Community Meeting: Monte Rio/Villa Grande Wastewater Solutions Pilot Project

On June 29, 2024, a community meeting was held at the Monte Rio Community Center to continue the discussion about the Monte Rio/Villa Grande Wastewater Solutions Pilot Project. This meeting built upon the Nov. 29, 2023 meeting and provided a further update about the feasibility study, including an alternatives analysis. This meeting was a collective effort by the Climate Action & Resiliency Division of the County of Sonoma's Administrator's Office, Supervisorial District 5, Permit Sonoma, Sonoma Water, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) and the Lower Russian River Wastewater Citizen's Advisory Group (LRR CAG). The meeting was facilitated by MIG, Inc., included interactive live polling, and a substantial question and answer session in front of a resource panel.

You can access the meeting handouts and related materials using the following links:

• Video recording
• Slide Deck (coming soon) (English/Español)
• Meeting summary and details (coming soon) (English/Español)
• Meeting agenda (English/Español)
• Monte Rio/Villa Grande Wastewater Solutions Pilot Project Flyer (English/Español)
• FAQs (septic regulations and the Pilot Project) (English/Español)
• Fact sheet about the LRR CAG (English/Español)
• Glossary (English/Español)
• Participation opportunities* (English/Español)

The meeting began with an introduction by Supervisor Hopkins, who expressed continued support for the project and the community. Ombudsman Michael Makdisi then provided some background and context before presentations about septic system regulations and policies currently under development. Next, Charles Reed, Supervising Water Resource Control Engineer for the Regional Water Quality Control Board, spoke about the Russian River Pathogen Total Maximum Daily Load Action Plan, followed by Nathan Quarles, Deputy Director of Construction and Engineering for Permit Sonoma, who spoke about the County's Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS) Manual.

Brelje & Race Consulting Engineers then presented its update on the feasibility study for the Monte Rio/Villa Grande area and shared their work to date. This included a presentation about the alternative wastewater solutions they are considering as part of the study. Their presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session in front of a resource panel. The resource panel included Permit Sonoma, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Brelje & Race Consulting, and the Climate Action & Resiliency Division's Clean Water Ombudsman. The meeting ended with the Ombudsman sharing some informational resources.

If you would like to meet with the Ombudsman, you can either make an appointment or simply walk in during scheduled office hours. Ombudsman office hours through October are as follows:

* Please note: Two of the listed Board meetings in the Participation Opportunities handout have been rescheduled. The LAMP and OWTS Manual will now be presented on Aug. 13, and the OWTS Mapping Study will be presented on Oct. 22.