Thomas pleads not guilty to polluting wetlands

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Former Councilman John A. Thomas pleaded not

guilty last week to charges of polluting 14 acres of the Bolsa Chica

wetlands.

He was arraigned Friday at the West Justice Center in Westminster and

is due to return for a pretrial hearing July 31, court officials said. A

preliminary hearing is also set for Aug. 7.

Thomas faces 33 felony counts of dumping compost or dredge material

into small wetlands pockets, or cells considered to be national waters,

on his 56-acre oil-drilling site bordered by Garfield, Edwards and

Seapoint avenues. He is also charged with one felony count of dumping oil

and a misdemeanor count of altering a stream bed.

“The charges carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison for

each count,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Zidbeck, adding that they

first came up in 1998 when a state lands commission aircraft spotted an

oil spill on his property.

Zidbeck said he had been working with Thomas and his attorney Julian

Bailey to hopefully reach some resolve out of court, however, that was

not the case.

Bailey, Thomas’s attorney, did not return phone calls.

A 35-year-resident of Huntington Beach, Thomas served on the City

Council for two terms, running from 1978 to 1986. He also made a bid for

a council seat in the most recent election and supported the preservation

of the Bolsa Chica wetlands and other coastal environments.