Environmentalists criticize restoration plan

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Local environmental groups are sharply criticizing

a restoration plan to build a 360-foot inlet to connect the Bolsa Chica

wetlands to the ocean.

“We oppose the inlet because of the loss of beach and the potential

for having pollution from the oil fields being flushed onto the beach,”

said Jan Vandersloot, a co-founder and board member of the Bolsa Chica

Land Trust.

Public hearings were held last week as part of a public comment

process for the report, which was released in July. A steering committee

made up of state and federal officials listened to the comments but took

no action.

The restoration plan -- created by agencies such as the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, State Lands Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers -- outlines seven proposals to restore the 1,200-acre marsh,

including a channel to allow water to flow into the wetlands to enhance

and restore wildlife.

After 1 1/2-year study, officials concluded that building a channel

will help attract a greater variety of fish, seabirds and other coastal

wildlife to the area. The area was sealed from the ocean by duck-hunting

enthusiasts in 1899.

The project will cost about $100 million, with $79 million coming from

mitigation funds from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Of the seven proposals, Vandersloot said his organization will only

support alternative No. 5, which aims to restore the wetlands without

creating an ocean channel. It is the least expensive option.

He said the channel will cause Bolsa Chica State Beach, one of the

county’s cleanest beaches, to experience many closures. In addition,

Vandersloot said the restoration plan does not address six urban runoff

outfall pipes from potential development on the Bolsa Chica mesa that may

discharge into outer Bolsa Bay and other areas near the mesa.

The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to make a decision in

November on a proposal from Hearthside Homes to build up to 1,235 homes

on the mesa.

Don Shult, a member of the Surfrider Foundation, said his organization

also supports this alternative because any type of waterway connection to

the ocean may flush out contaminants from the wetlands.

He said the inlet would actually be an outlet for urban runoff if the

development on the mesa is approved.

But Shult said he is worried about sand erosion and the change of wave

formation if the channel is built.

Linda Moon, president of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, said her

organization supports the inlet because it would allow the wetlands to be

flushed by the ocean.

The inlet “does appear to allow for tidal flushing and maximum habitat

facilitation with a minimal impact on the environment,” she said.

But Moon said the plan does not address the future of Bolsa Bay,

clearly define the size of the rock jetties for the ocean channel or

provide a timeline for beach closures during the channel’s

construction.In addition, Moon said the restoration plan does not clearly

explain technical things to the general public.”Bolsa Chica is so

important to the community that even laypeople should be able to pick up

[the restoration plan] and understand what the proposed project is all

about,” she said.