Groups Challenge County’s Big Dig at Hahamongna / Devil’s Gate Dam

Representatives of the Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF) and the Pasadena Audubon Society (PAS) announced they are filing a lawsuit challenging the LA County Flood Control District’s (LACFCD) program to scour the basin behind Devil’s Gate Dam in Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena at a Wednesday morning news conference.

The lawsuit will challenge the environmental impacts of the Flood Control District’s Big Dig program, which would involve 150,000 diesel trucks removing more than 2.4 million cubic yards of sand and sediment from the basin behind Devil’s Gate Dam over a five year period and permanently degrading more than 50 acres of streamzone habitat there. The massive nature of the sediment trucking program has raised serious concerns over air pollution, traffic and public health.

“The Flood Control District’s Big Dig plan ignores overwhelming community support for a more moderate and less destructive approach to removing the sediment that has accumulated behind Devil’s Gate Dam over many decades,” said Tim Brick, ASF Managing Director. Laura Garrett, PAS Conservation Chair, said, “We can protect the habitat, wildlife and recreational activities at Hahamonga, while providing a safe level of flood protection. Pasadena’s recommendations and the scores of comments offered during the Environmental Impact Report process demonstrate that.”

The Flood Control District’s program and the related EIR were formally approved by the LA County Board of Supervisors on November 12 by a 4-1 vote, with County Supervisor Yaroslavsly dissenting.

Attorneys Mitchell M. Tsai and Christina M. Caro will represent ASF and PAS in the matter and file the papers on December 10.