What should be done at the Oceano Dunes?
By Andrew Christie
On April 30, the California Dept. of Parks and the SLO Air Pollution Control District are going to take another run at solving the public health problem of the dust plumes kicked up by off-road vehicles at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. As this problem is on record as causing the worst air quality in the nation, this is a matter of vital interest to those who live downwind of the dunes. And it has been for many years.
The long-term intractability of the environmental problems at the Oceano Dunes inspires a kind of awe. As the Coastal Commission put it in a January 2017 permit review: State Parks “is not in compliance with numerous terms and conditions of its coastal development permit,” “all the deadlines for compliance with these conditions have long since passed,” and “[Parks] has failed to designate and operate a permanent access and staging system as required. This represents a three decade old violation of the CDP.”
And they weren’t even referring to the violations of air quality standards and the Endangered Species Act, or State Parks’ blunt refusals to act on the recommendations of scientists.
We have itemized the record-breaking history of noncompliance and regulatory failures at the dunes on several occasions. But several recent events tell the tale without the need for a deep dive into that long, sorry history.
The American Lung Association has called out the SLO Air Pollution Control District for allowing the hazardous dust problem caused by off-highway vehicle use to continue unabated. The SLO County Health Department has complained to the Board of Supervisors about “numerous delays” in State Parks’ development of dust mitigation measures following “previous measures by State Parks [that] have had no effect.” The March 21 APCD board hearing of a proposed settlement agreement -- crafted to allow State Parks to escape an order for the abatement of a nuisance for which it refuses to admit responsibility – resulted in board members calling the settlement agreement “vague,” “not serious,” and worse. The April 30 hearing will be, presumably, Parks’ last chance: if non-serious vagueness persists, it will be time to issue an abatement order.
Meanwhile, State Parks is also floating a Habitat Conservation Plan for the Oceano Dunes, mandated by the Endangered Species Act but delayed for decades, which proposes -- how shall I put this? -- not to conserve habitat. The Sierra Club pointed out to State Parks that a proposed reduction in nesting and breeding grounds for the snowy plover and least tern would violate the requirement to conserve endangered or threatened species and ensure their recovery. The Center for Biological Diversity commented that “reducing the protective fencing that creates a safe haven for nesting shorebirds…could allow for even more ORV traffic on the beach. More vehicles will mean more dead birds and worse air quality for the local community.”
And State Parks is suddenly interested in creating a Public Works Plan for the Oceano Dunes SVRA. This would do a number of things, but the primary thing it would do is remove the ODSVRA from the oversight of the California Coastal Commission, at a time when Coastal Commissioners have started saying things like this, in a tone of distinct annoyance:
“Using our beaches as a highway is not okay. Crossing creeks…which have two kinds of listed species in them is not okay.”
And this:
“It’s a big state. And I don’t know that it means you gotta do this next to the Pacific Ocean, on a beach, next to an environmentally sensitive habitat area. It still amazes me that we allow vehicles and off-road vehicles to be driving around in ESHA dunes. It blows my mind…. It’s like we have to weigh between the value of people’s right to recreate in a cool way and abhorrent public health impacts. To me, I’m sorry, in my world, forgive me if you think I’m crazy, but it is ludicrous that that’s even a discussion.”
And especially this:
“I think fundamentally there need to be legislative remedies here…. Maybe there needs to be conversations between our commission and our appointing authorities in the legislative leadership and the governor [saying] ‘Hey guys, we need to put this on your radar because there’s this giant plume drifting into these communities, and there are people showing up at our hearings on oxygen tanks, and somebody needs to move a bill.’ Because maybe we need to just not allow this to be happening in the Coastal Zone.”
A theme is discernible throughout this history of frustration and failure: Off-road vehicles and beaches, coastal dunes, endangered species and the need to live free of decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis and pulmonary disorders don’t mix.
Our state legislators could resolve virtually all of the issues in the Oceano Dunes with three words: Car camping only. Authorize only street-legal vehicle use for purposes of camping in the back dunes between Pier and Grand Avenues, and beach camping at a distance of at least 100 meters from plover and least tern exclosure areas. Beach camping units are the facilities most in demand at all coastal State Parks, and are an economic boon to host communities. (Proposition 68, a park and water bond on the June ballot, includes $30 million for the Coastal Conservancy to support lower-cost overnight accommodations through grants or Conservancy-led projects. The Conservancy wants to hear ideas for places along the coast where they can develop or improve campgrounds.)
Oceano Dunes would still be a State Vehicular Recreation Area. State Parks would still collect vehicle fees. The state would enhance both vehicular use and passive recreation. Beachgoers and snowy plovers alike would be at greatly reduced risk. And the former riding area could be wholly revegetated to solve the dust problem.
With enough pushback at the April 30 APCD board hearing, the dust issue, at least, could take a step toward resolution. Show up at the County Board of Supervisors chambers at 9 a.m. for a speaker slip. Wear a red shirt in solidarity with Nipomo Mesa residents, and argue for re-vegetation of the maximum acreage in the minimum time for maximum reduction of the giant dust plumes. The APCD hearing board must not approve a deal that gives State Parks more years to comply with no specific timeline to fully resolve the problem.
A good outcome there would be a good thing, but it will leave all the other issues to be resolved.
Steve Padilla is the Coastal Commissioner who made those observations about the mind-blowing fact of off-road vehicles being allowed anywhere near environmentally sensitive coastal habitat areas and the need for a legislative remedy. He’s right. There needs to be a conversation between the commission and their appointing authorities in the legislative leadership and with the governor, and somebody needs to move a bill.
The APCD can’t do much about that. But you can. Send a message to Senator Bill Monning and Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham and let them know you want to see that bill, with language in it terminating non street-legal use of the Oceano Dunes. Because we need to just not allow this to be happening in the Coastal Zone.