EPA Approves Dumping Site Off Point Loma

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that a site 5 1/2 miles off Point Loma is suitable for disposing of material dredged out of the San Diego Bay and other areas.

The dumping is expected to have no harmful effect on the environment, the agency announced.

Environmentalist groups say they will be watching closely to see what is dumped.

Virginia Donohue, EPA spokeswoman in San Francisco, said silt and clay coming mostly from San Diego Bay will be dumped at the site.

Before dumping, the materials will have to pass a series of inspections, including toxicity and biological tests, to determine if they will harm the marine life in any way.

“We only allow disposal in the ocean if it is not going to have a negative impact on the marine environment, animals and humans,” Donohue said. “We will also be doing long-term monitoring to make sure there are no negative impacts.”

Materials containing toxic substances such as PCBs and DDT cannot be disposed of in that area, Donohue said.

The Army Corps of Engineers will issue permits that include guidelines so the dumping does not disturb the environment, she said.

The dumping area, known as LA-5, is off Point Loma on the continental shelf, and will have about 370,000 cubic yards of dredged silt and clay dumped there every year. LA-5 was an intermittent disposal site from 1977 to 1988, Donohue said.

The agency’s decision came after public comment that included the Department of Fish and Game and the Army Corps of Engineers, Donohue said.

She also said no comments were received from any environmental activist groups.

Laura Hunter, Clean Bay Campaign Coordinator for the Environmental Health Coalition, said the decision was “very unfortunate.”

“We don’t support that the ocean is the most convenient place to dump things,” Hunter said. She said much of the San Diego Bay has contamination problems, and added that the area off Point Loma will become contaminated if materials from the harbor are dumped there.

“Some of the sediments are going to have some contamination,” Hunter said.

Hunter said her organization will be watching “the level of contaminants and what contaminants will be allowed.”