First half of 2012 new target for Poseidon, water authority deal
Bradley Fikes
North County Times
09/14/2011
The San Diego County Water Authority expects it can conclude a deal by the first half of 2012 to buy desalinated water from a desalination plant that Poseidon Resources Corp. plans to build in Carlsbad, a top official at the authority said Wednesday.
Poseidon and the authority must complete a lengthy to-do list before both parties can reach agreement, said Ken Weinberg, the authority's director of water resources. Separately, Poseidon must defeat ongoing legal challenges to the design of its proposed plant, to be sited next to the Encina Power Station.
The Carlsbad City Council voted Tuesday to let Poseidon out of an existing water purchase agreement that never bore fruit. That legally freed the way for Poseidon to negotiate a new agreement with the Water Authority.
Poseidon has said a commitment from the authority will enable it to raise the hundreds of millions required to build the plant. It's expected to produce about 50 million gallons of fresh water a day, about 10 percent of the county's water demand.
Poseidon estimates building the plant will take three years. Preliminary preparation has already started, but the main task of construction requires the company to get funding from private investors.
The authority entered the picture more than a year ago, when Poseidon failed to secure funding under the existing agreement among it, Carlsbad and eight other local agencies. But Carlsbad and the authority entered into protracted negotiations on financial conditions for allowing the authority to step in. Because of the delay, both the authority and Poseidon need time to get back up to speed, Weinberg said.
"We've put together a six-page list of things that need to be done before the agreement is approved," Weinberg said. "We're working with Poseidon on how do we develop a schedule that gets us there. Right now, I can't tell you when that will be, but I think we universally agree it's not going to be the end of this year. There's too much work to do."
Part of that work involves defeating or reaching an agreement with the Surfrider Foundation, which has appealed a San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board decision to allow "open ocean" intake of seawater for the plant. The foundation advocates a different design that's less harmful to marine life, said Joe Geever, the foundation's California Policy Coordinator. The case is now before the California Court of Appeal in the 4th Appellate District.
