Poseidon Desalination Plan Isn't Popular with New HB City Council: Looking back to 2012
In desperation, Poseidon helped fund three sleazy anti-Hardy mailers that portrayed her as “anti-children” and all but a child molester for opposing a lift on the city’s ban on fireworks.
Note: This story was first posted Nov. 12, 2012
By John Earl
Surf City Voice
Poseidon, the God of the Sea, might have suffered a tsunami headache after seeing the results of the Nov. 6 election for the Huntington Beach City Council.
That’s because in December, when three newly elected city council members are sworn into office, the current 5 – 2 majority of the faithful will become a solid 5-2 majority of non-believers in Poseidon Resources Inc.’s nearly $1 billion ocean desalination plant proposed for the southeast corner of Huntington Beach.
Since 2004, the council has approved city permits and certifications for the desalination project regardless of incomplete environmental impact reports, threats to a fragile marine eco-system, the need to dig up local streets for a 10-mile-long pipeline, and skyrocketing cost increases ($150 million to nearly $1 billion).
All that in order to give water to Orange County residents that will cost them about three times as much as water from other sources and for a project that eschews sustainable water and energy management, including conservation, in favor of unlimited exploitation of natural resources for maximum corporate profit, regardless of the long-term consequences of urban sprawl and global warming.
Two of the newly elected Poseidon opponents, Jill Hardy and Dave Sullivan, return to the council after two previous terms ending in 2010 in which they voted repeatedly against the project. The third, newcomer James Katapodis, supported Poseidon in his previous unsuccessful election attempt but changed his position after meetings with local Poseidon opponents.
They will join incumbents Connie Boardman and Joe Shaw to form a new anti-Poseidon city council majority.
In desperation, Poseidon helped fund three sleazy anti-Hardy mailers that portrayed her as “anti-children” and all but a child molester for opposing a lift on the city’s ban on fireworks.
But that plan seemed to backfire.
Polling conducted a few weeks prior to the mailers showed Hardy coming in second behind Dave Sullivan, with pro Poseidon candidate Barbara Degleize next. But Hardy finished with over 2,000 votes more than Katapodis and Sullivan who finished second and third respectively.
Whether the new anti-Poseidon city council will be able to stop Poseidon’s ocean desalination dream from becoming reality seems doubtful but not impossible.
First, the Municipal Water District of Orange County is pondering the purchase of Poseidon’s water for resale to its 28 member agencies in Orange County (as opposed to the current strategy of separate agreements between the company and each agency). That would give the city a vote on whether MWDOC should enter into an agreement with Poseidon or not, in which case the new council would be inclined to vote no.
Second, Poseidon’s Coastal Development permit is under appeal before the Coastal Commission. The issue is whether the city violated its own Local Coastal Plan. Depending on how the Coastal Commission rules, the permit could be sent back to the city council for another vote.