Ballona Wetlands: Good News for the Restoration

This article was written solely by the author without any AI assistance.

In a hearing on June 29, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant resolved disagreements between lawsuit plaintiffs and the State of California about how to fix the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project.

The plaintiffs narrowly prevailed in their lawsuits when Chalfant ruled on May 17 that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) must revise the EIR’s flood impact analysis by using a higher maximum flood flow value.

The plaintiffs lost on virtually all other issues they had argued to the court. CDFW has already stated their intention to revise the EIR to the court’s satisfaction and move the proposed project forward. In a social media post, a plaintiff spokesperson lambasted Governor Newsom’s continuing support of the Project, while a broad coalition of environmental groups support the Project, including Heal the Bay, L.A. Waterkeeper, Surfrider Foundation and Friends of Ballona Wetlands.

At the June 29 hearing, the judge sided with CDFW on two key issues. First, he ruled that CDFW need only correct the parts of the EIR for which the judge’s ruling required correction. This means the agency may choose to use a focused EIR supplement or other expedited lawful means to comply with the state’s environmental review law, rather than redoing the entire 1000-page EIR. This could save time and taxpayer expense should CDFW choose that path.

Above: CDFW proposes to dig out fill dirt south of Fiji way and restore tidal wetlands, which occupied the area prior to Marina Del Rey’s construction

Second, the judge rejected plaintiff arguments that CDFW shouldn’t be allowed to do any work on the project until they correct the EIR to the court’s satisfaction. CDFW rightly rebutted that argument, pointing out that planning, permitting and other work must continue in order to correct the EIR. The judge agreed.

For example, most regulatory agencies require submittal of a permit application before their staff will begin reviewing a proposed project. CDFW will need several agencies to weigh in on their revised flood analysis, so permit applications must be prepared and filed.

This decision by the judge is a further blow to the plaintiffs, who had sought to completely stop the restoration project in its tracks. CDFW can now continue to “move the ball forward”, as Judge Chalfant stated at the hearing, while doing work needed to revise the EIR. Until the EIR is revised, CDFW is only prohibited from doing physical work (such as heavy construction) that could adversely impact the environment.

This decision also potentially renders moot another related lawsuit - one which challenged the Coastal Conservancy’s expenditure of funds on the CDFW project. The Coastal Conservancy is California’s agency charged with spearheading and funding public coastal habitat restoration projects. That lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in October, but the Conservancy could ask the court to dismiss the suit based on Chalfant’s June 29 ruling.

A status conference will be held in six months for CDFW to report to the judge on their progress correcting the EIR. Stay tuned!

Enjoy your Ballona Wetlands!

References

(1) Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project EIR https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=149710&inline

(2) Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 22STCP03307. Ballona Wetlands Land Trust vs. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, et al.

(3) Ballona Wetlands: When the Winners are Really the Losers. https://patch.com/california/marinadelrey/ballona-wetlands-when-winners-are-really-losers

(4) CDFW statement on the judge’s ruling: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=213256&inline

(5) Facebook post, 6/29/2023, M. Hanscom: “More and more I think I must not have been such a good judge of character when I met Gavin Newsom. I really thought he liked Nature, but his sticking with this terribly destructive project leads me to believe I may have been mistaken.”

Author’s note on affiliations

Dr. David W. Kay served on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Friends of Ballona Wetlands from 2007 until 2015, and served as Board President in 2012-13. He presently serves on the Board of Ballona Discovery Park in Playa Vista. Dr. Kay is a staunch advocate for the state of California's plans to restore the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.

From 1984 until 2022, Dr. Kay was employed by Southern California Edison Company, exclusively in the company's environmental services organizations. His many responsibilities included restoration of the 440-acre San Dieguito Wetlands near Del Mar. He retired in 2022 as Senior Manager for Major Project Environmental Management at the company, after 38 years of service.

Dr. Kay earned bachelor and masters degrees in biology and a doctorate in environmental science.

See Dr. Kay’s Patch Community Contributor profile here.