I’ve been to a lot of Coastal Commission meetings over the course of my career, and I’m always grateful for the oversight of the Coastal Commission, that extra layer of protection the Commission provides for protecting California’s unique and fragile coastal zone. No Coastal Commission meeting is ever the same, and that applies to last Thursday’s meeting where the Commissioners met in Newport Beach to decide the fate of the proposed wetlands mitigation bank and land swap
As those of you who receive these emails likely already know, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supports this proposal because it provides a unique opportunity to restore our local wetlands and move them into the public trust. But that proposal comes at a price; and that price is, yes, consolidated oil drilling and more oil drilling adjacent to Los Cerritos Wetlands. We looked hard at the project, asked a lot of questions; but at the end of the day, we thought the benefits the project brought to our cause outweighed the downside. And the Coastal Commission staff thought so too; after they reviewed the project, adding 25 additional conditions, they recommended approval.
Ultimately, after a hearing that lasted over 6 hours, the Coastal Commissioners agreed with their staff recommendations (and us, Audubon, Bolsa Chica Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land) and voted 6 to 3 to approve the project. I have said it before and will say it again: those who opposed the project have legitimate and credible concerns. We understand them, and as part of our due diligence, have done our best to incorporate solutions to those concerns into our support (shorter timeline to get wells off the wetlands, extra soil remediation, and contamination monitoring). We know that didn’t go far enough to satisfy the project opponents, and we respect that.
Now we believe we need to move forward, with all of us who care about Los Cerritos Wetlands working to ensure the ultimate outcome is the best that it can be. None of us is perfect and none of us knows for sure how this will all work out. The one thing I am sure of, however, is that everyone has been working and will continue to work in good faith to protect this fragile ecosystem. And I hope that allies that found themselves on different sides of this issue will come together again in our shared advocacy, because our mutual goals of restoring our local wetlands are greater than our differences about how to get there.
Check out the final document of what was approved by the Coastal Commission, including the 25 additional conditions added by Coastal Commission staff.
Additionally, I urge you to check out coverage by the Press Telegram, LBReport, Grunion Gazette and Long Beach Post of the Coastal Commission meeting, testimony, and vote.
As you are likely aware, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supports the mitigation bank and land swap proposed by Beach Oil Mineral Partners (BOM).
We support this project because it includes comprehensive wetlands and habitat restoration, provides unique public access opportunities, consolidates oil operations offsite, and will transfer ownership of a substantial portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands into the public domain.
We now have an additional reason to support the project and that is the substantially shorter timeline, just agreed to, in which the wetlands will move into the public trust.
Beach Oil Mineral (BOM) the project proponents, have agreed to the Coastal Commission’s vision of accelerating the “project phasing timeline”. That means that instead of removing 50% of their wetlands oil infrastructure in 20 years and the remaining 50% in 40 years; BOM will remove 50% in 10 years and the remaining 50% in 20 years. That is a much shorter timeline in which BOM will reduce their footprint of oil operations to approximately 10 acres from their current 187 acres. We cheer the accelerated transformation of this highly degraded landscape into a restored functioning wetlands and uplands.
The Coastal Commission staff report and the conditions they are recommending to the Coastal Commissioners for their approval of the project are numerous and have been accepted and agreed upon by BOM.
We urge you to send a letter of support to the Coastal Commission for the project. If you write a support letter, I encourage you to add a couple of additional points like those we made in our letter of support to the Coastal Commission. Deadline to submit a letter to the Coastal Commission is this Friday, December 7th, by 5:00PM.
For those of you that can, I also urge you to attend the Coastal Commission hearing on December 13th in Newport Beach. It will be an important hearing, one that will shape the future of Los Cerritos Wetlands for decades to come. So please make time to join me at that meeting. It will be an interesting day; your attendance will make a big difference; and the project proponents will spring for your lunch. For more information about the meeting and the transportation arrangements, email heather@altmanenvironmental.com.
We know there are differences of opinion about this matter, and perhaps there always will be. However, it is my sincere hope that we will all operate from a place of respect for each other’s views. After all, our goals are shared.
We have a deep appreciation for all who have taken time out of their lives to advocate with us for the protection and restoration of Los Cerritos Wetlands. We have made great strides, and with your partnership and the support of the community, we will continue to do so.
We hope you have a happy Thanksgiving holiday and are able to spend time with family and friends.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is thankful for you and your care and concern for our local wetlands. As an organization we have come a long way from that first group of citizens who gathered in someone’s living room to begin the conversation of how they, ordinary people, could work together to advocate for the protection and preservation of Los Cerritos Wetlands. Fast forward to today where almost half our wetlands are safely in the public’s hands, and the conversation is more and more about how best to restore and rehabilitate them.
That is good news, and it is important to take the time to celebrate it.
With appreciation for your support and vision of a fully restored Los Cerritos Wetlands,
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lambe,
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
P.S. Cooling temperatures mean the wetlands will be at their best for our upcoming walk to check out the Marketplace Marsh within Los Cerritos Wetlands.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is a proud endorser of Measure W, the Safe Clean Water Parcel Tax.
Measure W will modernize Los Angeles County’s 100-year-old water system in order to better protect public health and our environment, and to maximize a cleaner, locally controlled water supply.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supports Measure W for the following reasons.
Measure W reduces harmful pollution that regularly flows into our local wetlands.
Each year, many marine mammals, seabirds, and fish die, either from mistakenly eating plastic garbage and other toxins, or ensnaring themselves. Annually, over 4000 tons of trash and plastic gets cleaned from our beaches. Stormwater picks up chemicals from pesticides, fertilizers, plastics, metals from our cars, pet waste, and other contaminants as it flows over the streets and other developed areas into our rivers, streams, and the ocean, threatening public health and marine life. That’s why beach closures follow nearly every heavy rain.
Measure W will enhance and redesign existing green spaces (and create new ones), so that we can recharge our groundwater and capture runoff through diversion structures, infiltration chambers, and pre-treatment systems. Developing new projects and updating our current infrastructure system, specifically for stormwater, will improve our ability to cope with the changing climate, increasing demand, and other pressures.
Measure W helps make our community more resilient against the impacts of extreme weather. Droughts, followed by historic rain, are here to stay. Therefore, a smarter water system will prepare our region for the effects of a changing climate. As extreme weather becomes the new normal, we need to decrease our reliance on imported water that we pay to bring into L.A. County.
Measure W will capture valuable rainwater before it runs into our rivers and ocean.
Every year, L.A. County loses over 100 billion gallons of water, enough to meet the annual needs of more than 2 million people. Because so much of our region is paved over, too much precious rainfall is lost to the ocean before we can capture it for use. When we experience heavy rains, our system captures only a fraction of rainfall.
For the reasons above and more, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust endorses Measure W, and we hope you agree. I urget you to learn more about Measure W and read the ballot language. Then please share with your friends and neighbors the importance of voting for Measure W to support clean water– for our local wetlands, for our community and for our future.
This summer, the Los Cerritos Wetlands and the Land Trust made headlines. See the Long Beach Business Journal’s coverage of recent Coastal Commission actions here.
Additional coverage of the Coastal Commission hearing from the Press Telegram can be found here.
Additional local coverage of the deal as it developed is linked here.
