Wetlands Issues News

February 22, 2008
Judge stalls plan for Home Depot in Long Beach

A controversial Home Depot project in Long Beach -- planned across the street from one of the region's last coastal wetlands -- is in limbo after a judge Thursday tossed out the development's environmental report.


February 14, 2008
Sewer line in the works to run beneath river in Del Mar

DEL MAR - Plans to replace a sewer line beneath the San Dieguito River appear to have the support of the city of Del Mar and planners of a wetlands restoration project upstream.


February 5, 2008

Vista, Carlsbad reach deal with water quality regulators

VISTA -- City officials in Vista and Carlsbad have hammered out a tentative deal with water quality regulators that could lessen the penalty for the 7.3 million gallon sewage spill last spring that fouled Buena Vista lagoon.


January 27, 2008

Newport Beach harbor is in shallow trouble

A dredging project is running out of money before the work is done, leaving both boaters and bird-watchers unhappy.

October 27, 2007
Glass wall has birders seeing red

Conservationists are calling for a developer to take down a nearly mile-long glass wall built around a new housing development near the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach after they say at least a dozen birds, including several birds of prey, died when they flew into the structure.

October 21, 2007
Time-share project proposed for lagoon site

CARLSBAD  ---- The owners of a private boating club along the north side of Agua Hedionda Lagoon are proposing to transform their decades-old, low-key operation by adding a 26-unit, time-share condominium complex.


September 29, 2007

Sewage spill could cost cities nearly $1.1 million

CARLSBAD - A regulatory agency is considering slapping the cities of Vista and Carlsbad with a $1.1 million fine over a massive sewage spill that occurred this year at Buena Vista Lagoon.

Hotel near lagoon opposed in report
OCEANSIDE - The California Coastal Commission's staff has recommended that the panel reject plans for an 82-unit hotel just north of Buena Vista Lagoon in Oceanside.

September 6, 2007
Carlsbad commission delays Ponto vote

CARLSBAD -- Saying they still had many questions relating to traffic and other topics, Carlsbad's planning commissioners delayed a decision Wednesday on a controversial plan to guide development in the southern coastal area known as Ponto.

August 28, 2007
$1.43 billion tally to fix San Francisco Bay wetlands

For years, local environmentalists have been dreaming that the old dikes and salt ponds, hay fields and abandoned airfields jutting into the San Francisco Bay would be restored to native wetlands, freeing the tides to rush in once again.

July 29, 2007
Tension mounts over Los Cerritos Wetlands

A developer may be buying a parcel that two agencies want preserved.

July 12, 2007
Coastal panel postpones decision on Bolsa Chica

The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday postponed deciding the fate of a housing development slated for 50 acres near the Bolsa Chica wetlands

July 11, 2007

State orders project halted

The California Coastal Commission's executive director has ordered Bixby Ranch Co. to halt a construction project that altered and filled a piece of the Los Cerritos Wetlands in Long Beach, calling the work a violation of the state Coastal Act.

June 23, 2007
Critics of Oxnard developments lash out

The proposed dual projects -- one residential, one light industrial -- would threaten the area's fragile wetlands, they contend.


City likely to try corrosion-reduction system for pipes

CARLSBAD - After 7 million gallons of raw sewage poured through a broken pipe into Buena Vista Lagoon two months ago, many said something should be done to prevent such a breach from happening again.

April 28, 2007
Draft environmental report on Ponto area out for review

CARLSBAD -- An environmental report on the Ponto beachfront area is now out in draft form, Carlsbad officials said last week, roughly two years after an intense public outcry prompted the city to launch the study.

April 12, 2007
Sewage spill puts hatchery on alert

CARLSBAD, When the Agua Hedionda Lagoon was closed last week because
of a second sewage spill in the area, it raised red flags at a fish hatchery on the waterway's northwest shore.

April 4, 2007
Big fine projected for spill

CARLSBAD, Construction crews patched a small hole in a sewer mainline yesterday afternoon, but not before about 5 million gallons of wastewater fouled Buena Vista Lagoon and sparked speculation that a fine could reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

April 3, 2007
Major sewage spill

More than 4 million gallons of raw sewage have spewed into a North County lagoon since a sewer main broke Sunday night, forcing county health officials yesterday to close more than a mile of beach in Oceanside and Carlsbad.

