Dear Governor Brown:
Thank you for your service to the people who are blessed to share the great State of California as their home.
I write to you today to urge you to take a moment out of your busy schedule to reconsider the $7 (seven) million dollar California State Parks project scheduled to begin construction this June, which is entitled the “Malibu Lagoon Restoration and Enhancement Program.”
I am a mother, former mayor and current City Councilmember for the City of Malibu. At our April 11, 2011 Malibu City Council meeting, I heard new facts which I feel you should be made aware of. The Malibu City Council deadlocked at a 2-2 vote, so this letter is written to you not as an official Malibu City letter, but from me as an individual.
First, please be assured that the people of Malibu have made protecting and preserving the environment a top priority. We have raised and spent millions and millions of dollars over the past few years and recently built Malibu Legacy Park. This park will collect, treat and use stormwater to reduce discharge of untreated stormwater to Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach. Indeed, the Court of Appeal just last week held, “The net effect of the Legacy Park project will be to improve, rather than harm the environment.” (Santa Monica Baykeeper v. City of Malibu, Case No. B222776.)
I am hopeful that you will reconsider the following facts presented at the April 11 meeting and act immediately before irreparable damage is done to one of California’s and the world’s most precious natural resources: the beloved Malibu Lagoon.
1. The project is not a “Restoration” project at all.
“Restoration” is defined as “The return of something to a former owner, place, or condition.” A picture taken around 1930 (and possibly prior) shows that Malibu Creek led directly to the ocean. According to Professor Emeritus Hartmut S. Walter’s testimony, it was an “estuary” which fluctuated, just like the ebb and tide of the ocean, and not a “lagoon” with restricted water circulation. Sometime thereafter, ball fields existed directly adjacent to Malibu Creek. In 1983, State Parks dug up the ball fields and created a “Malibu Lagoon.” To restore the creek, one would allow Mother Nature to take its natural course and not provide man-made barriers, which restrict the natural flow of water.
2. Some, but not all, of the water in the lagoon is oxygen deficient. Suzanne Goode, from California State Parks, testified that some of the water is oxygen deficient, although it was contested how much water in the lagoon is oxygen depleted. It is a fact, however, that some portion of the water in the lagoon is oxygen rich and thriving with wildlife.
3. According to testimony from Dr. John Izbicki, a scientist for the USGS who studied the water quality of the Creek, Lagoon and near shore ocean, the main source of bacteria which caused oxygen deprivation is natural from feces of birds and other animals. He stated that even if the State of California uses bulldozers to scrape the bottom of the Malibu Lagoon, bacteria will again build up over time due to the “natural cycle of life.” It appears that this project, as designed, will be like doing the 1983 dredging again, only expecting a different result.
4. Construction during the summer months of June, July, August and September will adversely impact: the local and regional economy, residents and visitors alike, who are trying to visit Malibu beaches, wildlife and especially the Snowy Plover, which mate from March through September.
5. Testimony was received that alternative devices exist (e.g. ‘Jet Streamer’) which would accomplish the same result (more oxygen in the water) at one seventh of the cost (i.e. $1 (one) million) and without disruptive dredging and bulldozers.)
Thank you for your immediate attention to and consideration in this matter.
With gratitude,
Pamela Conley Ulich