Planning commission formalizes coastal permit for repaired airport force main after 1,000,000‑gallon spill

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission on May 15 approved a coastal development permit to formalize repairs and cleanup after a broken 24‑inch sewer force main spilled about 1,000,000 gallons near the airport approach at the Goleta Slough.

Airport planner Jessica Metzger told commissioners the break occurred in a force main easement adjacent to the airport access road and that cleanup and repairs began the day after the failure. “It spilled 1,000,000 gallons of sewage,” Metzger said, and the Goleta West Sanitary District repaired the line and removed contaminated soil before the pipe was returned to service.

The permit makes the emergency repairs and subsequent remediation actions consistent with the cityʼs airport/Goleta Slough local coastal program and the Coastal Act, staff said. City staff also concluded the project is exempt from further CEQA review under the cityʼs “existing facilities” exemption and related Public Resources Code exemptions cited in the staff report.

Why it matters: the break occurred in or next to an environmentally sensitive wetland (Goleta Slough) and within the cityʼs coastal zone. Commissioners and staff stressed protecting coastal waters and minimizing future risk from aging force mains that run through sensitive wetland areas.

What staff described: Metzger said the force main easement dates to 1972 and carries two pressurized lines—a 24‑inch and an 18‑inch force main—and that the spill tracked downhill toward the slough. Cleanup and repair work began on Feb. 17 (the day after the failure); staff said the line was recommissioned after repair and testing on May 1, 2024. The city previously issued an emergency coastal development permit for the incident in early 2024 and the Coastal Commission granted a waiver for that emergency action.

Goleta West Sanitary District representatives described steps the district has taken since the failure, including an updated Force Main Monitoring, Inspection and Maintenance Procedure Manual, new metering and alarm equipment, and a condition assessment using inline inspection technology. Alicia Harrison, land use counsel for the district, said the engineering firm running the condition assessment identified an area of external wall‑thickness loss on the 24‑inch pipe and the district has declared an emergency to investigate and replace the vulnerable portion immediately. “The engineering company just informed the District that there is 1 area of concern on the 24 inches force main that is indicating external wall thickness loss,” Harrison said.

Commissioner questions focused on long‑term options for relocating sewer lines out of wetlands, the frequency and scope of condition assessments, and how the district tests and recommissions pressurized force mains. Staff and district representatives said the district deployed newer inline technologies (referred to in the record as “Pipe Diver” and “Smart Ball”), added metering to compare flows leaving the pump station with flows arriving at the treatment plant, and set a five‑year baseline frequency for the inline assessment technology while reserving the ability to run assessments sooner after floods, earthquakes or other triggering events.

Formal action: Commissioner Peterson moved that the commission adopt the recommended findings and approve the coastal development permit and related CEQA exemption; the motion passed on a unanimous roll call.

Next steps and conditions: District staff said the condition assessmentʼs full report is expected this summer; the district also said it would return to the city with a separate emergency coastal development permit if immediate replacement is required for the portion showing wall loss. The commission action is appealable to the Coastal Commission for 10 calendar days, per the local process.

Ending note: staff recorded the incident as prompting updates to monitoring and maintenance procedures intended to reduce the likelihood of future failures on aging force mains in the airport/Goleta Slough area.