March 28, 2007
State, feds want to remove salt-water barrier to Buena Vista Lagoon

CARLSBAD - Three agencies ---- the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the state Department of Fish & Game and the state Coastal Conservancy ---- are studying four options for Buena Vista Lagoon, but the "preferred alternative" is to remove a low concrete dam near the beach to allow the ocean to come in, said Jane Hendron, spokeswoman for the Carlsbad office of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

March 16, 2007
Removal of radioactive soil in Oxnard begins

The EPA is overseeing the cleanup of Oxnard's Ormond Beach wetlands, where radioactive thorium has been found.

March 10, 2007
Army Corps eases rules on building in flood plains

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration will allow some construction of homes, shops, schools, prisons, hospitals and other buildings in flood plains without formal environmental reviews, despite the lessons of Hurricane Katrina.

March 4, 2007
Endangered shrimp delaying new school

SAN DIEGO – Jonas Salk Elementary School was supposed to open off Parkdale Avenue and Flanders Drive last September, but construction remains stalled by endangered fairy shrimp found in vernal pools on the 13-acre property. A recent federal court ruling halting developments in San Diego that affect the region's rapidly vanishing vernal pools has complicated matters further.

February 10, 2007
City Council to vote on hotel near lagoon

OCEANSIDE – The Oceanside City Council will be faced with a battle of the petitions Wednesday when it tries to decide the fate of a vacant property bordering one of the area's prized coastal lagoons.

January 31, 2007

Power plant starts Carlsbad sand-dredging effort at Agua Hedionda Lagoon

CARLSBAD -- Beachgoers can expect more sand along Carlsbad's coastline in the next several months, but they may want to wait for the new stuff to dry out.

January 27, 2007

New trail opens at San Elijo Lagoon

ENCINITAS ---- A new trail opened this week so that the disabled can use a popular location to watch birds and commune with nature.

January 12, 2007
San Elijo Lagoon center gets permit

The state Coastal Commission approved a permit yesterday allowing the county to build a $3 million nature and visitors center at the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in Encinitas.

December 31, 2006

Proposed hotel near Buena Vista lagoon redesigned

OCEANSIDE ---- A developer with plans to build an 82-room hotel near the west end of the Buena Vista Lagoon will seek approval from the Oceanside City Council in February, with the understanding that the project would be built with a different design.

December 3, 2006

Lagoon conservancy weighs free-play areas

ENCINITAS ---- Enough of the "look but don't touch" philosophy that has been the norm for decades, says San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy's executive director, Doug Gibson.

November 9, 2006

Lagoon on path to 3-year restoration

DEL MAR – You can see them from northbound Interstate 5 near Via de la Valle. About 20 workers and 15 pieces of heavy equipment are rearranging the landscape as part of the first phase of a three-year, $86 million restoration of the San Dieguito Lagoon.

October 2, 2006

Trashing the border

A stew of sewage and toxins that puts surfers and swimmers at risk of disease closed beaches north of the metal barrier dividing Tijuana, Mexico, from San Diego for more than 80 days last year. Eroded earth is smothering plant life and destroying the fragile Tijuana Estuary, one of California's last salt marshes and an important filter for water flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

September 30, 2006

Cleanup of canyon in Tijuana is focus of cross-border pact

For California, the major aim is to protect the Tijuana River estuary in Imperial Beach, an important wetland at the mouth of the Tijuana River that is managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

September 13, 2006

Wetlands fix-up may have downside

The recent restoration of the Bolsa Chica wetlands may be killing off a grove of eucalyptus trees that appears to be under attack by seawater that has been allowed to flow back into a far corner of the marshlands.

August 30, 2006

Believe it! Work's set to start on San Dieguito Lagoon
DEL MAR – After 15 years of planning and two years waiting for a passel of local, state and federal agencies to issue the dozens of permits required – not to mention the nesting birds that couldn't be disturbed – work is set to begin on an $86 million overhaul of the San Dieguito Lagoon.

August 25, 2006

Bolsa Chica wetlands and the Pacific meet again

The marshland restoration effort takes a major step with the opening of an inlet to bring in seawater.

August 10, 2006
Nonprofit gets 2 grants for wetlands
IMPERIAL BEACH – A local nonprofit group whose goal is to protect and restore area wetlands has received two grants totaling $65,400 for projects in the Tijuana estuary.

July 31, 2006
O.C. wetlands to finally reunite with the sea
When bulldozers finally smash through the wall of sand separating the Pacific from the Bolsa Chica wetlands, allowing millions of gallons of seawater to rush into the marsh for the first time in 107 years, a hard-core group of supporters will be on hand to cheer.

