People still visit L.A. County beaches despite pollution
By Daily Press staff
Two environmental groups are disappointed with new county rules to control bacteria-laden runoff pollution, which makes beachgoers sick when it rains.
Santa Monica BayKeeper Executive Director Steve Fleischli and Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Attorney David Beckman said their organizations were “disappointed” with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board’s new plan to require municipalities to reduce the number of beach closures to levels that would be observed under “natural” conditions during and after rain.
The plan, however, allows affected coastal cities 10 to 18 years to comply with the new standard, depending on the approach a town chooses to implement the board’s policy.
Both Beckman and Fleischli are not pleased with the board’s action, which was undertaken Thursday.
6B5,“Making Southern California’s world famous beaches safe and clean year-round is a public policy no-brainer,” Beckman stated. “It is good for public health, the environment and our billion-dollar coastal economy. It is high time we got on with the effort.”
Fleischli added, “No matter how you look at it, 10 to 18 years is a long time, but we are trying to give the cities flexibility in their implementation of programs to solve these problems. This is not everything we had hoped for, but it comes close. Some of the scientific assumptions still favor dischargers rather than the public health, which is disappointing and illegal.”
The Santa Monica BayKeeper and Natural Resources Defense Council have been at the forefront to force governmental agencies to set pollution limits for waterways in the Los Angeles region. And the new rules, the two organizations say, are the result of a 1998 lawsuit they brought against the United States Environmental Protection Agency for failing to set such limits. Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay also was a part of that litigation.
Santa Monica beaches have been regularly closed during and after rainstorms because of high pollution levels. The county’s Health Department advises individuals to avoid swimming in the Santa Monica Bay within three days of any rain. Also, urban runoff and sewage spills contribute to more than 1,000 beach closures and postings every year in Los Angeles County, according to the Santa Monica BayKeeper.
Despite the pollution, Southern California beaches remain to be a major destination for tourists and locals. According the county’s Lifeguard Department, more than 1 million people a month visit Los Angeles County beaches during the winter.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 13, 2002. Read the original PDF.