A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 17, 2007
3. Watersheds
SAN MATEO CREEK:
National group fears for O.C. creek; American Rivers puts San Mateo waterway on its list of endangered sites because of proposed tollway extension - Los Angeles Times
SAN MATEO CREEK:
By Dave Downey, staff writer
"The health of the creek is the reason all of these things exist," said Mark Rauscher, assistant environmental director for the Surfrider Foundation in
| |
Rebecca Wodder, president of the 65,000-member American Rivers group, said by telephone Monday that the coastal stream is in danger of being destroyed for a project of questionable benefit.
"We're trading something that is irreplaceable for something that is basically just a big parking lot," Wodder said.
However, Jennifer Seaton, spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, the road builder, said the project would complete an important missing link in
"The TCA has a strong record of building roads and minimizing their impact on the environment," Seaton said. "We value the same resources that the report talks about. We believe that the project can be built to relieve traffic and at the same time protect those resources. Our position is that you can have both."
American Rivers, which disagrees the two can coexist, says only the
"These are 10 rivers that are at a crossroads, rivers that within the next 12 months are going to see decisions that will determine their future for better or for worse," Wodder said.
The national conservation group is advocating that agencies come to their aid by rejecting a proposed power line, writing rules to clean up waste water and taking out an existing dam.
In
Wodder said the group's track record suggests there is a chance its effort to block completion of the last 16 miles of the toll-road system will be successful.
She said, for example, that within 24 hours of listing the
George Sutherland, steelhead project coordinator for Trout Unlimited, a fishing organization, praised the decision to list
"That's way cool," Sutherland said. "This will bring it to the attention of a lot of people."
Mark Capelli, steelhead recovery coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in
Also, Sutherland said the creek has no natural or manmade barriers that block the fish's ability to migrate upstream to spawn and an estuary that is in reasonably good condition.
Said Rauscher: "It's worth trying to protect because it's the last one ---- the last natural watershed in
Rauscher said the toll road would dilute efforts to protect the creek by compromising its water quality. Spilled oil and fuel, broken chunks of oil-based asphalt and stripped pieces of tire rubber would wash into
Seaton, of the Transportation Corridor Agencies, said the road would not degrade the water. She said an extensive system would be constructed to collect rain and filter pollutants before runoff reaches the creek.
Not only that, she said, the agency plans to build such a system along two miles of Interstate 5 where unfiltered water now washes into the creek.
According to a study prepared by Encinitas engineer David Skelly in 2000 for the agency, the highway would not change surfing conditions at
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/17/news/top_stories/23_29_564_16_07.txt
National group fears for O.C. creek; American Rivers puts
By David Reyes, staff writer
A southern
The group, American Rivers, announced it was adding the creek to its annual list of endangered waterways to be published online today. In addition to endangering the creek, the group said, the proposed extension of the Foothill South toll road would "plow over" a state campground and wipe out the famous Trestles surfing beach in northern
"The area is a textbook example of the aesthetic and economic benefits a free-flowing river can provide to a community," said Rebecca R. Wodder, American Rivers president, describing the road's alignment as "truly maddening" and likely to destroy creek-bottom habitats and natural ecosystems without alleviating traffic congestion.
Toll road officials disagreed with that assessment of the project's potential effect on the creek, which runs 18 miles from the
They said the proposed 16-mile extension would skirt two state campgrounds, allow Trestles to remain unspoiled and improve the creek's water quality.
"This is a creek that is dry for most of the year and only connects to the ocean when there's a large storm," said Jennifer Seaton, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies. "The flow of the creek will be unchanged, and it won't harm the surfing break."
She said the toll road agency is proposing environmental upgrades such as adding catch basins where none now exist along a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 5. If the project is approved, Seaton said, it will have gone through a host of regulatory agencies responsible for protecting the water and the coast.
The effect of the environmental group's placement of the creek on its endangered list was unclear. "It's all about influence, and American Rivers understands the political process," said Mark Rauscher, a spokesman for the Surfrider Foundation, which nominated the waterway for inclusion.
The website listing the waterway, he said, will have links to the California Coastal Commission, allowing people to express their support.
"People love to hike, to surf and to camp, and American Rivers has weighed in on this issue," Rauscher said. "After today, everyone can log on to their website, click and do something for the environment."
Other waterways on this year's most-endangered list are
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tollroad17apr17,1,1018785.story?coll=la-headlines-california
####
No comments:
Post a Comment