July 30, 2006
Long Beach-area wetlands may join Southland's 'string of pearls'
The Los Cerritos wetlands looks like a mall waiting to happen. The dusty expanse of oil pumps and cracked earth is flanked by stores, multiplexes and parked cars. Above it all rises the red and yellow turret of Tower Records, topped with a giant purple neon sign reading, "Wow!"

July 13, 2006
DANIEL WEINTRAUB
A one-stop shop for nurturing new wetlands
Julie Vandermost once made her living helping builders put up houses, offices and factories. Now she does it by helping them make up for the damage they do to the environment.

July 12, 2006
Agua Hedionda free of invasive seaweed
CARLSBAD – Six years after an invasive seaweed threatened to take over Agua Hedionda Lagoon and spread to the ocean, the team that battled the species has declared victory.

July 3, 2006
EDITORIAL
Wet and fuzzy
Wetlands ruling shows need for clearer law.

June 19, 2006
Supreme Court justices show support for wetlands protection
WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court today upheld the broad power of federal environmental regulators to protect most wetlands from development, even in areas that are dry much of the year.

April 10, 2006
Council to consider extending lagoon restrictions
CARLSBAD ---- A proposal to extend the ban on boats anchoring or creating high wakes in Agua Hedionda Lagoon will go before the City Council on Tuesday. If the council approves the recommendation put forward by the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team, the restrictions would be extended until June 30, 2007, a city staff report states.

March 31, 2006
Wetlands reverse long decline -- if golf course ponds count
WASHINGTON — More people building ponds for golf courses and subdivisions or to retain stormwater and wastewater helped create the nation's first net gain in wetlands in a half-century of government record-keeping.

March 19, 2006
San Dieguito Lagoon restoration start near; planned for 15 years
DEL MAR – The San Dieguito Lagoon is scheduled for a long-delayed overhaul. The aim is to restore the faltering wetland into a thriving coastal habitat after years of encroachment by the Del Mar Fairgrounds, a shopping center, an abandoned airfield, an interstate highway and acres of tomato fields.

January 1, 2006
Lagoon has long captivated San Diegans
DEL MAR – Evidence of humans living around the San Dieguito Lagoon goes back to about 9000 B.C. Artifacts indicate that the first known inhabitants used spears to hunt horses, mastodons and waterfowl.

December 22, 2005
103 acres added to Bolsa Chica Reserve
The last major acquisition for the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach was made Wednesday when the state bought 103 acres that activists had sought for more than a decade to preserve.

November 13, 2005
No sentiment for sediment
Lagoons along the North County coast that are crossed by Interstate 5 may find an unlikely ally in Caltrans when the agency widens the freeway.

October 12, 2005
High court will review regulation of wetlands
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court set the stage yesterday for what could be a landmark ruling on government authority to regulate wetlands and control pollution, giving Chief Justice John Roberts his first chance to weigh in on limiting federal regulation of property rights.

October 3, 2005
Oceanside to weigh options on lagoon restoration
Three major alternatives are being considered for restoration of the 236-acre, freshwater lagoon. They involve keeping the lagoon as freshwater, excavating enough sediment to open the lagoon to tidal flows and turn it into a saltwater lagoon, or having a mixture of salt and freshwater.

September 25, 2005
Port may help L.A. marshes
The Port of Los Angeles has spent more than $100 million in recent years to restore coastal marshes in Orange and San Diego counties, rankling Los Angeles-area conservationists struggling to save remnants of endangered wetlands closer to home.

September 8, 2005
$2.75 million project will rebuild San Elijo Lagoon visitors center
ENCINITAS – San Elijo Lagoon, one of the county's largest coastal wetlands, is getting a new, state-of-the-art visitors center."

August 24, 2005
Long Beach, L.A. ports may boost aid to Bolsa Chica wetlands project
State and federal agencies charged with restoring the 1,100-acre Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach are seeking an additional $23 million in public funds for the massive project, one of the largest of its kind in state history."

Dredging OKd for Newport's Upper Bay
Orange County supervisors approved a $38-million dredging project Tuesday that is designed to prevent mud-choked Upper Newport Bay from turning into a meadow."

July 30, 2005
A wetland threat
OCEANSIDE – The six-member panel had a bulky title for its informational program, "Restoring Nature to Reduce Mosquitoes: Can Wetlands Restoration Design and Management Lower West Nile Virus Transmission?"

July 20, 2005
Watershed project kicks off in Carlsbad
CARLSBAD -- As part of California Weed Awareness Week, the Carlsbad Watershed