A Rebuttal to Marco Gonzalez on Lake Murray Fireworks Show Q&A

To the editor:

After reading your interview of Marco Gonzalez, the following is presented as a rebuttal to some of his statements.

First, it makes no sense to share potential evidence with an attorney who threatened to sue you, so we didn't. His June 2, 2010, email stated, in part:

Just FYI - our resources are spread thin on the issue, or you would have received a notice letter as well. Your fireworks displays will impact Lake Murray, and you therefore must obtain a permit pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act. The Regional Water Quality Control Board is working on a general permit for the region and expects it to be finished early next year. If you intend to continue your annual fireworks shows, please plan to obtain coverage under this general permit, or risk being sued next year. I know change is sometimes hard, but our environmental laws must be  followed. Consider yourselves lucky to have received a pass this year.

We followed his instructions to seek information about the Clean Water Act and CEQA and obtained a permit from the State Water Quality Control Board for the 2011 fireworks display.

However, his protracted litigation and the potential for an appeal of the 90-day stay order, allowed little time for an event that takes months to plan.

It also had an impact on potential donors, who were aware of Marco's presentation to the San Diego City Council about the need for an EIR, the threat of litigation and his offer to settle the entire matter if the City Council paid him $200,000.

One can surmise that for payment of that amount, the environment would then become a secondary issue. However, the offer was rejected and litigation against the La Jolla Fireworks Foundation ensued and Mr. Gonzalez prevailed. The city is still considering an appeal.
 
The bottom line is Marco Gonzalez and his cohorts, who appeared before the San Diego City Council to oppose the amendments to the city's special events permit process, want an expensive and time-consuming EIR for each fireworks display. And if they disagree with the findings of the EIR, then litigation commences and we're back where we started.
 
Finally, we had the water test completed as soon as possible after the 2010 event. However, due to the July 4th holiday, it couldn’t occur until the following day. Short of having someone out on the lake, in the dark, in a boat under the fireworks, we felt our action was reasonable.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond.

John Pilch, San Carlos

for the Lake Murray July 4th Music Fest and Fireworks Committee