Oceano Dunes dust still reaches Nipomo homes despite $1M effort

Arlene and Larry Versaw like to sit out on the back patio of their Cypress Ridge home and enjoy their retirement. But during about half of the year, they can’t do that due to dust blowing off Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Area.

The blowing dust problem is worst during the spring and fall. Mornings dawn crisp and clear, but by early afternoon a brown pall of dust has settled over the Nipomo Mesa. “We don’t like it,” Arlene said on a recent windy afternoon. “I can’t garden. I can’t go for a walk. I can’t sit outside.”

According to the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District, air quality on the Mesa exceeds state health standards for particulates an average of 65 days a year because of blowing dust.

Strong spring winds cause a wind vane in the Versaws’ backyard to spin wildly and buffet the boughs of nearby trees. The dust the wind brings leaves behind physical traces. If the couple cleans off their patio furniture, it takes only about 48 hours for a new, gritty layer of dust to accumulate on it.

The couple stays inside on windy afternoons as a health precaution. They don’t want the fine particulate matter blowing off the dunes to build up in their lungs where it can cause a variety of health problems. Several of their neighbors have complained about developing asthma as a result of the dust.

The Nipomo Mesa dust issue is one of the county’s most vexing and frustrating environmental problems.

In November 2011, the air district issued Rule 1001, which requires that State Parks incrementally reduce the amount of dust blowing off Oceano Dunes and onto the Mesa to near background levels.

This came after two separate studies showed that the bulk of the blowing sand particles come from the off-road riding area of Oceano Dunes.

“There is no controversy about that anymore,” said Larry Allen, county air pollution control officer. “Off-road vehicles are the source of the dust.

“The riding area in the park is up to eight times more emissive than the non-riding area. Multiple studies, including those by State Parks, have shown that.”

The state owns and operates the OHV park, but the county also has a vested interest in the park. It owns a key parcel, called the La Grande Tract, in the middle of the park from which much of the blowing dust originates.

Decree requires cooperation

In addition to establishing Rule 1001, State Parks and the air district have also signed a consent decree that legally requires them to work together to find a solution to the dust problem.

The blowing dust problem has sparked intense controversy. Critics of the dust rule say it is really an effort to shut down more riding areas in the park. They point to the fact that sand has been blowing on the dunes for millions of years.

“The whole Nipomo Mesa is a geologic construct that blows sand,” said Mike Brown with the conservative lobbying group Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business.

Allen has repeatedly denied the assertion that he is trying to shut down Oceano Dunes to riding. He said his sole concern is protecting public health and he bristles at the frequent suggestion that nearby agricultural fields and dirt roads are the real sources of the blowing dust.

“The residents of the Mesa are exposed to horrendous dust levels and they are not from ag fields or the roads,” he said.

Mitigation efforts

State Parks has spent more than $1 million in recent years experimenting with methods for reducing the blowing sand. They have concentrated on installing rows of bright orange wind fences.

This spring, 40 acres of wind fences were installed in higher elevation areas of the dunes. The idea is that the fences will slow down the wind enough to allow the dust particles to drop out before they reach populated areas.

However, nothing State Parks has tried has resulted in any measurable reduction in blowing dust, Allen said. This has left everyone involved frustrated — including the Versaws and other Mesa residents.

“We are not trying to shut down the OHV Park,” Arlene Versaw said. “We just want them to comply with Rule 1001. We’d also like the county to enter into a memorandum of understanding with State Parks to hold them accountable.”

Rule 1001 was adopted by the air board in 2011 and requires that State Parks take steps to reduce the amount of dust blowing off the Oceano Dunes.

Just how divided sentiment in the county is over the dust problem was on display Wednesday.

The air board’s 12-person board of directors argued for three hours and failed to agree on whether the board should comply with a court order to remove a requirement from the dust rule demanding that State Parks get a permit from the air district to operate Oceano Dunes.

Instead, the board voted to delay taking any action until June 17.

At that meeting, the board will consider whether to discard the consent decree altogether and replace it with a potentially more flexible memorandum of understanding.

Dispute over methods

Air district officials have criticized the decision by State Parks to focus on wind fences. They recommend taking a broader approach including re-establishing vegetated dune ridges parallel to the beach and installing vegetated islands further inland, coupled with seasonal use of soil binders and sand fences.

On March 9, air district compliance division manager Gary Willey sent a strongly worded letter to State Parks criticizing its decision not to use dust controls in the riding areas of the park that create the most dust.

He warned that State Parks’ five-year plan to reduce blowing dust is unlikely to receive air district approval.

“It is not appropriate to exclude any area for consideration of dust controls without clear scientific justification that conclusively demonstrates controls in that area are not necessary to achieve the performance standards in the rule,” Willey wrote.

Brent Marshall, Oceano Dunes park superintendent, said he, too, is frustrated by the slow progress.

He said he has proposed other dust control measures but getting them approved by state regulators such as the Coastal Commission and Air Resources Board — a consent decree requirement — has been slow.

“We want to be aboveboard about everything we are doing,” he said. “But this consent decree process has turned out to be more complicated than we thought.”

Allen acknowledges that the consent decree process can be cumbersome at times but that it gives him valuable enforcement authority.

This means he can levy fines or take other action against State Parks if he believes they are not acting in good faith.

Allen has repeatedly said that fining State Parks would be an absolute last resort. The consent decree contains provisions for using mediation and other methods to resolve conflicts.

“We are making progress, but it’s not the kind of progress we had been hoping to make,” Allen said.

Allen said the reason for the slow progress is not a lack of cooperation by State Parks but the multiple lawsuits filed seeking to overturn the dust rule.

As if to prove his point, the pro-OHV riding group Friends of Oceano Dunes filed 900 pages of legal documents at 3 p.m. Wednesday, the day before the air board meeting.

“It was unfortunate that such a treatise was submitted to us so late in the day,” Allen said. Friends of Oceano Dunes lawyer Tom Roth said the group wants the air district to wait for guidance from the courts before requiring any dust mitigation projects.

Not everyone who lives and works on the Nipomo Mesa is upset by the blowing dust.

Doing their jobs

Firefighters stationed at Cal Fire’s firehouse off Highway 1 take the dust issue in stride. An air quality monitoring station was installed at the Cal Fire station in 2010. It consistently records the highest levels of particulates in the county.

Cal Fire Engineer Rick Baier has worked at the Nipomo Mesa station for 10 years. He is aware of the dust problem, but he and the other firefighters are determined not to let it get in the way of doing their jobs.

“If we have to be outside, we are outside,” he said. “Nothing keeps us inside.”

Cal Fire Chief Rob Lewin said he has received no complaints or reports of health problems related to blowing dust from firefighters and does not require that they take any steps to reduce their exposure.

“We have made no accommodations for windy days,” he said. “They just do their jobs.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2015 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Oceano Dunes dust still reaches Nipomo homes despite $1M effort."