Aliso Creek Cleanup to Start Trend?

A recent state order requiring cleanup of a polluted Orange County waterway is a precedent-setting mandate that environmentalists say could lead to stronger enforcement of California and federal water quality laws.

Orange County, Laguna Niguel and the county’s flood control district have been ordered to stop storm drain runoff from polluting Aliso Creek, which empties into the ocean at Laguna Beach.

Known as urban runoff, the trash, chemicals, petroleum products and animal droppings are washed from lawns and streets into area waterways via storm drains.

The order requires the government agencies to clean up high levels of bacteria that have periodically rendered stretches of the creek unsafe for swimming.

The “cleanup and abatement order” issued Dec. 28 by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board is the first enforcement action that singles out urban runoff by a city, county or government agency, state water quality experts said. The board is one of nine regional water quality control boards that carry out the state Water Resources Control Board’s mandates.

“For some reason, in dealing with [municipalities’] urban runoff, regional water quality boards have been unwilling to use traditional tools that they use to deal with point sources such as refineries or treatment plants,” said David Beckman, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They’ve attempted to address the problem with one hand tied behind their back.”

Runoff problems have been particularly noticeable in Southern California, which has been plagued with ocean pollution. In Orange County, runoff is the suspected cause of the two-month beach closure at Huntington Beach, which paralyzed the city’s economy during the height of tourism season.

“It’s very significant,” Mark Gold, director of Heal the Bay in Santa Monica, said of the order. “The regional board is finally using the regulatory tools it has available to ensure water quality is protected. [Previously] there’s been this almost voluntary approach for municipalities on storm water discharge.”

The federal Clean Water Act bars any pollution discharge that fouls waterways, but finding the source of urban runoff has been difficult. Under enhanced storm water pollution standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1990, however, cities, counties, developers and others must receive storm water discharge permits from the state’s regional water quality control boards. These permits require tracking and reducing polluted runoff.

Tom Mumley, urban runoff program manager for the San Francisco Bay Area’s regional board, said his agency has had to give cities and counties enough time to develop and implement effective runoff reduction methods.

“Plenty have stepped up to the plate. It’s only fair to start upping the enforcement ante for players that aren’t playing consistently with other municipalities in the state,” Mumley said. “We’re entering into a new phase.”

The Aliso Creek order sets deadlines for establishing cleanup plans and submitting progress reports on Aliso Creek, one of Orange County’s most polluted waterways. The three could be fined $500 to $5,000 a day and face lawsuits if they fail to comply beginning in February.

Aliso Creek drains more than 34 square miles of Orange County from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific. In October 1998, fecal coliform bacteria levels in one part of the creek were 225 times the amount considered safe for swimming. High levels have continued to occur in the creek.

Ken Montgomery, Laguna Niguel public works director, said the city already is taking steps to reduce the polluted runoff. Since September, half has been diverted into a wetlands area that acts as a natural filter, and tests continue. The city and the Moulton Niguel Water District are discussing sending summer runoff to a sewage treatment plant. He said the cleanup and abatement order merely formalizes the ongoing effort.

Two others named in the board’s order--Chris Crompton, manager of environmental resources for Orange County, and Herb Nakasone, the county’s flood programs manager--could not be reached for comment Tuesday.