California American Water’s Plan for a desalination plant hit a major hurdle last month when the California Coastal Commission told the company it is not ready to make a decision on its permit.
The news came in a letter dated January 28, 2020 and it recommend Cal Am pull its current application and resubmit at a later date. The Coastal Commission cited its likely inability to make a decision in time to meet its own internal deadline per the Permit Streamlining Act.
Coastal Commission staff has recommended California American Water withdraw and resubmit a coastal development permit application involving the company’s proposed Monterey Peninsula desalination project, which would likely postpone a hearing on the desal permit and a pending appeal until September at the earliest.
Acknowledging that further analysis of California American Water’s proposed desalination project won’t be done in time for a planned March hearing, commission staff sent a Jan. 28 letter with the recommendation, which the letter says Cal Am officials requested during conversations earlier this month in order to formalize the staff recommendation.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
