Environmental groups appeal Carlsbad desal plant approval
Carlsbad desal plant moves forward despite opposition
Staff
San Diego News Network
12/22/2009
Two environmental groups are appealing the California State Lands Commission’s approval of a desalination plant already under construction in Carlsbad, it was announced Tuesday.
San Diego Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation argue the State Lands Commission’s 2008 approval did not take into consideration changes to the project that necessitate further environmental review.
“We are not opposed to desalination,” said Gabriel Solmer, an attorney for Coastkeeper. “We are for responsible water supply choices, and the State Lands’ approval was not made responsibly or legally.”
Earlier this month, the California Coastal Commission denied a request by Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation to dismiss the coastal development permit for the desalination plant.
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Following the decision, Poseidon Resources, the project’s developer, issued a statement attacking the opponents’ claims as “frivolous” and described the repeated techniques employed by Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation in trying to thwart the project as “obstructionist.”
Two lawsuits by the groups to halt the project have also been unsuccessful.
