Environmental Groups File Emergency Appeal to Halt Lagoon Project

Three environmental groups filed a writ this month with the California Court of Appeals seeking an emergency order to put off the June 1 start date of the Malibu Lagoon project.

The Wetlands Defense Fund, Access for All and CLEAN -- the three groups that on the project last year -- argue that the Malibu Lagoon Restoration and Enhancement Plan would be harmful to endangered, threatened and sensitive species that live in the lagoon.

Attorneys for the groups signed the writ of supersedeas on May 1. (A writ of supersedeas is when a higher court commands a lower court to suspend a proceeding.)

The writ seeks a temporary stay on the project until the groups' petition can be heard, and contends that the planned removal of a public access trail is illegal, according to Marcia Hanscom, the leader of the Wetlands Defense Fund.

In October, Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith , stating that the California Coastal Commission had analyzed all alternatives to the project and chose the "least damaging" option.

The three groups of that decision in February. No hearing on the appeal has been set.

The city of Malibu is expected to file an amicus brief in the appeal in the coming weeks. The council voted last month to in its current form.

The project includes the replacement of nonnative vegetation with native vegetation and adjustments to slopes and channels in a 12-acre portion of the lagoon. Existing access bridges will be removed.

Proponents say the project will improve oxygen circulation and the general health of the lagoon. Opponents say it will harm the lagoon and that species will die. They object to the use of bulldozers, the removal of the bridges and other features.

Check back for more on this story later this morning.