EDITORIAL

At this point, there is little debating the importance of cleaning up,

and then keeping up, the Upper Newport Bay. Whether it be for the myriad

environmental reasons -- from protecting birds and plant life as well as

rare coastal sage scrub, to ensuring that the flow of water from the bay

into Newport Harbor is clean -- or for the simple pleasure of walking

through a clean preserve, Newport-Mesa residents know that the Back Bay

deserves and demands protection.

Just what that protection should be is not so easily agreed upon,

however. Even now, a study, funded in part by the Irvine Ranch Water

District, of how to measure pollutants in the Back Bay is sounding a

divisive note, with some -- including Newport Beach leaders and

environmentalists -- claiming it could lead to worse water quality.

Others -- including officials in Costa Mesa -- are not so sure and want

to see more details.

Such disagreement is not surprising. Environmental issues, like all

public policy, are complex and multifaceted, with money always a key part

of the equation. But to have officials in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa on

opposite sides of the status of the Back Bay is distressing and

worrisome.

Costa Mesa officials say the Back Bay stands as one of many important

issues before the city, but it is not as pressing as road repair or

public safety. That is understandable. But Costa Mesa officials should

recognize that just because the Bay Bay does not empty into the midst of

their city, as it does in Newport, they are not absolved from protecting

their local environment.

Newport Beach officials should work hard to make this case to their

next-door neighbors. A united Newport-Mesa front on the Back Bay is an

obvious key to its healthy future.

A first step is for leaders to sit down and come to an agreement about

the controversial water-quality study. From there, they should keep

working together on an issue that is as important as road work and public

safety.