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The Inyo County jurist offers some praise
but keeps sanctions, saying the city hasn't
done all required in the Lower Owens
restoration plan.
By Louis Sahagun, Times Staff Writer
March 14, 2007
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Less than
three months ago, the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power let water
flow once more into a nearly dry Inyo
County riverbed as part of one of the
largest river restoration projects in
the nation. But now a judge says the
department's efforts are still falling
short.
Environmentalists on Tuesday cheered the
judge's comments as city officials
defended their actions to restore the
river. Indeed, the judge lauded the city
for establishing a steady flow of water
— 40 cubic feet per second — in the
riverbed well before a July 25 deadline
to do so.
But in a ruling issued late Monday, Inyo
County Superior Court Judge Lee E.
Cooper said city water authorities had
constructed only nine of 17
water-monitoring stations called for in
the Lower Owens River, about 200 miles
north of Los Angeles. In addition, the
water measurements provided by the DWP
have been inadequate, he said.
As a result, Cooper denied a request by
Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo
to lift sanctions that the judge imposed
on the city for failing to restore the
river in a timely manner. In addition to
imposing sanctions, Cooper has
threatened to bar the city from using
the so-called Second Los Angeles
Aqueduct if it continues to delay full
implementation of the project.
"In the record before me, I cannot find
the city has complied with all the
conditions," the judge wrote in his
ruling. "All means all, not just some of
the conditions!"
Cooper praised the DWP for "proceeding
with commendable diligence." He added
that "regrettably, however, given the
history of the Lower Owens River
Project, a certain level of skepticism
by other parties about DWP's
representations is understandable."
The DWP has missed at least 14 deadlines
connected to the project. Water still
flows in the Upper Owens River, but then
it is diverted into the aqueduct by a
dam about midway between the communities
of Independence and Big Pine. This, plus
groundwater pumping, left the Lower
Owens essentially dry for decades. Since
December, however, some water has been
channeled back into the lower river at
the dam.
Cooper has imposed fines of $5,000 a day
until water is flowing in the Lower
Owens at 40 cubic feet a second, along
with other conditions. The fines began
accruing Sept. 5, 2005.
In reference to Delgadillo's request,
David Nahai, president of the DWP's
Board of Commissioners, said, "We cannot
be criticized for attempting to lift the
burden of a $5,000-a-day fine against
the city at the earliest opportunity."
Nahai called the project "a showcase of
our scientific and technical prowess. It
is also an example of our reinforced
sense of environmental responsibility in
this city."
The DWP was also ordered to reduce by a
third its pumping of water out of the
Lower Owens Valley. Failure to comply
with his ruling, the judge warned, would
result in a permanent injunction against
using the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct,
an $89-million facility that has been
exporting millions of gallons of water
to Southern California since 1970. |
Reopening a river
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Dry run
click to enlarge
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Empty
New lure
click to enlarge |
"The city is on notice; there are clear
consequences for failing to comply," Mooney
said. "Yet somebody in Los Angeles made the
decision to build only nine stations and never
bothered to ask the court to modify its
order."
Cooper urged the warring parties to "see if
these issues can be resolved informally."
The impact on the environment of adding more
water-measuring stations will be considered in
future talks with environmental groups.
"We are in a position to negotiate with Los
Angeles," said Mooney, who declined to
elaborate.
louis.sahagun@latimes.com
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