AHMANSON EIR APPROVED REVIEW BOARD UNSWAYED BY WATER ISSUE.

Byline: Grace Lee Staff Writer

VENTURA - The Ahmanson Ranch development cleared a major hurdle Wednesday when a county review committee approved a crucial environmental report, sending it on to the next stage of review.

The committee certified the report in a 5-0 vote despite opponents' calls for more study of findings that a chemical from a nearby former Rocketdyne laboratory may have migrated to the site of the proposed 3,050-home development.

Committee member Bruce Smith said continued monitoring of the site and cleaning well water to meet drinking standards would remedy any problem.

``As I understand it, (water treatment) technology is proven,'' Smith said. ``There's nothing really exotic about it. It's just a matter of treatment and location ... With those caveats, I'm comfortable approving it.''

Developer Washington Mutual has agreed to close the well if studies show that drawing water causes the contaminant - perchlorate - to spread.

Steve Weston, a spokesman for Ahmanson Ranch, said developers were pleased by the vote.

``It's a another step, a big step, and we're looking forward to the hearing before the Planning Commission,'' Weston said.

Tsilah Burman, executive director of Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch, which opposes the project, derided the decision, calling it an ``example of irresponsible and reckless government, especially when it comes to public health safety.''

``To say this (study) is adequate is, frankly, an insult to the public's intelligence,'' Burman said.

The presence of perchlorate, found in a well to be used in the development's irrigation, was included in the revised supplemental impact report last month. It only recently came to light because of technical glitches in releasing a compact disc of the study.

Dennis Hawkins, a county senior planner, said no evidence showed that the source of the chemical was the nearby Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

The perchlorate contamination measured 28 parts per billion - seven times higher than the federally recommended level that would mandate notices if it were used for drinking, but below the 40 ppb that would be required to shut the well down, the county said.

The report will now likely be heard before the Planning Commission in November, and, if certified, will go before the Board of Supervisors in December.

Both the Planning Commission and the county Board of Supervisors can call for additional studies. The report - a supplement to the 1992 environmental impact report - outlined additional steps for protecting plants and wildlife but found no need for more traffic studies.

The supplemental report, by Rincon Consultants Inc. of Ventura, also focuses on mitigating the effects of the proposed project on the endangered California red-legged frog and the San Fernando Valley spineflower.