Updated: Devil's Gate Dam Project Will Require Environmental Impact Report

Updated 3/1: Antonovich's motion to require an EIR passed at the Board of Supervisor's meeting on Tuesday.

County Supervisor Michael Antonovich will push for the county to do an environmental impact report (EIR) on a that is scheduled to take place in the Altadena-adjacent Hahamongna Watershed Park.

Antonovich will introduce a motion making the requirement official at an upcoming board meeting, according to a press release from his office.

The project, which would be done to remove over 1.5 million cubic yards of dirt from the Devil's Gate Dam, had been planned to be done on an emergency basis, which would have voided the environmental planning process that normally would be required for a project like this.

Local environmental advocates have opposed the current version of the project, comparing it to the sediment removal project in Arcadia that resulted in the .

Since that project was started, Antonovich directed the County of Public Works to assemble a task force of local environmentalists to review any future sediment removal projects.

Antonovich's motion would require the public works department to come back with a plan in 90 days including a possible proposal to do lower impact removal work before the EIR is completed.

The project could result in 300 to 400 truckloads of dirt being removed on a daily basis for 9 months of the year for three to four years, according to the county's preliminary planning documents.

Updated 11:09 p.m: Tony Bell, Antonovich's spokesman, said the motion will be introduced at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.

He said that it will require the public works department to come back within 90 days for a plan to see if any short-term removal work can be done without an EIR or not.

He said it's unclear to the supervisor whether any work might be able to be done without an EIR, and does not know whether trucks would be allowed down in the area before an EIR is completed.

He said Antonovich has heard from a lot of environmental groups and community members and feels that the project needs to be fully studied.

"There's going to be a big impact on the environment and a big impact on the community and that's why it needs an EIR," Bell said.

Check back on this story throughout the day for updates.