The Clean Water Act (CWA) became federal law in 1972. The CWA mandates that all watercourses in the U.S. be evaluated for pollution, and that pollution in all U.S. watercourses be reduced to “acceptable” levels. The jurisdiction these watercourses lie in (federal, state, county, or city) is responsible to comply with the CWA.
City of Malibu councilmembers, elected by Malibu residents, regrettably choose to ignore the CWA in favor of a strange blend of promoting, regulating, restricting and micro-managing the city’s business community in the heart of Malibu.
Unfortunately for Malibu residents, many (not all) elected officials put aside scruples to garner as many votes as possible for their next re-election campaign. While councilmembers frequently state that they are working to enforce these public health and safety laws, their actions prove otherwise. Consequently, the city has lost several lawsuits that have cost Malibu taxpayers huge amounts of money. For example, a few weeks ago the city settled a five-year court battle for $6.6 million dollars. They could end up paying much more by the time the dust settles. Then there was the Local Coastal Plan debacle. The list goes on. All of these lawsuits could have been avoided if the City of Malibu made sincere and effective “strides” to comply with the Federal CWA and various State Laws.
At the last Malibu City Council meeting, the council thankfully rejected Pamela Conley Ulich’s motion to squander $50,000 on legal fees regarding the lagoon project, but did vote in favor of spending $5,000 on legal action that will accomplish nothing.
We would rather see your tax money spent on making Malibu safe, with value placed on public safety and the health of the environment first.
Wouldn’t you?
Stephenie Glas, Steve Woods, Matthew Horns,
Bob Purvey