Creeks miss the cut

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT COAST -- The State Water Resources Control Board snubbed three

of the area’s creeks Wednesday, when it released its recommendations for

what should be on a federal watch list.

The state agency recommended excluding Buck Gully, Los Trancos and

Muddy creeks from the list. The three creeks were proposed by local

water-quality regulators and an environmental group.

Three other waterways proposed locally made the cut -- Pelican Hill

Waterfall, Pelican Point Creek and Pelican Point Middle Creek.

Orange County CoastKeeper, which is based in Newport Beach, initiated

the effort to put the creeks on the Impaired Water Bodies 303d List last

year. The list is managed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

CoastKeeper director Garry Brown said he would pursue other avenues

“There are some other alternatives [to getting the creeks listed],”

Brown said. “We’re not just going to accept ‘no.”’

The creeks drain into the cove, which has been designated by the state

water board as one of 34 Areas of Special Biological Significance.

Other ways to stop pollution from flowing down the creeks into the

protected water, Brown said, include an appeal to the EPA or inclusion on

a separate list dedicated only to creeks.

The federal list was created by the Clean Water Act of 1972. It flags

a polluted water body so it can be cleaned.

Once added to that list, state and local officials must develop

standards for how much pollution can flow in the creeks. The standards

are known as “total maximum daily loads.”

State water board spokeswoman Myrlys Stockdale emphasized that the

proposal released Wednesday was not final. The board has scheduled public

hearings for May 23, May 24 and May 30 to hear comments.

“We’re taking the proposal to the public,” Stockdale said. “We want to

hear what they have to say.”

In the preliminary recommendation, the water board said the three

creeks could not be listed because they have not been included in the

regional board’s “basin plan,” a blueprint for regulatory focus.

In the basin plan, cleanup objectives are identified for each water

body.

If the creeks are placed on the list, limits would be put on the

amount of coliform bacteria that can exist in them. The regional board

has committed to beginning the process of crafting those standards in

2008, officials said. The standard would be in place by 2011.

City officials who support the inclusion of all six creeks on the list

said the snub would not sink the effort. Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff

said it might only delay the implementation of standards for a year at

the most.

“To me it’s a procedural problem rather than the state board saying

it’s not a priority,” Kiff said. “These creeks need to be listed.”

* Paul Clinton covers the environment, John Wayne Airport and

politics. He may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .