Lagoon Damage Suit Possible : County Declares Firm Hurt Wildlife Habitat

An oil pipeline company accused of destroying the habitat of several endangered bird species has violated its agreement with San Diego County, the Board of Supervisors ruled Tuesday.

The ruling puts the county in position to take legal action against San Diego Pipeline Co. for its work at San Elijo Lagoon in Solana Beach.

County officials say the company has damaged the lagoon by building an unapproved gravel road across its eastern bay and by failing to prevent the erosion of slopes surrounding the sensitive wetlands.

The county also maintains that the company damaged two archeological sites and failed to report the disruption to the county.

The company’s work was performed under a permit with the Coastal Commission and a so-called “working rights agreement” approved by the county in November. The company has been installing a segment of a 16-inch liquid fuel line between Los Angeles and Mission Valley.

Robert Copper, director of the county Department of Parks and Recreation, said San Diego Pipeline’s work at the lagoon went way beyond what was authorized by the county and the Coastal Commission.

“This is like telling your neighbor it’s OK to trim the trees on your side of the fence and then he burns your garage down instead,” Copper said in an interview.

Copper said the company damaged nesting habitat used by the California least tern, the light-footed clapper rail and the Belding’s Savannah sparrow--all endangered species.

One dead Savannah sparrow was found at the site.

But Joseph Whitelaw, manager of special projects for the company, said his firm has done nothing wrong. He called the county’s action Tuesday “really odd” because, he said, he has been working with the county and the state Coastal Commission to resolve the dispute.

“There’s been a lot of misinformation about what was existing there before we came through and what’s there now,” Whitelaw said.

Whitelaw said the gravel road existed as a dirt road before the company began work at the lagoon. He said the road was topped with gravel, but not widened, because trucks had damaged the original surface.

He said the company made extensive efforts to reseed a graded slope at the lagoon’s edge but those efforts failed. Another company official said a second proposal to reseed the area is pending with the Coastal Commission.

But Copper and Supervisor Susan Golding contend that the company has refused to cooperate with the county. It was at Golding’s urging Tuesday that the board declared San Diego Pipeline in violation of its agreement.

County Counsel Lloyd Harmon said he will return to the board soon with a list of possible actions against the company, including going to court to seek the funds needed to restore the lagoon.