EPA Joins Probe of Crystal Cove Runoff

A federal agency has joined state officials who are checking to see if the Irvine Co. is illegally discharging runoff onto the beach next to a biologically sensitive marine area at Crystal Cove State Park.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency engineer will inspect a controversial underground pipe network today, and state water regulators will meet with Irvine Co. officials Thursday to learn more about how the company handles runoff at its construction site above the park.

Irvine Co. spokesman Rich Elbaum said Monday that the pipe system is a storm drain for a section of its Crystal Cove development now under construction. He said the company has all necessary permission for work at the construction site.

The developer is building hundreds of luxury homes on bluffs above the park, one of the most scenic stretches of Orange County coastline. Environmentalists have fought for more than a year against what they call the despoiling of the park by water and sediment runoff.

Regulators are now investigating whether drainage from the construction site is running through pipes to the state beach. The probe was triggered after activists crawled into a culvert on the beach last month and found a labyrinth of pipes snaking uphill, some with apparent runoff dripping through them.

The concrete culvert now being scrutinized opens onto the state park beach near a collection of historic wood-frame cottages. On Sunday, a pool of stagnant water stretched across the sand from the culvert’s mouth, but did not reach the ocean.

Kurt Berchtold, assistant executive officer of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, said that direct discharge into the ocean is not allowed under the state Ocean Plan, because the state has designated the cove as an area of special biological concern.

“If indeed they are discharging into the ocean, they’d need to stop,” Berchtold said.

Catherine Kuhlman, an associate director with the EPA regional water division, said the network of pipes is news to the federal agency.

“If there are pipes that are discharging, and we don’t know where those pipes are coming from, that’s a concern to us,” Kuhlman said.

While most of the homes above Crystal Cove are still unoccupied, sprinklers and other irrigation systems are in use.

Runoff from residential areas can include sediment, pesticides, fertilizers and motor oil. Regulators nationwide are growing increasingly concerned that such runoff--especially during storms--is a significant cause of ocean pollution.

Crystal Cove is one of 34 “areas of biological significance” along the California coast. Under the state Ocean Plan, waste cannot be discharged to such areas, and discharges must be located “a sufficient distance away” to assure that water conditions remain natural.

Elbaum of the Irvine Co. said that many of the 34 special areas have storm drains leading from residential, recreational and other areas.

“This issue is not specific to our project,” Elbaum said. He added, “What we are doing is consistent with the plan that was approved by the regional board.”

Later in the day, Elbaum said, “To the best of my knowledge, we are in compliance with the permits. If the regional board has a different view, then we would of course want to discuss that with them to assure we are in full compliance.”

Regional water regulators launched their investigation after environmental activists with the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove contacted them and presented photographs of the underground pipe system.

The regional board staff has also asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to delay issuing a permit to the Irvine Co. for another home construction project above Crystal Cove until it resolves questions about the pipes.