What’s covered:

• Laguna heroes

• Water quality on the Council
agenda of November 6, 2001

Other major City Council
agenda items for November 6:

• Report on the
Treasure Island

progress

of

aguna heroes: On Saturday
morning at 2:30 a.m., a
motorcyclist crashed directly in
front of the Laguna City Hall after
rapidly accelerating away from Laguna
Police Officer Robert Gifford during a
routine traffic stop on Forest Avenue.
The motorcyclist, knocked unconscious
and lying in a large fireball fromhis
ruptured fuel tank, was pulled out of
danger by Officer Gifford. Police
Explorer Lance Larson simultaneously
used his fire extinguisher to put out the
flames. This was an outstanding effort
on the part of both individuals.

Love Laguna Beach! is prepared by
Cheryl Kinsman, member of the
Laguna Beach City Council, as a
service to the people of Laguna
Beach. Not prepared, printed or
mailed at taxpayer expense.

Love Laguna Beach!

November 6, 2001Volume 1, number 3
byCheryl Kinsman

ater quality on Council agenda.At the
city council meeting of November 6th, the Council will
consider an issue important for both ocean water
quality and our local restaurants. As we all know, we
must eliminate sewage spills that are polluting our ocean. A major
cause of sewage line blockage is grease from restaurants. The city
council is considering a new city ordinance that would require all
restaurants in the city to install grease interceptors within 18 months.

Grease interceptors are 750-1000 gallon holding tanks installed
outdoors and underground that separate grease from wastewater,
allowing only the water portion to enter the sewer lines. Fewer than
half of Laguna Beach restaurants have these devices, which require a
hole about the size of three office desks and cost $20,000 to over
$100,000 for installation. Under the proposed ordinance, failure to
install grease interceptors will result in severe fines and penalties to
the offending restaurants.

I have received input from several of the restaurants in town that they
are either physically or financially incapable of installing grease
interceptors. The proposed ordinance will simply shut many
restaurants down, and the ones shut down will generally be the small
“only in Laguna” type that are nearest and dearest to our hearts.

Interceptors should be required for new restaurants and for those
existing restaurants where they can reasonably be installed. For
those restaurants where grease interceptors cannot be installed, we
should offer reasonable alternatives.

For example, since we know where restaurants are located, we can
clean their sewers more frequently and charge the restaurant a
monthly fee for the extra cleaning. This method is currently used by
many other cities. We can require a series of smaller grease traps
that can be installed within the restaurant. And we can require the
use of grease barrels for used cooking oils. Any solution should, of
course, be combined with inspection to verify that the restaurant is
complying with whatever requirements are imposed upon it.

Water quality is a very serious issue for Lagunans. We must be
sure we get an optimal solution, sensitive to the needs of the
environment, our local restaurants, and their patrons. We all know
that we have a problem. We all want clean water. We need to work
together to find a solution.

o you know someone who should be receiving this
update? Please e-mail me their name and e-mail
address and I’ll add them to the list!

My e-mail address is Cheryl@LoveLagunaBeach.com

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