In the 40 years that I've been following the actions of Morro Bay City Hall, it has been at times disheartening, frustrating, anguishing, enraging, and enough (nearly) to drive one crazy, but it has all been an unforgettable experience because of the people I've come to know who fight for justice, fairness, equal treatment, rational governing, and that elusive concept called democracy.

The city's sewer plant is being moved to within a half a mile of the Morro Bay National Estuary! The plant with its highly pressurized system is being built on a creek, allowing spills to have direct access to the estuary via Chorro Creek. In addition, the back of the bay, the closest part of the water body to the sewer plant, is also a designated Marine Protected Area. Picture that disaster waiting to happen.

The unpressurized California Men's Colony wastewater plant has leaked many times.

To protect this sensitive and valuable estuary, a referendum petition was circulated to repeal the pre-zoning for the new sewer plant site. Residents collected 1,100-plus signatures in 11 days; that's an average of 100 signatures a day. Imagine the number we would have reached if we had collected the full 30 days! The public is crying out.

For the Morro Bay city manager to state without hesitation or qualification that the city will persist in moving forward—ignoring the will of the voters—is the attitude that defines what has been wrong with the entire five-year process and the current City Council majority.

Nancy Bast

Morro Bay