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Environmentalists force arroyo cleanup
Groups that won suit over dumping in area might target other landowners
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More from EnvironmentAs a Ventura environmental group celebrated a settlement that forces a group of landowners to clean up material dumped into the Arroyo Las Posas, the activists are looking at targeting others illegally polluting the Somis stream.
"Arroyo Las Posas and Calleguas Creek are not dumping grounds," said Mati Waiya, executive director of Ventura Coastkeeper and the Wishtoyo Foundation, which filed a lawsuit against the property owners last year.
The 50 acres along the stream were owned by Ching San Tsai and Chin Tsu Tsai of Santa Barbara, who sold it in 2005 to Nicolas Teng, also of Santa Barbara, and Ching Chou Lin and Chen Chen Yi of Shanghai. All were named in the suit.
Last week, Waiya's group and the owners reached a settlement in which the owners agreed to clean out 2.73 acres of dirt dumped into the Arroyo Las Posas since 2005. The agreement also states the owners will get permits from the Army Corps of Engineers for all other work done along the creek.
Charles Doerksen, an attorney representing the owners, said they didn't know of any illegal dumping when they bought the property. He said the Tsais agreed to pay the estimated $150,000 to clean up the mess. Neither the Tsais nor their attorney could be reached for comment.
Daniel Cooper, an attorney with Lawyers for Clean Water, which is representing Wishtoyo, said others along the creek have also been dumping dirt and debris into the waterway, but the local, state and federal agencies charged with protecting the streams haven't stopped it.
Cooper said other property owners have dumped into the stream, including contractor Tom Staben, who was the focus of a recent Star investigation showing how he filled in parts of the stream with dirt that he was paid by Ventura County to move.
Posted by carexpritch on May 23, 2008 at 7:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I always like when foreigners come here and pollute our water and fill in our creeks.
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