Tsai Litigation

In 2008, Ventura Coastkeeper (VCK) prevailed in its litigation against three private property owners for illegally dumping and filling into Arroyo Las Posas, a tributary of Calleguas Creek, in violation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The settlement mandates that the property owners remove their fill and restore the riparian habitat they destroyed.

The dumping and filling illegally conducted without permits or oversight to dispose of wastes and expand property, changed the natural course of Arroyo Las Posas, filled its floodplains damaging county flood protection efforts, destroyed riparian and aquatic habitat for threatened and endangered species, degraded water quality, and increased erosion and downstream sedimentation.

VCK’s lawsuit had a rippling effect.  After VCK filed suit, the U.S. EPA issued additional Section 404 Clean Water Act enforcement actions ordering requiring landowners Muranaka and Staben to remove unpermitted fill and to restore the damaged portions of the river.  

VCK’s monitoring and Clean Water Act enforcement actions are part of VCK’s campaign to end illegal dumping into Ventura County creeks. VCK’s goal is to not only stop the dumping but to require the cleanup of decades of filling into the Arroyo Las Posas and return it to its natural state.