LOS ANGELES — Operators of an Orange County, Calif. tollway continue to face obstacles toward efforts to move forward on long-range plans that would include a $200 million extension.
Last week, local water quality regulators denied a discharge permit for the extension, effectively putting a halt to efforts by the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency to move ahead on it, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board declined to issue a permit on a 3-2 vote.
The tollway agency sought the permit for the planned Tesoro Extension that would lengthen the Foothill tollway 5.5 miles from Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita to Cow Camp Road east of San Juan Capistrano, according to the news report.
Board members who voted to deny the permit said the Tesoro Extension was not the project that should have been brought to them for a permit.
They contended that the proposal was actually part of a broader plan to lengthen the Foothill toll road 16 miles to the 5 Freeway around San Clemente.
TCA officials said the Tesoro Extension was a stand-alone project and that its water quality management plan submitted to the board was designed specifically for it.
Lisa Telles, a tollway agency spokeswoman, told the Times that the agency will consider its options, including whether to appeal the water board’s decision.
The Foothill/Eastern agency is preparing a $2.5 billion bond refunding this summer.
