EDITORIAL: Key support for cleanup

It’s good news for Laguna Beach that Supervisor Pat Bates has assumed the chairmanship of the Board of Supervisors, and has placed cleaning up Aliso Creek on the top of her priority list for the year.

The SUPER project, as it’s called, is a federally funded creek restoration and stabilization project that aims to tame this waterway and flood zone.

Aliso Creek empties directly onto the county-run beach in South Laguna, a popular spot for skimboarding and one of the most beautiful beaches in the city limits.

It also runs through the sensitive and beautiful Aliso Canyon, which is proposed for a major redevelopment project by the Athens Group, which developed the nearby Montage Resort & Spa. Athens plans to build a new resort and nine-hole golf course to replace the aging lodge and inn that has been there since the 1950s.

Through the history of the Aliso Creek Inn and Lodge, formerly known and loved as Ben Brown’s, flooding has always been a threat. The rivercourse is known to flood at times, and has wiped out the lodge and golf course more than once.

Aliso Creek wends its way from hills miles inland, gathering debris, toxins and strength along the way.

What to do about Aliso has been one of the chief concerns not just for Athens Group but also for environmentalists and the beachgoing public.

Ideally, the creek waters will be restored to their original pristine condition, and pollutants will no longer threaten skimmers and surfers, nor will the creek’s power do damage to the future development at the inland canyon site.

Bates is hoping to get the $45-million project funded by including it in the Federal Stimulus Package, according to her chief of staff. Tying the restoration in with economic stimulus is a smart move.

President Barack Obama’s election is another hopeful sign.

In late 2007, proponents of the cleanup effort had to get Congress to override former President George W. Bush’s veto of the $23-billion Water Resources Development Act of 2007 that included funds for the cleanup of Aliso Creek.

Both Sens. Feinstein and Boxer, went to bat for the local cleanup effort, and the water bill passed with a rare two-thirds majority override vote.

That provided the first “seed money” for the project, a $4.5-million infusion.

But there’s a long way to go to fund this critical project, and the support of local officials like Bates is paramount. When the bill goes to Obama’s desk to sign, we trust it will not face a veto.