Green

Back in 2003, Los Angeles County officials approved a development plan known as the Newhall Ranch project, which would lead to the creation of a city of 60,000 residents in the northwest part of the county. At the time the project was delayed due to bankruptcy issues with the developer and a lawsuit by creditors against a firm of investors that eventually reorganized. But the Newhall Ranch development is currently facing another obstacle: litigation from environmental and Native American groups. Why the opposition? The groups are against the construction of 21,000 homes on the undeveloped land due to violations of environmental codes and the destruction of Native American burial sites. The California Department of Fish and Game is being sued for issuing the necessary permits in a case that was filed this week in the San Francisco County Superior Court. The permits were originally granted on December 3rd. The LA Times reports:

“Fish and Game spokesman Andrew Hughan said he could not comment because the department had not yet seen the lawsuit, but department officials had said earlier that the plan will preserve 70% of the nearly 14,000-acre area as natural open space. That space is aimed at protecting 76% of the rare San Fernando Valley spineflower and 93% of the Santa Clara River, the longest and wildest river in Southern California. Developers must also establish a $6-million endowment for preservation efforts. ‘Hundreds of people, including biologists, botanists, hydrologists and other scientists, worked together to shape this biologically innovative project,’ said Ed Pert, South Coast regional manager. The coalition, however, says the plan did not go far enough. Fish and Game is permitting the filling of much of the Santa Clara River and its floodplain, the concrete lining of 20 miles of tributary streams, desecration of Native American burial sites and sacred places, and the destruction of a quarter of the spineflower habitat, the lawsuit says.”

The Friends of the Santa Clara River, the California Native Plant Society and the Wishtoyo Foundation/Ventura Coastkeeper are other plaintiffs in the case. John Buse, a senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, stated that “It is appalling that the Department of Fish and Game, the trustee for all of California's wildlife, approved ecological destruction on this scale. Far less damaging options were available, but the department brushed them aside.” For more on the litigation, you can see a press release from the Center of Biological Diversity here.

Southern California has experienced uncharacteristically heavy rainfall this winter, and as a result, beaches in Orange and San Diego Counties have been closed due to problems with the region's sewage systems that have been taxed by a great amount of dirty storm runoff. Sewer mains have been ruptured and pump stations disabled, resulting in thousands of gallons of waste landing into the ocean. The Times notes that Garry Brown, executive director of the nonprofit Orange County Coastkeeper, stated that “With this volume of water, a lot of things that have been sitting for a long time all got washed down. There are viruses, toxic metals, trash and debris polluting the coast, and it's the things you can't see that are more detrimental to human health." An example of the amount of pollution landing in the ocean is Laguna Beach in Orange County, as more than 60,000 gallons were washed toward the area’s beaches due to the rain. The Times reports:

“Some of the waste came from broken pipes on private property or sewer lines overflowing with storm water. But the highest volume spilled from the sewer infrastructure. A pump station ruptured near Laguna's popular Main Beach and sent 47,000 gallons of sewage seaward while a second station on the outskirts of the city broke and spilled 6,000 gallons of sewage into Aliso Creek. In both cases, the rain caused the volume of material flowing through sewage pipes to double, overwhelming the system. […]Water quality advocates, however, say wastewater agencies should have been prepared to accommodate the stress of a major downpour.”

Also, more than 1.1 million gallons of partially treated sewage landed into San Mateo Creek near Camp Pendleton. For more on beach closures in the two counties, see here.

The decision by Placer County’s Board of Supervisors to preserve 1,773 acres of priceless wild land was met with cheers at the board’s recent meeting. Those in favor of preserving the land, including the Placer Land Trust and other land preservation organizations, were pleased that the supervisors backed the open space with $5 million in funding, of which $4 million will come from open space funding and the remaining $1 million from a tree mitigation trust fund. Full of oak trees, the Bruin Ranch will now fall under open-space protection goals, in line with state and federal requirements. The Auburn Journal reports:

“For cost-conscious supervisors, the 5-0 decision was a matter of passing a litmus test that fell on where the money was coming from and what is considered the recreational potential that could be developed from the expenditure. Supervisor Kirk Uhler said that during good economic times, the board set aside funding for open space. But with the recent drop in revenue, funding had not taken place over the past two years. Considering the funding source and the possibility of public access, he supported the expenditure. ‘We’re not talking about money from the general fund,’ Uhler said. ‘We’re providing money set aside by past boards for this opportunity.’”

The property was recently appraised at $9.5 million and in the future could be connected to Hidden Falls Regional Park with trails. Supervisor Robert Weygandt noted that “This is consistent with the long-term vision of our county. One hundred years from now, when people look back, I think they’re going to be pleased.” For more, see here.

Recently Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors and the staff of the Transportation and Public Works Department received the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) 2010 Challenge Award for an innovative bridge project. Known as the Korbel Summer Crossing Project, the bridge’s design was spearheaded by long-time Public Works employee Glen Wallace, who recently passed away. His design solution ended up saving the county millions, and his family, along with staff from Transportation and Public Works, accepted the award from CSAC Legislative Director Jim Wiltshire. The environmentally-friendly design also cut down on permit costs and Phil Demery, Head of Transportation and Public Works and the President of the National Association of County Engineers, noted that the design “provided an easily re-producible idea that other counties may use.” Chairwoman Valerie Brown stated the following about the award:

“CSAC’s acknowledgment reinforces something we already know about our County - this is a community of innovators.  The Korbel Summer Crossing Project reflects an incredible cost saving solution that ensures better service to the residents of Sonoma County at less cost.  We are grateful that we have such entrepreneurial departments that made this happen.”

Instead of building a permanent structure, the Korbel Summer Crossing structure cost only $300,000 to build and can removed each season at low cost with no impact to water quality. Designing a removable structure saved the county at least $3.7 million dollars and was constructed in a far shorter time period.

Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to a recent ruling, can legally enforce water-quality standards that often impose costly requirements on local governments and contractors. The storm-water pollution regulations by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board are in place to keep the area’s beaches free from pollution. Back in 2008, a building industry association and 21 Los Angeles County cities looked to overturn such regulations, and won in court. However, Natural Resources Defense Council, Santa Monica Baykeeper and Heal the Bay fought to reverse the ruling, and the Fourth District Court of Appeal came out on the side of the environmental groups, which believe the standards will keep Southern California beaches free from pollution-causing storm water. David Beckman, water quality program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, stated, “This decision will protect millions of people who use local beaches and water resources throughout Southern California and assures that science remains the focus when these standards are developed.” The LA Times reports:

“The consortium of cities, including Arcadia, Carson, Claremont, Downey, Glendora and Whittier, joined the Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation in 2005 to file suit against the State Water Board and the L.A. regional board, saying the treatment control structures to meet its storm-water quality regulations for metals, bacteria, trash and other contaminants were prohibitively expensive to install. In the 29-page opinion issued Tuesday, the appeals court found the state was required to adopt measures to control water pollution under the federal Clean Water Act. Richard Montevideo, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed by the ruling, which he said was "cursory and did not do justice to the case."

The cities in the counties affected by the regulations continue to insist that the requirements are far too costly and that some are not feasible. It is possible that the case could head to the California Supreme Court. For more, see here.