A lawsuit has been filed by Defend Ballona Wetlands and two individuals, Molly Basler and Robert van de Hoek, in Los Angeles Superior Court, challenging California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s (CDFW) approval of an environmental impact report that would allow for the complete destruction of the fragile Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the last wetlands on the Los Angeles coast. This misguided project would mostly benefit SoCalGas, operators of a dangerous gas storage field under the reserve. Ballona’s approximately 640 acres have been owned by the public since 2003 and are a treasured resource.
“Our Governor’s cabinet members just announced a series of initiatives that support ‘Nature Based Solutions’ to counter climate change. So, how does Governor Newsom justify a project to bulldoze and excavate more than 2.5 million cubic yards of soil, paving the way for a new fossil fuel infrastructure for the aging gas storage field under this ecological reserve?” asked attorney Bryan Pease.
The petitioners claim CDFW failed to respond adequately to comments made by numerous organizations and community members – especially related to climate change and to endangered and other imperiled species at Ballona.
“It’s outrageous CDFW did not address the fact that hundreds of acres, filled with plants, animals and soils, would be destroyed, even though they store and sequester carbon now. Protecting carbon in place is crucial. Yet, their plan would obliterate a mosaic of habitats so that a salt marsh might sequester carbon in 100 years? We don’t have 100 years!” exclaimed Molly Basler, a Climate Reality Leader, trained by Al Gore, and a candidate for LA City Council.
Wildlife biologist Robert van de Hoek has done field observations at Ballona for 30 years. He notes concerns raised by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which are outlined in the lawsuit.
“The State cannot legally dismiss the many documented sightings of endangered species and species on the California List of Species of Special Concern. The law says they must address those species, and, in many cases, they did not. The ‘Nature Based Solution’ at Ballona is to protect the landscape, not to experiment with it,” explained van de Hoek.
