Casitas ordered to stop project
By Jesse Phelps

The Casitas Municipal Water District held a special meeting of its board of directors Wednesday at its offices in Oak View but quickly adjourned to closed session after taking minimal comments from the gathered public.

The meeting was called in response to a cease-and-desist order issued Feb. 21 by the Bureau of Reclamation. The bureau, upset with a lack of response from Casitas to previous letters, ordered the district to shut down construction on the Lazy River water park, Casitas' latest addition to lakeside recreation.

"The purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention serious concerns regarding unauthorized use of federal lands by CMWD and to suspend such use until these concerns are adequately addressed," wrote Michael Paul Jackson, deputy area manager for the South-Central California Office of the Bureau of Reclamation.

Following receipt of the order, the district sent the requested documents and also, according to local activist Larry Yuva, continued construction on the project. "I noticed that construction continued through Monday and only ceased Tuesday," said Yuva, addressing the board it called for the closed session.

Reports of continued construction was of some concern to Jackson but he said Casitas has made the effort to comply in recent days. "I had received similar reports and sent Casitas a reminder," Jackson said. "They responded that they had indeed shut the project down. Following receipt of the letter, they've been very cooperative."

Jackson said the issuance of a cease and desist order by the bureau is unusual. He says the bureau made the call to do so because he needed to be sure the district was in "compliance with federal laws surrounding the National Environmental Policy Act requiring federal agencies to review actions that may have an impact on the environment."
Lazy River, if and when it's completed, will stand adjacent to the current children's water playground. According to Casitas board member Jim Coultas, it is meant to be the adult complement to the playground, an adult swim area. Construction began within the last month and Lazy River was slated to open for the July 4 holiday.

"Lazy River is like three and a half feet deep and 15 feet wide, like an artificial river," said Coultas. "People can float around in it or swim against the current. It's got little bridges over it and places for handicapped people can get in. It's compliant with those standards and it and a little beach access. As I understand it, it's going to be like 1200 feet long."

Local activists are concerned with the placement of Lazy River in the Teague watershed, which was obtained by the federal government in 1979 through eminent domain. The watershed comprises hundreds of acres surrounding Lake Casitas originally purchased with the intention of protecting the lake from urban runoff, livestock, and other forms of contamination.

"The Teague Watershed will not function as desired if development is encouraged and accomplished south of the watershed boundaries by CMWD," said Russ Baggerly of the Environmental Defense Coalition. "That means that all of those people lost their homes and land for nothing."
Baggerly and others also pointed out that with the advent of Lazy River comes the advent of more parking spaces and thus more traffic. Casitas representatives denied that they have plans for any further parking accommodations.

Another concern voiced by activists was contamination level increases due to more people in the watershed. Baggerly said this fits a pattern of Casitas ignoring environmental impacts and supporting potentially damaging projects.
"CMWD has always been ready to develop recreational opportunities at the lake," he said. "They were favorably inclined to support a golf course and hotel across from the entrance to the Lake. They supported body contact at the lake for expanded recreational opportunities and in the last two years, they were inclined to open the Teague Watershed to enhanced recreational opportunities."

Board member Bill Hicks confronted Baggerly and the two got into a very public debate in the Casitas Municipal Water District office parking lot following Wednesday's meeting. "We never supported the golf course," said Hicks.

Baggerly insinuated that Hicks knew the developers and encouraged the building of the course, but Hicks flatly denied this connection. Hicks admitted to initially supporting body contact but said the board has acted responsibly and never encouraged damage to the lake's ecosystem.
The whole day got off to a rollicking start when the board determined that a closed session was needed to discuss matters despite the presence of the press and concerned citizens from the community.

David Pritchett of the Southern California Steelhead Coalition voiced his disgruntlement with the board's decision to close the doors. "I'm disappointed that you feel this meeting is unfit for the public to hear," said Pritchett. "People want to know how this board is going to react." Pritchett added, "This is a rather stealthy meeting today. This meeting should be in the bright light of public disclosure."
Coultas explained the closed session by saying, "There were some legal issues and (district legal counsel) Jim Lobel felt there was a reasonable chance legal action could ensue."

What those actions might be are unclear.
Coultas felt that despite the cease and desist order, the district's relationship with the bureau is improving. "To Michael Jackson's credit, he's been working with us on everything," he said. "He 's really trying to get it straightened out."

And despite the difficulties obtaining documentation, Jackson said he feels that Casitas has been a good steward of the area up until now. "I've personally taken a visit down there and the facilities have been well taken care of," he said. "The lake is clean. It been a matter of providing us with the information, making sure that they're complying with the laws."

Baggerly had a different take. Pursuing any further development near the lake, he said, "essentially undermines the fundamental reason for the Teague Watershed Protection areas."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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