Environmental group, Irvine Co. work out pollution prevention plan

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- The Irvine Co. and a Newport Beach environmental group

agreed Thursday to a plan they say will reduce harmful urban runoff into

Crystal Cove.

The deal was struck after months of talks between Orange County

CoastKeeper and the developer -- which is building a 635-home project on

the ridge above Coast Highway.

The Irvine Co. was one of several parties named in a cease-and-desist

order, aimed at reducing pollution into the cove, that was issued by the

Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board in November.

“I am very pleased that CoastKeeper and the Irvine Co. have been able

to work together to develop this plan,” CoastKeeper Executive Director

Garry Brown said in a statement. “It is cutting-edge for the building

industry and for coastal protection, and could serve as a model for other

coastal areas.”

During the 10-year term of the agreement, the Irvine Co. has agreed to

a four-point plan that would improve water quality. Some of the measures

are to:

* install expanded catch basins to capture and filter the first 0.75

inches of rainfall;

* build a system that would divert runoff not caused by storms into

public sewers for treatment;

* do specific grading to reduce the flow of sediment into storm

drains;

* use what’s called a “treatment train” that includes vacuum street

sweepers and storm-drain filters.

The improvements are expected to cost several million dollars.

The Irvine Co. assembled the plan in response to several factors --

threats from Brown to sue the developer, the water board’s order and

inquiries from the California Coastal Commission about the adequacy of

the company’s drainage plan.

“The preservation of environmental quality is one of the cornerstones

of a community’s quality of life,” company Vice President Monica Florian

said in a statement. “The extraordinary water-quality features integrated

in the Crystal Cove project will [help to protect] the unique coastal

area of Crystal Cove.”