Lawsuits
Seek Results in Reducing Urban Runoff |
By Lookout Staff
March 4 -- Two lawsuits filed Monday in federal court
argue that local governments should for the first time be held accountable
to provide measurable results in reducing urban runoff.
Filed by Santa Monica Baykeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC),
the lawsuits seek to force the County and the City of Malibu to stop bacteria
and toxins from flowing into coastal waters.
In the past, local governments have been required by courts to take steps to
reduce urban runoff, which sickens beachgoers and damages marine life, but the
two lawsuits are the first attempt to force governments to provide actual results.
“Year after year, the county’s own data show that pollutants ranging
from cyanide to fecal bacteria are flowing into local waters at levels the law
forbids,” said David Beckman, director of the Coastal Water Quality Project
at NRDC. “It’s time to stop going through the motions of fighting
water pollution, and actually clean up the water.”
As part of its permit duties under the Clean Water Act, the County is required
to test the quality of runoff flowing into local waters, such as Santa Monica
Bay.
But the county’s own data shows it is ignoring permit standards that
impose specific limits on the amount of pollution it can discharge into Malibu
Creek, Santa Clara, Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, according to the lawsuit.
The county also has failed to report high levels of pollution and has not taken
steps to correct the problem, the groups charge.
“Santa Monica Bay is one of the most extraordinary coastal estuaries
on the west coast of North America,” said Tom Ford, executive director
of Santa Monica Baykeeper. “It is high time the county, the agency most
responsible for its protection, acted like it was a resource worth protecting.
“We need results, not more paper shuffling,” Ford said.
Water quality sampling in the Mugu to Latigo coastal preserve, which stretches
from Mugu Lagoon in Ventura County to Latigo Point in the City of
Malibu, found that bacteria levels in discharges from county pipes
exceeded mandated levels.
|
