Sensitive Zone Can Get Runoff

Overruling the recommendation of its regional staff, a state water board has determined it is legal for the Irvine Co. to drain runoff from a new development into creeks that flow across pristine Crystal Cove State Park beaches, reigniting criticism of the controversial project.

The decision comes a week before the California Coastal Commission is scheduled to decide whether the 800-home development needs further regulatory review, a step that could delay construction.

The state Water Resources Control Board backed the Irvine’s Co. request despite a recommendation by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board that the Pacific Ocean off Crystal Cove is biologically significant and protected under the 1997 California Ocean Plan.

A high-ranking attorney for the state water board determined that the ocean plan was irrelevant because runoff from the new homes would drain into two creeks that spill across the beach, not directly into the sea.

“The Ocean Plan . . . does not apply to inland discharges of waste, and this project is inland of the ocean,” said Craig Wilson, assistant chief counsel for the state board. “If they were putting the entire amount of their discharge into a pipe and transporting it directly into the ocean, then one could argue the Ocean Plan would apply. That’s not the issue here.”

Based on the legal opinion, the regional water board reversed its recommendation and issued the waiver requested by the Irvine Co.

Environmentalists are crying foul over the decision, saying high-powered attorneys for the developer helped the state find a loophole to quash the agency’s questions about how the project will affect water quality.

Across Southern California, concerns are growing about urban runoff from lawn fertilizers, pet waste, battery oil and other pollutants into storm drains, which causes major coastal pollution. On the Crystal Cove project, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service have raised questions about the effects runoff from homes into the creeks will have on species downstream.

Grading for the upscale development is underway on the hillsides above the state park, between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

“We’re just incredibly shocked that the state board would, under political pressure, come out and say it’s OK to pollute if you empty into a creek first, but it’s illegal if you run it into a pipe through the ocean,” said Garry Brown, head of Orange County Coastkeeper, an affiliate of a national environmental group that monitors key bodies of water.

Wilson, the state board’s assistant chief counsel, said he knows the Ocean Plan law far better than any private attorney, and that his decision was based “not on a loophole.”

Irvine Co. spokesman Paul Kranhold declined to comment on the water board waiver but dismissed any allegation of political pressure as “preposterous.”

Board officials said they spoke with Irvine Co. representatives but did not feel they were inappropriately pressured. They said it was the first time they could recall making a decision on a development that will affect a specially protected ocean area.

There are 34 sites along the California coastline considered so biologically significant that they deserve extra protection. Crystal Cove is one. The state park includes one of the largest remaining pieces of natural coastal terrain in Southern California. It contains large natural reefs, and dolphins have been observed birthing in cove waters off the beach, according to local marine biologists.

In the past, Irvine Co. officials have said that while there will undoubtedly be some runoff, the project is a sophisticated, environmentally sound one with extensive measures for protecting wildlife and water. For instance, a detention basin midway up Muddy Creek will hold back large volumes of water during rainy season, allowing for slower, safer release into the Pacific.

Irvine Co. officials also say using the creeks for drainage rather than pipes will allow much of the runoff to seep into the earth rather than hit the beach.

Officials of the regional water board, whose recommendation to deny the Irvine Co.’s request was overruled by the state board, said they have no problem with the decision. In an effort to address their concerns about the quality of the ocean water, staffers said they have asked the Irvine Co. to set up a monitoring program.

But they acknowledged that if problems with water quality are found after the homes are constructed and sold, it could be up to local water officials to take care of it, not the developer. That means taxpayers could be left with any cleanup bills.

“That is true,” said Joanne Schneider, environmental control manager for the Santa Ana area board.

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Construction Runoff

The Irvine Co. can legally drain development runoff into creeks that flow across pristine Crystal Cove State Park beaches into the ocean, according to the state Water Resources Control Board. The decision has reignited controversy about the 800-home project.

Source: The Irvine Co.