Public Losing Its Say on Jail

While The Times reported the outpouring of public concern over the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed Santa Paula jail site, you failed to note that this hearing was just the most recent example of how the county continues to diminish public participation in environmental reviews of county-sponsored development and the final decision on the jail.

The county normally enforces a longstanding practice of requiring all development EIRs to undergo technical review by the Environmental Report Review Committee for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and implementing county and state EIR guidelines. The Board of Supervisors has never represented itself as experts on the technical issues of jail siting nor on the state act.

However, under the direction of county Public Works Director Art Goulet, the usual public review and comment process for environmental impact reports has been short-circuited in this instance and the Environmental Report Review Committee was bypassed entirely. Such actions are not unexpected since the department under Goulet’s management routinely gives the state act short shrift on county-sponsored projects that damage the environment.

By eliminating the committee review and submittal of the jail environmental impact report to the Planning Commission before the supervisors’ certification for compliance with the state act, Goulet cut out several public review and comment opportunities intended to improve the factual reporting of the EIR and allow for fair consideration of less harmful alternatives. Instead, the Board of Supervisors is shortening the report review process with the intent of exacting even more control over public participation in decisions.

Sadly, rather than willfully seeking the fullest public participation and a normal EIR review process, the Board of Supervisors and county management are acting out a dangerous plan.

NEIL A. MOYER, president

Environmental Coalition

Ventura