Recap of Hahamongna Committee meeting

At its September 28 meeting, the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee held a discussion about how to proceed with the planning for the Environmental Education Center to be located on the former Forest Service campus in Hahamongna. Rather than forming a subcommittee to formulate recommendations, the Committee decided to hold a public meeting to be led by a facilitator who will solicit input from both the Committee members and the public. This will probably be held at one of the regular upcoming meetings of the Committee which are held every two months on the fourth Tuesday of the month although a date has not yet been finalized.

The Committee also received a letter from the LA County Department of Public Works, Water Resources Division, informing them of a major sediment removal project in Hahamongna necessitated by the Station Fire. As the letter notes, the Station Fire burned over 160,000 acres in the San Gabriels including the Arroyo Seco and deposited 936,000 cubic yards of post fire debris. The sediment removal in Hahamongna will make room for future sedimentation that is expected to occur. Construction is expected to begin as early as next summer. The County will make a formal presentation of this project to the Advisory Committee when the details have been finalized.

The Committee also asked for a report on the Hahamongna Basin Multi-Use Project which includes a sediment removal component as well. The latter is one of the two Upper Los Angeles River Watershed projects selected to be included in a Prop 84 implementation grant application by the Greater Los Angeles County Integrated Regional Water Management region. The initial amount requested was $2.971 million with a total cost of 7.255 million. Should the Prop 84 funds be awarded, the CEQA date is December 2011 and the estimated construction start date is May 2012.

Given the urgency of the County's Station Fire sediment removal project, the Committee asked that the County's presentation be given at their next meeting if possible. The date of the next meeting has not yet been set.