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Mayor Mulls $1 Billion City Sewage Treatment Upgrade

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is getting some help in deciding whether to ask for another waiver of federal clean water rules for the city's sewage treatment plant. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has details.

Mayor Mulls $1 Billion City Sewage Treatment Upgrade

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is getting some help in deciding whether to ask for another waiver of federal clean water rules for the city's sewage treatment plant. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has details.

Mayor Sanders is using a panel of local scientists to help him decide whether to apply for another wavier or upgrade the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant . The upgrade would end San Diego's status as the only city or agency left in California that does not comply with federal secondary sewage treatment requirements.

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San Diego Coastkeeper Director Bruce Reznick says previous panels haven't determined how the city's sewage affects the ocean.

Reznick : If you don't know you should employ the precautionary principle to say that you should air on the side of environmental protection, and air on the side of what the legal requirements are.

The panel is scheduled to wrap up its study by October. The city faces a December deadline to apply for a new waiver or upgrade the plant's treatment processes. The upgrades are estimated at more than $1 billion.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.