Settlement Reached in Crystal Cove Lawsuit

The Irvine Co. and Orange County CoastKeeper on Thursday settled a lawsuit with an agreement they say will better protect the sensitive waters off Crystal Cove State Park.

In exchange for enhanced protection and monitoring, the environmental group will drop its year-old Clean Water Act lawsuit against the developer and its appeals of state and federal decisions over a 635-home project near Crystal Cove. The pricey development, approved by the California Coastal Commission in August, sits above state-protected waters that serve as a dolphin birthing ground.

“We fought long and hard for this,” said CoastKeeper attorney Daniel Cooper. “All of our fights with [the Irvine Co.] at the Crystal Cove development are now resolved. This is a good result. . . . We think the Irvine Co. is doing the right thing.”

The 10-year agreement includes several water-quality measures, including:

* Larger detention ponds and more sophisticated filtration devices.

* Filtering the “first flush” of rainfall, which often carries heavy loads of pollutants from streets and lawns to the ocean.

* Diverting runoff to a sewage plant during dry weather.

* Establishing a comprehensive joint monitoring program.

“We think what they’re doing has a real good shot of protecting [the ocean], but if it doesn’t, we’re going to know it, and they’re going to have to do more,” Cooper said.

In a prepared statement, Irvine Co. senior vice president Monica Florian said, “The extraordinary water-quality features . . . will accomplish the Irvine Co.’s and CoastKeeper’s shared goal.”

Some of the measures are already being required by the Coastal Commission and the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. Cooper said Thursday’s agreement goes further.