EPA Orders Changes in Pamo Dam Project Plans

In an unprecedented move, the regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it will reject a bid to build the controversial Pamo Dam near Ramona unless significant changes are made or proof is offered that the dam will not hurt the environment.

The move was cheered by environmentalists but brought an immediate protest from the San Diego County Water Authority, U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), and three congressmen, who said that without Pamo Dam the county could have its water supply cut off by an earthquake.

Judith E. Ayres, EPA’s regional administrator in San Francisco, said that the Army Corps of Engineers has failed to satisfy EPA concerns about loss of wetlands, the threat to endangered species, and the possible use of less-damaging alternatives, such as expanding San Vicente Reservoir.

“I am as aware of the public interest to be served by this project as I am the potential for environmental degradation,” Ayres said.

Told to Make Changes

EPA had warned in April and again in August that Pamo Dam might be rejected unless changes were made.

What is different this time is that, by invoking Section 404(c) of the federal Clean Water Act of 1972, EPA has begun a formal procedure to reject the project, which has been debated nearly nonstop for four years.

After receiving Ayres’ letter, the Corps of Engineers has 15 days under 404(c) to respond by scaling down or modifying the project or submitting additional evidence that the dam is not harmful.

After the 15 days, EPA will publish its proposed action on the dam in the Federal Register and allow a 60-day period for the public to submit comments before making a final decision. The dam cannot be built without EPA approval.

Unusual Confrontation

The confrontation between EPA and the Corps of Engineers over Pamo Dam marks the first time that a Section 404(c) review procedure has been invoked in EPA’s western region, which is composed of California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and the Pacific islands.

In all other cases, the two agencies have been able to settle their differences over environmental issues. Nationwide, only 13 projects out of hundreds have provoked the 404(c) procedures.

A spokeswoman for Col. Tadahito Ono, the Corps of Engineers’ district engineer in Los Angeles, said he has not yet decided how to respond to Ayres’ letter informing him of the 404(c) procedure.

The Corps of Engineers has steadfastly supported Pamo Dam, which would be built by the County Water Authority with $86 million worth of bonds approved by San Diego voters in 1984.

The Sierra Club and other environmentalists bitterly oppose Pamo Dam because it would flood a verdant North County valley and dislocate numerous species of wildlife, including the San Diego horn lizard, the black-tailed gnatcatcher, the tri-colored blackbird and the orange-throated whiptail lizard.

Growth Threat

Broadening the political appeal of its opposition, the Sierra Club also alleges that the dam will fuel increased growth in San Diego and North County--rather than just provide emergency reserves, as boosters assert.

“I’m tremendously happy to know that the EPA is upholding the federal laws that are meant to protect our wetland resources, and that they were not taken in by the water authority,” said Emily Durbin, chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s Pamo Dam task force.

“Pamo Valley is a treasure of immense value, both now and for future generations,” she said. “It is clear that EPA must have felt very strongly about this case” to invoke the 404(c) procedure.

Ayres, in a written statement, said that “information available to EPA indicates that modification of existing water storage and distribution facilities would achieve all of the purposes and needs of the Pamo project with less environmental harm and at a similar or reduced cost.”

Terry Wilson, spokesman for EPA’s regional office in San Francisco, said that EPA believes the environmental mitigation plan put together by the County Water Authority, and approved by the Corps of Engineers, is inadequate.

“In other cases of disagreement between the Corps of Engineers and the EPA, where the potential loss of wetlands is an issue, we’ve been able to reach an agreement on mitigation,” Wilson said.

Plan Called Inadequate

But he said the County Water Authority’s plan to atone for destroying wetlands in the Pamo Valley by creating a wetland--a natural habitat for birds and small animals--in the San Pasqual Valley is inadequate. The authority has budgeted $4 million for the wetlands mitigation but the Corps of Engineers estimated the cost at $19 million, he said.

“As it stands, we just don’t think the permit should be issued,” he said.

Sen. Wilson and Francesca M. Krauel, board chairwoman of the County Water Authority, stressed the danger posed by earthquakes to the county’s water supply. Krauel said San Diego has been lucky that recent quakes have not disrupted its water.

“We may not be as lucky next time,” she said. “Depending on the severity of the damage to aqueducts and the repair time required, San Diego, particularly North County, could be without water in a matter of days.”

Wilson, the former mayor of San Diego, urged EPA headquarters in Washington to overrule the regional office and issue the permit to build Pamo Dam immediately. He was joined by Reps. Bill Lowery, Ron Packard and Duncan Hunter; the four are all Republicans.

Wilson said that the San Vicente alternative is too costly and other alternatives--such as reclamation and increased groundwater storage--are inadequate to meet the volume of water needed.

The Pamo Dam project would consist of a 264-foot-high concrete dam across Santa Ysabel Creek and would flood 1,800 acres in Pamo Valley, northeast of Ramona.

The reservoir would contain about 130,000 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot of water is roughly 325,900 gallons and can supply a family of five for a year.