Save the Date: Regional Water Board Hearing on Huntington Beach Desalination Permit - Friday, Dec. 6

All hands on deck in Southern California! Volunteers needed!

Poseidon Huntington Beach Desalination plant (Item #9) is on the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board's Friday, December 6 agenda. All hands on deck are needed to come and oppose the plant! The meeting starts at 9AM. Please arrive as early as possible and plan to stay all day. Light refreshments and pizza lunch will be provided.

The proposed Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach would increase the cost of water for Orange County families, harm our ocean and our climate, and we don’t need it! Help us oppose it.

We oppose the Poseidon project because:

• Orange County has cheaper, cleaner water options. Local solutions like water recycling, conservation, and cleaning up contaminated groundwater are the best alternatives to wasteful water projects like Poseidon, at a fraction of the cost.
• The Poseidon plant is a billion-dollar boondoggle and would increase water bills for Orange County families, hurting low-income families and coastal businesses like hotels and restaurants. 
• We need to protect Orange County’s oceans and beaches. The Poseidon plant would kill marine life and discharge polluted brine, creating a “dead zone” offshore of Huntington Beach.
• The water is not needed, the 2018 Municipal Water District of Orange County Water Reliability Study ranks Poseidon last as a source of new water.
• We need to protect our climate. Desalination is the most energy-intensive way to produce fresh water and would generate more climate pollution. The Poseidon plant’s location is vulnerable to flooding from rising seas and extreme storms, as well as earthquakes and tsunamis.

We urge you to reject the proposed Poseidon desalination plant. Check out this video by the California Desal Facts coalition for more information.

COME ONE, COME ALL!

Expect to be there all day as the hearing will likely entail several hours of public comment. A long day but worth it! This is one of the last big permits that Poseidon has to secure before they can begin construction. The Coastal Commission will be one of the last hurdles. We expect to rally for Coastal Commission in early to mid 2020.

The deadline for written public comment is January 10th.  The Regional Water Board's Final Determination meeting will be on March 27th, 2020.

Read more from this recent LA Times story: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-27/poseidon-seawater-desalination-project-poised-to-clear-major-hurdle