LANG DAM CLEARING WORK FACES COURT DELAY.Byline: - Cecilia Chan Ventura County Flood Control officials announced Thursday that they have received the final permit needed to go ahead with the construction of the Lang Ranch Dam and next week's removal of oak tree limbs at the site. However, the group Save the Conejo 2000 has filed a temporary restraining order temporary restraining order: see injunction. that is expected to be heard this morning in court. ``This is going to be the showdown at the OK Corral corral a small fenced-in enclosure with high, wooden fences, suitable for holding cattle or horses. corral system a management system in which range cattle are put into corrals and fed hay for a period when the environment is most ,'' said Gerry Langer, a board member of the group. ``We are hoping to stop the cutting of the trees and we are airing all the issues raised in our brief.'' Langer said the group doesn't believe the county followed the guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. set by the California Environmental Quality Act The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a California law (California Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq.) passed in 1970, shortly after the Federal Government passed the National Environmental Policy Act. and has not addressed safety concerns, such as the stability of the land at the proposed dam site along Westlake Boulevard. He said county officials dismissed a 2001 independent study that showed the groundwater in the area was higher than documented and that the hillside was unstable. Officials from Ventura County, whose Flood Control District is building the dam for the city, have disagreed with some of the group's claims. Environmentalists oppose the uprooting of more than three dozen oak trees on the site, 22 of which are diseased dis·eased adj. 1. Affected with disease. 2. Unsound or disordered. , and believe the 66-foot-high dam can be placed elsewhere to protect downstream properties from a potential flood. If there's no rain as predicted this weekend, the county plans to begin trimming trees and brush at the site Monday to prevent birds from nesting in the area when construction starts in April. If the group's order is granted, trimming could be stopped for two or more weeks, and likely delay the project's construction for a year, county officials said. That would increase construction costs and liability if flooding occurred, said Ventura County Public Works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. Deputy Director Jeff Pratt. ``What we are trying to do is get started and give ourselves some flexibility for February, the wettest month in the county,'' he said. ``We need three weeks of good weather in order to do the limbing Limbing in logging is the process of removing branches from the stem of a felled tree. Options for cutting off the branches include chain saws, harvesters, de-limbers and other options. and (clearing) the brush.'' |
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