in this volatile, ecoconscious era. They’ll seem even smarter in coming weeks as summer gas prices begin to rise,” the magazine says.

That puts Capistrano in line with Fullerton, Orange, Santa Ana and San Clemente as the top five spots. Fullerton scored a 92 on the Walkscore.com rating, while Orange was a 91. Santa Ana, San Clemente and Capistrano all came in at 88. The magazine cited the Mission, El Adobe and the Coach House as downtown gems, and calls out a number of downtown attractions as what makes the city special.

We know that. But click here to see more of what Orange Coast thinks.

Resident Protests MTBE in Capistrano Groundwater *UPDATED*

Update at bottom.

A resident has taken to the streets to urge motorists to avoid buying fuel at Chevron in San Juan Capistrano, because he says the oil company isn't moving fast enough to clean up MTBE in the water supply.

Sheriff's deputies were called to Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo Street on Tuesday when Clint Worthington began standing at the corner with his sign. But he was allowed to remain, and returned on Wednesday. He said he plans to continue spending a couple of hours a day there as long as he can.

Worthington's protest comes as the city issues a warning that its experts believe Chevron's plan to suck MTBE-tainted groundwater from the aquifier will actually pollute other wells, too. The city and city's Utilities Commission has expressed frustration at the length of timing getting a cleanup plan in place.

UPDATE:

Some residents asked what the city is doing/has done about the MtBE.

Here's a letter from Mayor Mark Nielsen demanding Chevron take more steps and make the city whole;

Here's a letter from a city contractor expressing concerns that Chevron's plan will actually spread the MtBE plume, not capture it.