CoastKeeper warns home development about runoff

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- An environmentalist took the first step toward suing

the developers of a massive home project in Yorba Linda on Tuesday,

following a process laid out by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Orange County CoastKeeper Garry Brown has accused Toll Brothers Inc.

and Aera Energy Corp. of dumping excess sediment into the Santa Ana

River. Brown sent the two companies a notice of violation and intent to

sue.

That polluted sediment exits the mouth of the Santa Ana River channel,

degrades the water quality of Orange County’s beaches and leads to the

over-sedimentation of its harbors, Brown said.

“It’s probably the dirtiest construction site I’ve ever seen,� Brown

said of the project. “There’s very little interest in complying with the

state construction permit.�

Toll Brothers, based near Philadelphia, is building three exclusive

communities in Vista Del Verde, in the hills of Yorba Linda.

Spokeswoman Kira McCarron said she had not heard of the notice.

“Because it’s a pseudo-litigation matter, there will be no comment,�

McCarron said. “It’s too soon in the process for it to hit our radar

screen.�

The homes will be situated on an old oil field that will incorporate

the Black Gold Golf Course. Landowner Aera Energy, a co-developer, is

co-owned by Shell Oil Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Toll Brothers is building 114 homes in the Fairways project, 61 homes

in the Pinnacle, and 82 homes in a development called Montecito. The

homes will sell for between $615,975 and $976,000, according the the

company’s Web site.

Yorba Linda Principal Planner Bruce Cook said his city has had no

oversight over preventing the project’s runoff.

State law requires the developer to submit a plan to the Santa Ana

Regional Water Quality Control Board detailing how it will control

polluted runoff.

On Friday, Brown said he sent the notice of intent to sue to the

company’s Orange office. The notice starts in motion a 60-day period for

the two sides to work out a settlement.

If the company doesn’t respond, Brown said he will file a lawsuit in

federal court and try to obtain an injunction to halt the project.

CoastKeeper followed a similar path with the Irvine Co.’s community of

bluff-top homes in Newport Coast. After threatening to sue, Brown and the

company reached a settlement agreement in March. The company agreed to

install catch basins, step up water-quality monitoring and implement

other improvements.

The Newport Watershed, an area covering more than 3,000 square miles,

acts as a funnel for polluted sediment heading toward the county’s

beaches, Brown said.

“What happens in the watershed is all connected,� Brown said. “It’s

all these flows that accumulate. They all run to our beaches.�

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .