Work to remove Devil’s Gate Dam sediment may coincide with opposing challenge in court

As county Public Works officials move forward with plans to remove 2.4 million cubic yards of sediment from Devil’s Gate Dam early next year, a lawsuit filed by environmentalists against the project’s scope has been granted a January court hearing.

Representatives from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works appeared before the La Cañada Flintridge City Council in a June 21 meeting to let city officials know brush clearing around Hahamongna Watershed Park could start as early as January.

To inform the public of the anticipated time lines for the $70-million project and share what progress has been made so far, county officials will hold three informational meetings, including one in La Cañada scheduled for Saturday, July 16 at 2 p.m. at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge.

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DPW representatives told City Council members construction of temporary access routes for sediment haulers could begin around the park sometime next spring, and that precautions to minimize truck exhaust and avoid conflicts with La Cañada High School traffic will be taken.

“It’s been a long time coming with a lot of obstacles and hoops to jump through, but now we’re ready,” Chris Stone, assistant deputy director of the county department’s Water Resources Division, said at the June 21 meeting.

Meanwhile, members of the Arroyo Seco Foundation and the Pasadena Audubon Society, two groups who filed a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit in December 2014 challenging the scope and environmental impact of what they call “the Big Dig,” recently learned their case is scheduled to go before a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Jan. 31.

Tim Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, said the aim of the lawsuit is not to stop the sediment removal completely but to find a longer term, sustainable sediment management program that would mitigate risks to area wildlife.

Both the federally endangered bird species Least Bell’s Vireo and the burrowing owl, a California Bird Species of Special Concern, have been spotted in the Hahamongna basin in recent years. Advocates claim the county’s plans to denude 52 acres in a valuable stream zone habitat would irrevocably impact those and other plant and animal species.

“We are strongly opposed to that kind of permanent pit because it would be so detrimental to wildlife,” Brick said. “We would much prefer an ongoing program that removed sediment at a safe level and also protected habitat in the basin.”

Brick and Pasadena attorney Mitchell Tsai, who filed the lawsuit, claim the county faces far too many regulatory hurdles in securing federal and state permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. and California departments of Fish and Wildlife and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Keith Lilley, a civil engineer with the county, said in an email interview Wednesday DPW has coordinated with multiple regulatory agencies to finalize the necessary documents and officials are ready to present a more detailed view of the work to residents in next week’s meetings.

He claimed the environmental impact report submitted for the project is compliant with all CEQA requirements and said department representatives are working with county counsel to address claims made in the lawsuit.

“There is currently no legal prohibition that would prevent the project moving forward,” Lilley said.

DPW officials maintain a plan will be put in place to minimize impacts to the local habitat, including removing nonnative, invasive plant species from the basin and planting native species on the east and west sides of the reservoir.

“By establishing a permanent maintenance area for annual sediment removal using only 52 acres of the reservoir’s total 258 acres, there is abundant area remaining to create, enhance and protect native habitat,” Lilley said.

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Members of the public are invited to attend three local informational meetings being held by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to update residents on the Devil’s Gate Sediment Removal Project:

• Wednesday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Jackson Elementary School, 593 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena.

• Thursday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the Visitors’ Locker Room of Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena.

• Saturday, July 16 at 2 p.m. at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada Flintridge.

For more information, click here.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine