Portion of local creek can’t be cleared yet

Alicia Robinson

Orange County learned Wednesday that it will have to wait for

approval from the California Coastal Commission to clear a portion of

San Diego Creek rather than performing emergency work.

“The notice that we got is that the Coastal Commission will not

issue an emergency permit for the coastal zone,” said Kenneth R.

Smith, Orange County director of public works.

The county sought the emergency permit to clear vegetation and

sediment, which officials said creates a risk of flooding in the

creek. A flood in San Diego Creek could overflow into the nearby

Michelson Water Reclamation Plant and send raw sewage into Upper

Newport Bay, officials said.

The $3.3-million, three-month project includes clearing vegetation

and sediment from 2.5 miles of the creek between Michelson Drive and

MacArthur Boulevard, leaving a 40-foot buffer along the east bank.

County supervisors had already declared an emergency for the part

of the project under their auspices, and clearing of plants and trees

began Dec. 17. The Coastal Commission must approve any work in the

coastal zone, which falls between Campus Drive and Upper Newport Bay.

The Coastal Commission’s refusal of the emergency permit was an

administrative decision of the agency’s executive director, Smith

said.

“They have not made a finding that they disagree with the work,”

he said. “They only determined that we disagree on the emergency.”

The commission requested that the county seek a permit through

nonemergency channels, Smith said. The earliest the commission would

hear such a request is March.

Work continues in other areas of the creek, but environmentalists

continue to express concern over the project as a whole because the

creek provides riparian habitat for animals, some of which are

endangered.

“They’ve been cutting everything down,” environmentalist Jan

Vandersloot said. “They’re cutting out too much.”

Another environmentalist, Jack Skinner, echoed those sentiments.

“What I’m seeing done out there has been much more aggressive than

I had anticipated would occur,” he said.

Vandersloot earlier objected that the county should have been

maintaining the creek from the beginning and that declaring an

emergency is a way to circumvent the public review process.

He said that he’s pleased with the Coastal Commission’s rejection

of the emergency permit and that he hopes it will lead to more public

dialogue.

“I think there has to be a better balance between flood control

and habitat,” he said.

“I’m glad to see the regulatory agencies step up to the plate.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].