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City to Move Toward River Clearing Wednesday

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 21:00 CST

By Paul Sisson, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.

Dec. 6--OCEANSIDE -- City officials say they can clear the flood-prone San Luis Rey River of overgrown vegetation for about $9.5 million less than the Army Corps of Engineers -- and get it done in about three weeks.

Peter Weiss, director of the city's Public Works Department, said he believes the city can clear a 125-foot-wide swath along both sides of the river for "about $500,000."

Weiss said he'll ask the Oceanside City Council on Wednesday for a declaration of a "threatened local disaster," which would allow his department to immediately solicit bids from companies who could perform the clearing operation quickly.

The catch, he said, is that the city would still need a permit from the Army Corps to start.

"I need someone at the Corps to say 'Go' .... (and) I have been unable to find out who that person is," Weiss said.

Toward that end, Weiss said he was meeting with representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Monday afternoon. Neither Weiss nor other officials could be reached for comment after the meeting.

Last week, the Corps' Washington, D.C. office denied a request to take emergency action and begin removing the dense strip of aquatic plants and trees that densely pack the river bed. In a September letter the Corps warned that heavy rain could dislodge the profusion of plants, sending them downstream toward city bridges where they could hang up and possibly form organic dams.

Should that happen, the Corps warned, storm water could top the river's levee system and cause an estimated $180 million in damage.

In its letter, the Corps asked for $10 million to perform an emergency clearing throughout the seven-mile riverbed through Oceanside.

The city's solution is cheaper and faster, Weiss said.

Weiss said the city wants to bring in a gigantic chipper-shredder machine that could be driven along the riverbank, mowing down everything in its path.

"The Corps' plan was much more extensive," Weiss said. "It called for removing stumps and roots and invasive species and hauling all of the materials off site."

By comparison, the city would simply mow down and mulch plants in the way, but would not dig up roots or haul plant material to the landfill, making it much cheaper and quicker, he said. However, with stumps and roots still intact, the clearing would be temporary, unlike the Corps' plan.

"It would be a temporary action to clear the path" before heavy winter rains hit, Weiss said.

Corps officials were unavailable for comment Monday on exactly what kind of permit it must issue for the emergency clearing project or when it will be able to make a decision.

The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife is also involved in the approval process because at least one species of endangered bird has been found nesting in the area. The Department has already given its tacit approval of an emergency clearing effort in a letter to Weiss dated Jan. 7, 2005.

The letter states, in part: "Take any measures necessary to address an emergency. An emergency is defined as a situation involving an act of God, disasters, casualties, national defense, or security emergencies, etc., and includes response activities that must be taken to prevent imminent loss of human life or property."

It was not clear Monday whether the department's January letter applies to a pre-emptive clearing before storm clouds are literally looming on the horizon.

Confirming what Weiss had said earlier in the day, Andy Yuen, deputy field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Carlsbad field office, said Monday afternoon that a representative from his office was meeting with Weiss and the Corps to try to determine what remaining approval and permitting hurdles remain.

"We do not know the outcome of that meeting yet," Yuen said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.

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Source: North County Times

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