> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Forcing Malibu, county to clean up their act - URL: https://www.smdp.com/forcing-malibu-county-to-clean-up-their-act/ - Published: 2008-03-04T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T18:43:39.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Environment, Malibu, #archive-import *Lawsuit challenges stormwater pollution plan* *By DAILY PRESS STAFF* SM BEACH The county of Los Angeles and the city of Malibu must stop bacteria and toxins from flowing into coastal waters where they sicken beachgoers and damage marine life, according to two lawsuits filed Monday in federal court by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Santa Monica Baykeeper. In the past, local governments have been required by courts to take steps to reduce urban runoff, which is the top source of coastal water pollution, but Monday’s lawsuits are the first attempt to hold governments accountable for measurable results, according to the NRDC. “Year after year, the county’s own data show that pollutants ranging from cyanide to fecal bacteria are flowing into local waters at levels the law forbids,” David Beckman, director of the Coastal Water Quality Project at NRDC, said. “It’s time to stop going through the motions of fighting water pollution, and actually clean up the water.” In addition, the lawsuits seek to enforce a “no discharge” rule meant to protect a coastal preserve in the waters off northern Los Angeles County. The requirements are contained in a Clean Water Act permit issued to the county, Malibu, and other cities in 2001 by the state of California’s Regional Water Quality Control Board. The lawsuits were brought under the federal Clean Water Act. As part of its Clean Water Act permit duties, the county is required to test the quality of runoff flowing into local waters, such as the Santa Monica Bay. The county’s own data confirm it is ignoring permit standards that impose specific limits on the amount of pollution it can discharge into Malibu Creek, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, and San Gabriel rivers, according to the court complaint. The county also has failed to report high pollution levels and implement corrective action. “Santa Monica Bay is one of the most extraordinary coastal estuaries on the west coast of North America, and it is high time the county, the agency most responsible for its protection, acted like it was a resource worth protecting,” stated Tom Ford, executive director of Santa Monica Baykeeper. “We need results, not more paper shuffling.” The Mugu to Latigo coastal preserve, one of 34 Areas of Special Biological Significance in California, stretches from Mugu Lagoon in Ventura County to Latigo Point in the city of Malibu. ASBSs are unique areas afforded special protection by the state’s Ocean Plan, which prohibits any pollution discharges into or near these areas. However, Santa Monica Baykeeper’s water quality sampling found that, for example, bacteria levels in discharges from county pipes exceeded those set in the Ocean Plan. Ford said there have been 1.5 million cases of gastrointestinal illness and sinusitis and other illnesses reported in the last year with an economic loss of roughly $50 million, “representing folks who are out of work because they have become sick by coming in contact with the water.” Assistant Deputy Director Mark Pestrella of the county of Los Angeles Department of Public Works said the county takes seriously its obligation to prevent stormwater and urban runoff pollution from reaching the bay and contends the water quality control program has been developed by the appropriate agencies. “Santa Monica Baykeeper and the Natural Resource Defense Council have elected to sue the people of Los Angeles County,” Pestrella said. “They claim that the programs of the County of Los Angeles and our city partners to improve water quality are insufficient. And they seek to impose their own, artificial timeline for the county to achieve its long-term water quality goals.” The county’s program has been and continues to be based on good science and sustainable, long-term solutions, Pestrella added. The county is in full compliance. The county has discussed the program with Santa Monica Baykeeper and NRDC and has attempted to provide them with reasonable alternatives to a lawsuit. “Our legal team is prepared to defend the public’s interest,” Pestrella said. “In spite of this litigation, the county will continue to put its resources towards improvement of water quality at the beaches and in the waterbodies of this county. “We will continue to work with the cities and our environmental partners to implement our state approved-plans for water quality management.” The county of Los Angeles maintains approximately 500 miles of open channel,2,800 miles of underground storm drain and 79,000 catch basins. The county’s stormwater program is developed under the oversight of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the state agency that is responsible for overseeing these programs, and is undertaken in partnership with the cities at the beaches and in the watersheds. The county’s stormwater program includes multifaceted public education efforts such as stenciling storm drains and airing public service announcements, as well as extensive structural improvements, such as devices to exclude trash from entering into the streams and water-bodies and low-flow stormwater diversion devices at the beaches. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 4, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030408.pdf?ref=smdp.com)