Los Angeles River may get protection through the Clean Water Act

From the Los Angeles Times:

The Los Angeles River, the urban waterway often besmirched by graffiti, pollution and Hollywood car chases, has finally gotten a break: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has stepped up as its protector.

In an unusual move, the EPA has told the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it is stepping into an obscure debate over whether the river and its tributary streams are “traditional navigable waters.” The bureaucratic designation helps determine whether the upper reaches of the river’s watershed in the foothills around Los Angeles deserve protection under the federal Clean Water Act.

“It’s import for us to protect urban rivers and waterways around the country,” said Benjamin H. Grumbles, an EPA assistant administrator for water. “We are stepping up to ensure that the Clean Water Act tools are applied consistently and fairly and we all work together to protect the L.A. River.”

After the Army Corps of Engineers said the river was not navigable, determined kayakers took to the cemented and graffitied river, kayaking the length to prove them wrong (see post here). Apparently that has had some effect, with the Corps now saying some miles are indeed navigable:

The EPA agrees with the Corps’ designation that some of the miles are navigable, Grumbles said. “We think it’s important to look at the rest of the river.”

He also said the EPA was stepping in to clarify issues raised by the Supreme Court decision and figure out what “navigable” means in the arid West, where rivers typically flow only during wet seasons or when filled with treated water from sewage plants.

Grumbles declined to prejudge a final decision on how much of the river might be considered navigable, and therefore on how much of its 834-square-mile watershed should be protected.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

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