OJAI : County Backs Suit Against Radar Tower

Ventura County will express support in federal court for a lawsuit aimed at shutting down a radiation-emitting weather tower in Ojai, officials said Tuesday.

The Board of Supervisors authorized attorneys to file an amicus curiae brief with the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after discussing the issue in closed session Tuesday, said County Counsel James L. McBride.

The board will argue in the brief that the federal government should have followed regular planning procedures and conducted public hearings before installing the 98-foot-tall radar tower atop Sulphur Mountain, McBride said.

“Had the government gone through the regular process of acquiring a conditional use permit, there would have been an opportunity for the public to have some input,” McBride said. “But that didn’t happen.”

In April, U. S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. threw out a lawsuit filed by Ojai residents seeking to shut down the National Weather Service tower until more health studies are completed.

Hatter said there was no evidence to support residents’ claims that the government intentionally misled local officials about the weather-tracking radar.

But members of the Environmental Coalition of Ojai contend in their lawsuit against the government that the tower poses a health risk because it emits harmful levels of radiation. Federal officials say this is not the case.

Following Hatter’s decision, the coalition decided to take its case to the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.