Crystal Cove Runoff Order Is Upheld

A state agency Thursday unanimously upheld an order requiring Caltrans to stop polluted Coast Highway runoff from entering the protected waters of Crystal Cove State Park.

However, the transportation agency was given a one-year extension.

Crystal Cove, a dolphin birthing ground north of Laguna Beach, is recognized by the state as one of 34 “areas of special biological significance,” which receive extra protection under the state’s Ocean Plan.

In November, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a cease-and-desist order to Caltrans, the Irvine Co. and the state Department of Parks and Recreation to stop pollutants from entering the fragile marine ecosystem. Caltrans was given until Nov. 16, 2002, to stop the discharges of rain and other water mixed with oil, copper and other contaminants shed by cars.

While the Irvine Co. and the state parks department agreed to the order, Caltrans appealed to the regional board’s parent agency, the State Water Resources Control Board.

Attorneys for the transportation agency, which maintains Coast Highway, insist that there is no proof that polluted runoff is flowing off the coastal thoroughfare into the ocean.

The state board apparently was not swayed by that argument. But at a hearing Thursday morning in Sacramento, it did amend the order to give Caltrans more time to comply.

“Because of our concerns regarding the technical feasibility of complying with the prohibition at Crystal Cove, we will extend the date for compliance with the discharge prohibition until Nov. 16, 2003,” the amended order says.

William A. Evans, a Caltrans attorney, said the decision was not a surprise.

“I would personally have preferred that there be more study entered into before a complete prohibition is placed on Caltrans,” he said. “Of course we’ll be complying with the order.”