Owens Valley as an Environmental Hazard

Nearly every contemporary article on the Owens Valley notes an unenviable distinction: the valley's Owens Lake is the single largest source of dust pollution in the United States. The lake, and the valley's general environmental degradation, serves as the last and seemingly never-ending chapter of the water wars between Los Angeles and the Owens Valley. Over the past 25 years, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have fought, negotiated, and implemented a plan to restore the Owens Valley and control the pollution in the area. The process has yielded many necessary improvements but has also been fraught with old antagonisms and one of the longest running debates in California history.

The origins of the Owens Valley's dust problems date back nearly a century. During the 1920s, Los Angeles began diverting greater and greater amounts of water from the Owens Valley to the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Over the course of the next several years, water that would have previously flowed into Owens Lake was transported to the Southland. By 1930, the title of Owens Lake felt like a cruel joke. Desiccated, the lake became a “salt flat the size of San Francisco.”

^{Geomet Station and Dust Traps at South End of Owens (Dry) Lake, from "Owens (Dry) Lake, California: A Human-Induced Dust Problem, by Marith C. Reheis, U.S. Geological Survey.}

Dust storms became the norm in the Owens Valley but it was difficult to prove the long-term health consequences of living along Owens Lake. This changed in the 1970s with the advent of the environmental movement. Following the completion of the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, environmentalists began to question the sustainability of Los Angeles' water strategy. The new aqueduct diverted water from the Mono Basin, causing drastic changes in Mono Lake. David Gaines, a longtime environmentalist, was one of many activists who formed the Mono Lake Committee. The Committee was dedicated to the preservation of Mono Lake's water and wildlife and was particularly successful at engaging the public. As John Walton noted, “'Save Mono Lake bumper stickers began appearing all over the state during the 1980s; later there were other slogans ('Don't Owenize Mono') and applications—for example, toilet stickers ('I Save Water for Mono Lake'). In well-publicized bucket brigades, hikers and joggers carried water from Los Angeles to replenish the lake, while bike-a-thon participants carried symbolic vials. Mono Lake was featured on the cover of Life Magazine in July 1981, and in articles appearing in National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Audubon.”

In addition to the Mono Lake efforts, residents in the Owens Valley also began to re-organize. Although not the most dramatic period of the Owens Valley water wars, the ensuing lobbying groups, lawsuits, and acts paved the way for concrete change in the valley. In the 1970s, the Concerned Citizens of the Owens Valley was founded with the intent of creating new strategies to combat the LADWP. Combined with the environmental movement, these efforts to keep Los Angeles in check built a broad coalition centered on water sustainability, the Owens Valley economy, and the preservation of flora and wildlife. Backed by new regulations regarding air and water quality, these groups formed a strategy to show that the LADWP was at fault for many of the environmental ills in the Mono Basin and Owens Valley and that they should be held legally responsible. As early as 1972, Inyo County sued the city of Los Angeles for violating the California Environmental Quality Act. A wave of lawsuits soon followed but none were able to commit Los Angeles to restoration plans.

By 1987, the EPA labeled the Owens Valley a non-attainment area; a classification that denotes a violation of the Clean Air Act amendment. Over the next several years, the LADWP engaged in a series of legal battles over the condition of the Owens Valley and the issue of culpability. Eventually, a State Implementation Plan was approved by both the LADWP and the Great Basin Air Pollution Control District with cleanup and preventative measures set to begin in 2001.

Much of the cleanup regarding the Owens Valley has focused on dust. The unnatural drainage of the Owens Lake led to a series of unforeseen consequences. The dry lakebed contained an assortment of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and a host of other elements that lay exposed. These chemicals became the basis of a public health crisis once they were whipped up by wind. Saddled between the Sierra Nevada and the White/Inyo mountains, the Owens Valley serves as a natural funnel for incoming winds. Much of the dust that carries hazardous chemicals during these dust storms is classified as PM-10; particulate matter smaller than 10 microns in diameter. This type of contaminant is especially dangerous because it can settle deep into a person's lungs. The EPA has noted that PM-10 is particularly harmful to people “with lung disease such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema” and that exposure to PM-10 “can trigger asthma attacks and cause wheezing, coughing, and respiratory irritation in individuals with sensitive airways.” PM-10 is measured in micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3). In a 24-hour average, 50 ug/m3 is the state threshold while 150 ug/m3 is the federal threshold. Throughout the 1970s and 1990s, these thresholds were frequently breached in the Owens Valley.

To combat the problem of PM-10, the LADWP has launched the most comprehensive dust control project in United States history. The department has spent over $1 billion in the Owens Valley and used various approaches to control the dust. Covering 42 square miles, the LADWP has used shallow flooding, gravel, and vegetation to control the spread of PM-10. Their efforts have led to a 90% decrease in the amount of PM-10 in Owens Valley. However, as the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District has noted, that still leaves the valley with levels 10x above the EPA threshold. This problem has renewed rancor between the LADWP and Inyo County. The LADWP has argued that the valley is an area that naturally produces dust and that they cannot be held responsible for all pollution in the area. In 2012, the LADWP went as far as to sue the state of California for continuing to force Los Angeles to clean up pollution in Owens Valley. A federal court later dismissed the LADWP's case.

An agreement was reached in 2013 regarding the future of dust control in Owens Valley. The LADWP has agreed to continue its work with a particular emphasis on methods that do not require water. Additionally, the department agreed to a one-time $10 million payment to combat pollution in Keeler. In the meantime, dust storms still occasionally plague Owens Valley. As a report recently noted, “on May 25th, 2012 a stage two health advisory was advised for the residents of Lone Pine with a stage one for those living in Keeler. That afternoon air pollution monitoring devices measured PM10 in the town of Lone Pine at 776 ug/m3. At the Lone Pine tribal area just south of town, measurements nearly doubled to 1362 ug/m3.” In the face of global warming and a state-wide drought, the LADWP will undoubtedly continue to claim limited liability in the valley. Owens Valley residents almost certainly expect as much. As local resident and activist Nancy Masters has noted, “It takes the citizens to remind everyone of the verbiage in those documents. You have to be eternally vigilant because, again, you can have all the legally binding documents you want but if they sit on the shelf and someone does something different, it's not legally binding, is it?”

Credits

Reheis, Marith C. "Geomet Station and Dust Traps at South End of Owens (Dry) Lake," from "Owens (Dry) Lake, California: A Human-Induced Dust Problem." U.S. Geological Survey.

Owens Lake, circa 1891. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Image found in Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District's 2008 Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment State Implementation Plan: Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report, Volume III, page 71.

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District. "Ground View of Shallow Flood Test Site," from 2008 Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment State Implementation Plan: Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report, Volume III, page 103.

Owens Lake. "Owens Lake Dust Storm, April 7, 2011." Youtube. July 11, 2012.

GIS data is courtesy of Phill Kiddoo, Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District.