Meeting Overview
The November hearing was held in beautiful Half Moon Bay. In addition to hearing a large development project put forth by the Navy, the Commission held a several-hour hearing regarding a permit for subsurface “test wells” at a proposed desalination plant in Monterey Peninsula. The Commission voted to approve the test wells. Many local community members spoke in favor of the test wells because Monterey Peninsula has exhausted all conservation efforts to broaden its water portfolio and seawater desalination is the last resort. Several environmental, business, and agriculture organizations supported the “test wells” because subsurface intake is the most environmentally superior technology compared to “open ocean intakes” which significantly harm marine life.
Issues voted on at this meeting:
The US Navy proposed a major development consisting of 24 separate projects and 1.5 million square feet of new facilities to be constructed over a ten-year period at its Silver Strand Base in San Diego County...