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Assemblyman Rick Keene (R-Chico) isn’t your typical politician. Rather than sit in Sacramento and watch the clock tick down as his time in office expires next year due to term limits, Keene is actually touring his vast district. Over a cup of coffee at Depoe Bay on a recent Thursday morning, Keene spoke about the regional waste water treatment plant, Highway 49 traffic safety improvements and hinted at his plans for the future. Representing the 3rd District in the state Legislature, Keene’s broad territory not only includes parts of Placer County such as Colfax, Meadow Vista and North Auburn, but extends all the way to the Nevada border. Water issues are something Keene speaks about with passion, especially regarding what he sees as the state’s role in helping small sewage treatment plants meet the new guidelines.
“We used to measure (pollutants and toxins) as parts per million,
but now we’ve increased it to parts per billion. If there is a public
safety issue, and a chance for harm, then by all means, do it. ... We
just need to make sure we aren’t raising the standards for the sake of
raising the standards,” he said. Small local communities, such as
Auburn and Colfax, are faced with many challenges when their leaders
consider hooking up to the “regional” waste water treatment plant. Colfax
recently opened a new sewage plant of their own and Auburn’s City
Council voted to spend money on improving their own facility while
keeping open the option of hooking into the regional facility at a
later time. “If the state is going to raise the standards, then
we need to play a part in helping solve the problem,” he said. “We
can’t just say, ‘Well, it’s your problem now.’” Keene said the
state has been working with small rural sewer plants, mainly those with
fewer than 100 homes tied into the facility, to secure grant funding to
aid in the upgrades needed to bring them in line with the state’s
guidelines. As far as Highway 49 is concerned, Keene is pleased
with the progress CalTrans has made in improving the roadway’s safety,
but believes there is much more to be done. He said the addition
of rumble strips and increased enforcement of traffic laws has
drastically reduced the number of accidents on that stretch of road,
but it is only the beginning. “This all started with the state
stealing highway dollars for several years in a row,” he said. “Now
we’ve closed that loophole, so the funding will be there for these
projects.” Keene said Highway 49 safety improvements will cost about $400 million and will take around six years to complete. “Money is coming, but it takes a while to get there,” he said. When asked about his plans for the future, after he’s termed out of office, he said he wasn’t sure. “You
never know,” he said. “I’m thinking about possibly running for the
state senate seat in 2010 (currently held by Sam Aanestad who is facing
his own term limit that year), but that’s a long time from now and a
lot can happen.” by Don Chaddock, Sentinel editor Subscribe to the Sentinel and receive this weekly newspaper (the only general circulation newspaper in the area that is locally owned and operated) delivered right to your mailbox. Call the Sentinel at 530-823-2463 for more information.
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