City Gets 1 Permit to Clear Waterway but Needs More

The California Coastal Commission granted the city of Ventura an emergency permit Friday to remove debris that washed into the Ventura Keys waterway during heavy rains last week.

But the city cannot begin clearing the clogged waterway until it obtains permits from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Fish and Game and the Air Pollution Control District, Ventura officials said. It could take at least a month before all the necessary permits are obtained.

“Unless we get those approvals, we cannot proceed,” said Lauraine Brekke, assistant city manager.

City officials asked the Coastal Commission last week for an emergency permit to dredge the area after the powerful rainstorm--the heaviest in five years--washed lemon rinds, leaves, railroad planks and thousands of plastic bags down the Arundell Barranca drainage channel and into the marine community’s waterway.

If the debris is allowed to stay in the waterway, it could pose a safety hazard to boats trying to pass though the channel, city officials told the commission.

“Because of the amount of silt and sand that came down during the rainstorm, it could affect our ability to get a fireboat in and out,” Brekke said.

A resident of the Ventura Keys said Friday that he welcomes the city’s efforts but believes more needs to be done to address the source of the problem--the Arundell Barranca.

“This puts a Band-Aid on the problem,” said Dick Massa, chairman of the Save the Keys Committee. “But the barranca needs to be cleaned up and rerouted. It does not need to go into the Keys; it should go into the Pierpont basin.”

The issue of the barranca’s route has been a topic of heated debate among city officials and Ventura Keys residents for years.

Homeowners, who say the city has allowed contaminants from sewer and storm-drain runoff to pollute the Keys waterway, have sued the city in Ventura County Superior Court. They are seeking damages for diminished property values.

Even before the storm, the homeowners sought to force the city to pay for the dredging, which would cost $1 million to $3 million.

Although the city is proceeding with efforts to obtain the permits to clear the waterway, Brekke said it still has not been decided how the cleanup will be financed.

Some city officials have suggested forming an assessment district that would tax the 300 homeowners in the Ventura Keys. But Massa said Friday that the residents would be strongly opposed to spending money on cleaning the waterway.

“We feel it’s the city’s responsibility to pay for this,” Massa said.