Suit Filed to Stop Flood-Control Project

The Friends of the Ventura River have filed a lawsuit to stop a flood-control project planned by the Ojai Valley Sanitary District.

Lawyers for the group claim the district improperly exempted the project from environmental reviews required by state law. They are asking a judge to prevent construction of a rock wall until appropriate studies are completed.

If the district proceeds with building about 200 feet of rock wall along the bank of San Antonio Creek, “the community at large will suffer great and irreparable environmental harm,” the lawsuit claims.

But Eric J. Oltmann, general manager of the Ojai Valley Sanitary District, said the state Environmental Quality Act allows for such exemptions. Without the rock wall, an existing sewer trunk off Creek Road might get washed away, he said.

The law “says in effect that an exemption can be made to protect existing facilities,” Oltmann said. “As we see it, the reason we certified the exemption is because it’s for the protection of an existing facility.”

The Friends of the Ventura River claim the district could reduce the hazard facing the sewer line without damaging the stream bed.

Both sides are scheduled to meet next week to discuss their differences, Oltmann said. If no compromise is reached, a Ventura County Superior Court judge will be asked to stop the project.