June 28, 2002 Regulatory Branch - Ventura Field Office ATTN: CESPL-CO-200200802-AOA 2151 Alessandro Drive, Suite 255 Ventura, California 93001 RE: Public Notice/Application No: 2002-00802-AOA Thank you for the opportunity to comment and for extending the response period to July 1, 2002. We respectfully request a Public Hearing for the reasons given herein. It is the belief of the NVC that the project is being approved incrementally. This piecemeal approval is misleading and fails to evaluate the cumulative impacts of the project on the wetlands in Sunshine Canyon. Sunshine Canyon is a large arrow shaped canyon bisected diagonally in the middle by the City and County boundary lines. A landfill (consisting of two parts) that was situated on the City side closed in 1991 after accepting approximately 25 million tons of trash. BFI had then proposed a 215 million ton mega-dump expansion involving both the City and the County sides. Due to opposition this plan was modified to a Three Phase plan that involved: first - a County expansion, second - a City/County expansion, and third - County expansion again. The original 1987 EIR for the 215 million ton expansion of the landfill identified over 10 acres of wetlands that would be destroyed. Subsequently in 1991 in order to minimize the impacts and gain County approval, BFI reduced the amount to less than 10 acres by reducing the number of acres affected (8.4 acres) and by not landfilling the City portion of the wetlands (4.62 acres) that were a part of this original plan. Even before the final approval in 1993 of the wetland area to be impacted by the County expansion (17 million tons approved - 70 million conditional), the applicant had already filed in 1992 for an expansion (90 -100 million tons) into the remaining wetlands in the City. Now it seems that under the guise of closure of the old City landfill, BFI is further piecemealing the destruction of the wetlands by using the closure mechanism to put in the infrastructure of the latest City/County (90 million ton) expansion even before the required permit from the Water Board for this expansion has been issued. Under the heading of “Proposed Activity for Which a Permit is Required” on Page 3, the proponents attempts to portray that the construction of all of the drainage is a requirement of closure. This is false and misleading. Many of the so-called improvements such as culverting and lining of the stream, along with the oversized sedimentation basin were proposed as part of their Phase Two plan for a City/County expansion and not as any requirement for closure. Historically, this section of waterway (streambed/wetlands) has drained the entire Sunshine Canyon both City and County sides, along with the old City landfill, without any improvements and without any problems. When the County landfill was approved, the appropriate drainage and sedimentation basin were constructed on the County side to minimize the impacts to the City side. These improvements exist and are operational today. BFI however is forced to realign the main access roadway due to plans already submitted for the proposed City/County expansion and so seeks to incorporate them with closure. Their argument that there has been damage to access roads stems not from unusual past storm events but from their illegal encroachment upon the waterway, their improper construction of roads, and their improper drainage in other areas of the City and the County. Their lack of proper engineering does not constitute a reason to destroy the streambed/wetlands now under consideration. It should be noted that BFI was ordered by Fish and Game to restore this same section of streambed/wetland when the old City landfill was operational. Currently there is a suit pending in the Court of Appeal against the City and BFI challenging the Mitigated Negative Declaration issued for the Closure Plan for some of these same reasons. Historically, BFI has engaged in the destruction of wetlands without the proper permits. They have received citations for coming to close to the watercourse on the City side, and have also illegally destroyed stream/wetlands from a finger canyon on the City side. Currently, they are engaged in further destroying wetlands without permits on the City side by the diversion of water from the stream/wetlands by pumping contaminated water from the sedimentation basin located on the County side and not replacing it with clean water. We believe that the granting of a permit is unwarranted and that to do anything to the streambed/wetlands to further degrade the habitat, or any alterations including the installation of the oversized sedimentation basin, are unnecessary at this time. Sincerely, Wayde Hunter President, NVC |
