River Revival: Navigating the Power of the Clean Water Act

EPA ruling makes the Los Angeles River a “traditional navigable waterway”. A Swimmable, Fishable, Boatable L.A. River is Within Our Grasp!

This designation assures the community that their local waters are protected by the nation's water laws. A clean, vibrant L.A. River system can help revitalize struggling communities, promoting growth and jobs for residents of Los Angeles. We want the L.A. River to demonstrate how urban waterways across the country can serve as assets in building stronger neighborhoods, attracting new businesses and creating new jobs.
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, July 7, 2010

On July 7, 2010 EPA Administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, stood on the banks of Compton Creek, a tributary to the Los Angeles River near Long Beach, and announced that the EPA had made its determination that the Los Angeles River is a “traditional navigable waterway”. After waiting nearly two years for the ruling, the crowd of over 50 Los Angeles River advocates and enthusiasts cheered and applauded.

Back in June of 2008 a biologist in the Ventura office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers named Heather Wylie contacted the Natural Resource Defense Council and Earth Justice, letting them know that the Corps was about to make a ruling in response to a permit application that could affect water quality and development on and along the River’s tributary streams. That’s when Friends of the Los Angeles River joined forces with the Natural Resource Defense Council, Earth Justice, Environment Now, the Santa Monica Bay Keeper, Heal the Bay, the River Project, and CleanUp Rocketdyne to urge the Corps to rule that the Los Angeles River is a “traditional navigable waterway” a crucial element in determining discharge permits upstream.

Our coalition worked with both the U.S. EPA District 9 and with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to make a case for the River. We provided numerous documents showing historical, present-day and future plans for boating on the Los Angeles River. We thought we were making headway, surely the Corps would see that boating on the River is definitely possible.

However, the Corps ruled that only four of the River’s 51 miles was navigable – a two mile stretch in the Sepulveda Basin section under the Corps’ jurisdiction, and two miles from the L.A. River Estuary into San Pedro were navigable. A conference call with the then acting Colonel in Los Angeles, Thomas Magnus, allowed us to ask questions and to provide our perspective on the decision. We cited several books, Blake Gumprecht’s, The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth, an in-depth historical account of the River and Joe Linton’s Down By The Los Angeles River, Friends of the Los Angeles River’s Official Guide, the virtual Bible of Los Angeles River access showing walks and bicycle rides along the River and its tributaries. And while Col. Magness was familiar with both books and with the River, it became apparent that his definition of “access” was far different from ours. We defined access as the ability to use the Los Angeles River and his definition had more to do with the legal right to do so.

The Los Angeles River IS a natural river. It is a seasonal river, having changed courses nine different times in recorded history. The city of Los Angeles is located where it is due to the fertile valley that those on the Portola expedition of 1769 came upon at the confluence of the Arroyo Seco and the Los Angeles. Zanja or ditches were dug from the River to bring water to the Pueblo and, until the Owens Valley Aquaduct came on line in 1919, the River was the sole source of water for the city of approximately 200,000 people.

Over time more and more people came to Los Angeles to build and settle in the River’s floodplain. While the River would flood every 10 to 15 years, two devastating floods – one in 1934 and then another in 1938 – caused significant damage to rail lines, homes washed down from the mountains and residents navigated the area by boat. It was then that they U.S. Army Corps was called in to “fix the problem.” And, in the era of engineering, the process of channelizing the Los Angeles River began. Much of the River was paved by hand as part of a WPA project. The River was fenced off and became increasingly more industrialized over time.

The channelized River became a virtual water freeway with runoff flowing through streets and storm drains into the incised channel so that water would flow as quickly as possible into the ocean – sometimes reaching speeds of 35 to 40 miles per hour. Both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works oversaw a “flood control channel” and their policy developed accordingly.

So what happened after the Army Corps’ initial determination?

In July 2008 an avid kayaker, George Wolfe, got a group of like-minded River enthusiasts and activists together to show the U.S. Army Corps that they had made the wrong determination; that the River WAS truly navigable. Friends of the Los Angeles River provided advice on how to apply for permits to access the channel as we do so for many of our programs, especially our annual Great Los Angeles River CleanUp. It was no surprise that neither the U.S. Army Corps nor the L.A. County Department of Public Works were willing to issue a permit for the crew to boat. The Corps DID issue a filming permit and, with that document in hand, they set sail on Friday, July 25, 2008 at the River’s headwaters – where Bell Creek and the Arroyo Calabasas converge at the football field of Canoga Park High School. Over the next three days the group successfully kayaked and canoed, arriving triumphantly in Long Beach late Sunday afternoon, July 27, 2008.

Our coalition continued working together and we rallied behind the notion that the U.S. EPA should be called in to make its determination with regard to the River’s navigability. The Agency does have the authority to do so, but this had never been done before. So, we held a hearing in December 2008 asking people to come and talk to the EPA’s District 9 representative, David Smith, asking them to let them know that if it were legal to do so they would gladly pay to kayak on the River – thus linking the idea of commerce to the navigability test. Photos and accounts by the L.A. River Expedition kayakers provided powerful evidence of the River’s navigability.

Throughout 2009 we waited and we continued to ask, “What is happening with the traditional navigabile river determination?” and we were told again and again that the case was still being reviewed.

Fast forward to June 2010 and the news that a delegation of Federal Representatives would be coming to Los Angeles as part of President Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors” initiative and that they would be touring the But what does this decision really mean for the future of the Los Angeles River?

Essentially, the EPA’s ruling has put the word “River” back into the Los Angeles River. The decision recognizes the importance of urban watersheds and the need for us to connect with nature. It means we are getting closer and closer to achieving a swimmable, boatable, fishable Los Angeles River. And, because it is still not legal to kayak or canoe in the River we’ve formed another coalition to address the issues of Los Angeles River access and use. We will happily report on our progress as things unfold.

Friends of the Los Angeles River
www.folar.org