Farmers Seek Solution to River Erosion

Six weeks after heavy rains washed away acres of land and hundreds of citrus trees, some Santa Paula farmers say the federal government has refused to take steps to prevent further erosion and has made it nearly impossible for private firms to do the work.

Farmers wanted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the silt that forced the Santa Clara River over its banks and off its course in January. Short of that, they want the government to allow a mining company to mine the gravel and sand clogging the river.

“It’s a horrible situation because we own the river but the government agencies control it,” said Bobbi Kaslow, who in the past two months has had nearly 500 orange trees and five acres of land swept away by the river. “They claim they can’t do anything about it, and they don’t let us take care of the problem.”

The farmers who grow lemons and oranges along the river lost an estimated 100 acres of land and more than 1,000 citrus trees in January’s torrential rains. During the downpour, the river diverted from its normal course because two islands of silt in the center of the river prevented excess flows from staying within the river’s banks.

Spilling over the banks, the water flowed off course, turning as much as 90 degrees in some areas and washing away as much as 150 feet of soil on each side, farmers said.

Although erosion in the river has stopped, farmers said if it rains again like it did last month, they will lose more land and crops.

Farmers wanted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore the river’s course and shore up its banks. U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) officially requested assistance from the federal agency.

However, help was denied because the agency only takes action to “protect urban area and/or Public Facilities against loss of life,” according to a corps letter sent to Gallegly on Feb. 15.

The other solution for the damaged area, which begins at the 12th Street Bridge in Santa Paula and extends west toward the ocean, is to allow a mining company to reclaim the rocks and silt in the river.

But federal agencies, as well as state and local officials, have made it extremely difficult for companies to mine the river--requiring permits from 12 agencies.

“Everyone points the finger at each other and no one will take responsibility,” said Randall R. Axell, who lost 160 lemon trees and two acres of land to erosion. “Because of government restrictions, we have been denied the right to help ourselves.”

Because of the difficulties in obtaining permits, mining firms such as Southern Pacific Milling in Oxnard said they have given up mining the river.

“We spent nearly two years trying to obtain permission, but it became too difficult, so we decided that it was not economically feasible to proceed,” said Steven Zacks, a spokesman for Southern Pacific Milling.

Likewise, Granite Construction of Santa Barbara spent five years and $500,000 trying to obtain a permit to mine in the Santa Clara River, but they also failed.

“We ran into so many hurdles that we thought it would make no sense to pursue the project,” said Danny Deveraux, a manager for Granite Construction.

Deveraux said the main obstacle they encountered came from environmentalists who were concerned about a bird called the least Bell’s vireo, considered an endangered species in the area.

Environmentalists argue that the islands, which have emerged in the last five years, have become a natural habitat for some endangered species. Nothing should be done in the river that could disturb the habitat, they say.

To complicate matters, the continuing erosion could cause two of seven oil wells along the river to break, polluting the river and possibly the ocean, said a spokesman for Crimson Resources Management, which operates the wells.

Like the farmers, officials with the oil company said they never expected the river erosion to progress to far and the problem is so large now, they can’t afford the cost of repairs.

Axell said their next step is to contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein for help in finding federal money to restore the river channel. The effort to halt further erosion is estimated to cost $1 million.

“We are running out of ideas, but we are still hoping,” Axell said.