www.montereycountynow.com JULY 17-23, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 Greenfield City Council is on the path to passing a moratorium halting construction within city limits. The culprit: capacity at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. On July 8, City Council members discussed the predicament. Doing nothing or passing a moratorium might negatively affect the city’s continued growth. “Greenfield’s economy relies on growth in agriculture, light industry, and residential development,” according to a report by Greenfield Public Works Director Jamie Tugel to the city council. “A moratorium could discourage developers from pursuing projects, pushing investment to neighboring cities like Salinas or King City.” Approving a moratorium would buy time and reduce strain on the plant’s aging infrastructure, preventing potential spills, fines and costly repairs. It also provides additional time for a new, $110 million wastewater treatment plant with a discharge capacity of up to 2 million gallons per day, nearly double the current capacity of 1.2 million gallons. Council approved the new plant concept in 2022, expecting it would be a five-year process to design and build. But as Tugel said on July 8, the current plant’s capacity does not support the current needs, not to mention future growth. On June 27, Central Coast Regional Water Board Executive Officer Ryan Lodge wrote to City Manager Paul Wood recommending a pause on any new connections until the new plant is completed. “The existing wastewater treatment plant often cannot handle current flows, is frequently at or over capacity, and is currently discharging poor water quality,” he wrote. “Additional flows from new connections would exacerbate the current challenges at the wastewater treatment plant…Greenfield has demonstrated significant noncompliance with their wastewater permit requirements for many years.” Last year, the plant’s discharge reached close to its limit, hitting 1.176 million gallons. “If new connections add flow to the wastewater treatment plant, Greenfield will be at risk of violating their permitted capacity,” Lodge wrote. On July 8, the council directed city staff to draft a moratorium ordinance that includes a plan to reevaluate it every six months. They are set to vote on Tuesday, July 22 on an ordinance implementing the moratorium; if approved, it will return to council on Aug. 12 for adoption. The regional water board has issued three notices of violation to the city since 2024. The latest occurred in January, after an overflow resulted in a spill onto a neighboring sod farm. In April, the water board required Greenfield to build a new plant by 2030. That project remains ongoing. The city has construction plans for the new plant about 90-percent completed, and has applied for about $111 million in grants and loans. Officials are now conducting a wastewater rate study, recommended by the State Department of Financial Assistance to increase the chance of qualifying for funding. Slow Flow Greenfield City Council considers a moratorium on new building due to wastewater treatment capacity. By Celia Jiménez Greenfield’s current wastewater treatment plant has been around since 1978. A new plant will be built in the same location, at the end of Walnut Avenue. NEWS “Greenfield has demonstrated significant noncompliance.” CELIA JIMÉNEZ
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