Guest Opinion | Tim Brick: July 12 is the Deadline for Public Comments on the Devil’s Gate Sediment Removal Program

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing a permit for County Flood Control’s Devil’s Gate Sediment Mining and Trucking program, aka the Big Dig. The public notice they issued indicates some of the provisions that will be in the final permit and invites the public to comment on the adequacy of those provisions.

The notice also reveals some amazing things that the Flood Control District just hasn’t been honest about.

Imagine standing on Devil’s Gate Dam, looking at the beautiful San Gabriel mountains and seeing this denuded crater in the middle of the basin. This is the County’s work plan.

Much of the “mitigation” for the County’s destructive program will occur sixty miles away in Leona Valley, in the desert near Lancaster.

The Corps doesn’t think the destruction of 70 acres of riparian habitat merits a federal Environmental Impact Study.

The Corps doesn’t think habitat for the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo will be affected, even though one bird was spotted in Hahamongna recently, and the Flood Control District has filed for a license to kill the rare bird.

Tell the Corps to do its job and protect aquatic species and habitat. Insist that the Corps hold a public hearing on its permit.

You may view the full notice here: http://www.arroyoseco.org/documents/20180628_USACE_PublicNotice-Extension.pdf

Please send in your comments by today’s deadline, and send a copy to us at savehahamongna@arroyoseco.org. Comments should be sent electronically to: Bonnie.L.Rogers@usace.army.mil or mailed to:

Department Of The Army
Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers
Regulatory Division
Attn: Bonnie Rogers, Spl-2014-00591
Los Angeles District Corps Of Engineers
915 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 930
Los Angeles, California 90017

Tim Brick is the managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation.