SFPUC THE WORST AGENCY WHEN IT COMES TO WASTE WATER DISCHARGE
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It is a shame in the year 2004 for the Environmental Protection Agency to back the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for its blatant omission when daily waste water from the Phelps Raw Treatment Plant pollutes the Bay with over one and half million gallons of half treated sewage. Right here in San Francisco.
The Force Main between Illinois Street and Pier 80 is damaged and daily thousands of gallons of secondary effluents keeping leaking in the ground polluting the whole area. The SFPUC has not been able to fix the problem and yet it brags that it has won the EPA National Clean Water Act Award for 2004 in New Orleans. No agency can focus on the Ocean Treatment Plant only which takes only 20% of the Raw Sewage and forget about the Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment Plant which takes 80% of the City sewage - plus more from Daly City, Brisbane, Colma, and Burlingame. Friday, October 15, 2004 around 9:30 a.m. there was an explosion at the Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment plant with witness seeing a huge cloud followed by an explosion. Workmen were using welding tools when they set the methane gas from a near by tank on fire. The San Francisco Fire Department and the Police Department shut down the immediate operations. The local media did not report a thing and on Saturday the Chronicle posted a small article in a hard to find column. No Environmental Protection Agency recognized the world over or with standards would give an award to any agency based on visiting one plant which takes 20% of the raw sewage. The award never mentions the Phelps Raw Sewage Plant that stinks to high heaven and is located in a residential area. The open tanks of the Phelps Raw Sewage Tank breed mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus epidemic are in the makings. The explosion on Friday could have ignited many of the Methane Gas Tanks and the whole neighborhood would have gone down in fire. Not a word about the fire at Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment Plant. Susan has not visited it as yet but remember she is the General Manager. Susan Leal the General Manager whose comments on getting the awards: " These two prestigious national awards show that the SFPUC is setting the bar for environmental leadership by state and local government". The other award given to the SFPUC was for Solar Energy and the project at Moscone West. Edward Smeloff the Assistant General Manager for Power Policy accepted the 2004 National Green Power Leadership Award given by the Department of the Energy in New York. Susan Leal the anointed General Manager who has NO clue about engineering projects made a dumb move when on Friday, October 15, 2004 she ordered that Edward Smeloff resign from the SFPUC. Edward Smeloff had the guts to work on difficult assignments. Most of them linked to difficult energy issues. I did not agree with him some times but he allowed me to express myself and we always had a nice dialog. I wonder if Susan Leal knows the difference between AC/DC and who does she have in mind to replace a talented and well-informed individual on energy issues? Susan Leal has made a great mistake by firing Edward Smeloff. Susan Leal has made an even greater mistake by taking the post as General Manager of the SFPUC. She was anointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom so that she could help in the disbursement of the $100 million Solar bond measure. Also, in the manipulation of the $400 billion Capitol Improvement Project. Within two years she will repent for what she is doing without any engineering expertise. At this critical juncture Susan Leal is consolidating her position by surrounding herself around those who appreciate her life-style. This is not the way to lead. She is fearful that those in her inner circle will reveal her lack of experience. Well, the world knows it. I will talk about Mr. Edward Smeloff at the next SFPUC meeting. Also about the Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment Plant. |
