Something sure stinks! I mean besides the water in Malibu. Looking at the photo showing the “surfers” protesting Councilmember Jefferson Wagner’s vote against the Legacy Park EIR, I can’t help but feel like this was a staged photo-op by some seriously misguided and misinformed people. Why no mention of distaste for Councilmember Ulich? She, too, voted against this project. In fact, Councilmembers Wagner and Ulich are the only ones sitting on the council with the courage and intelligence to openly admit that is a flawed and dishonest plan.
I guess you “protestors” also don’t know the difference between storm water and waste water. Let me educate you. Storm water is what runs off impervious coverage during rain or irrigation, etc. Waste water is what is swishing around between your ears and what comes out of septic tanks and what, most likely, is what gives me sinusitis, gastroenteritis and upper respiratory infections when I surf, swim or just play in the polluted water in and around Malibu.
So while Legacy Park, in its original conception, was to filter both of these pollutant sources, it is now not going to do anything with the poop and we, the real surfers, will continue to get sick. That is why the city is getting sued by the NRDC and Santa Monica Baykeeper as well as hearing the vociferous objection of Heal the Bay, Surfrider Foundation and the Regional Water Quality Review Board. Some pretty credible organizations!
The public deserves more. We should demand more and thankfully we have at least two council members willing to stand up for us. So while the city stalls and refuses to do what was originally intended with grant money donated to clean up our water (at least not until 2013), they will spend much more money fighting lawsuits when we could have been in clean, really clean water. And, we the public, will continue to get sick.
Robert Pousman