Panel Rules Against Edison Bid to Restore Ormond Wetlands

The opportunity to restore damaged wetlands at Ormond Beach has been quashed by a state agency, which ordered Southern California Edison to clean up wetlands in San Diego and build a reef off the coast of Orange County, rather than divert money to the Ventura County site.

However, parts of the Edison wetlands in Oxnard are expected to be restored with help from a U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service grant, federal officials confirmed.

Still, the California Coastal Commission’s decision Wednesday disappointed local environmentalists, who had hoped for--but not really expected--a windfall from the Edison cleanup.

“I am not the least bit surprised about that,” said Roma Armbrust, head of the Ormond Beach Observers, an environmental watchdog group. “Environmentalists are really concerned about mitigation at the site where the damage occurred. I would have loved money to have come, but I could not in good conscience support it” coming to Ormond Beach.

Edison will have to pay about $113.4 million for damage to environmentally sensitive areas south of Orange County.

The commission ordered Edison to restore 150 acres of wetlands of the San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar and build a 150-acre reef off the coast of the San Onofre nuclear power plant between San Clemente and Camp Pendleton.

The utility had sought to reduce its mitigation costs by proposing to restore 150 acres of wetlands habitat at Ormond Beach. Edison’s power-generating plant is located on the wetlands acreage it proposed to improve.

Thursday, Edison officials were still reeling from the Coastal Commission’s ruling.

“We are still trying to figure out what happened last night in terms of our options,” said Dan Pearson, Edison senior biologist.

Edison’s proposal to improve the Ormond Beach wetlands was unacceptable to environmentalists and San Diego officials, who said the power company had to restore the area it had damaged, not move up the coast.

“I think that there has been a longtime concern over resolution of the San Onofre issue, and there was a lot of pressure placed by the San Diego region on making sure the mitigation would occur close to home,” said Rick Alexander, a private environmental consultant who has advised the California Coastal Conservancy on Ormond Beach. “I think there was a general feeling down here that while it was a worthy one, the mitigation was too far away.”

In 1991, Edison made an agreement with the Coastal Commission to restore 150 acres of wetlands near the Del Mar racetrack and build a 300-acre reef off the coast.

The mitigation was meant to restore damage done to kelp, fish and invertebrates by Edison’s San Onofre plant, which sucks in 1.6 million gallons of seawater a minute for cooling and recycles it back to the ocean.

“It’s not a matter of us not wanting to share,” said Diane Coombs, executive director of the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority. “As advocates for wetlands, we are supportive of restoration up and down the coast. We would hope that at some time in the future, the state Legislature will put a bond measure on to restore other wetlands.”

Closer to home, Edison is trying to sell its plant in Oxnard. Recognizing a need to clean up the wetlands, Edison had signed an agreement with the Fish & Wildlife Service’s Ventura office to begin implementing a conservation and ecological restoration project.

Under the agreement, a total of $86,000 will be allocated to the wetlands restoration, with Edison paying for half, said David Pritchett, a Fish and Wildlife biologist who will oversee the project.

The wetlands are not severely degraded. But Pritchett said the project will focus on cleaning up illegally dumped debris, removing nonnative plants that are crowding out endangered species and improving the habitat for endangered birds, such as the snowy plover and least tern.

Although they have not begun the project, Fish and Wildlife officials hope to finish the restoration by the end of the year.

With deregulation of the energy industry, Edison is planning to sell 12 of its plants, including Ormond Beach. The plants will go to auction by midsummer, although Edison will still manage them through 1999, said Mike Montoya, regional manager.

Due to the upcoming sale and other issues with deregulation, Montoya said the utility’s plans to build a golf course, aquarium and recreational-vehicle park on property adjacent to the wetlands area have been postponed.

“All of that is on hold,” he said. “At this point, we are focusing on divestiture of the plants and deregulation.”