Engineers: No, greased lightning
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that the 51-mile Los Angeles River is mostly unnavigable, leading to fears that developers will use this as an excuse to flout environmental restrictions.But anyone who has seen Grease, Terminator 2, and The Transformers knows that the L.A. River is an excellent shortcut past jammed city streets, whether for racing, apprehending Bumblebee, or tracking down a teenaged John Connor prior to his valor in The Robot Wars.
Regulators and conservationists...believe the ripple effect of the decision will make is easier to develop large areas of the Santa Susana, Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains because landowners will not be required to obtain certain federal permits. Some federal and state officials fear that the decision also may undermine rules against discharging wastewater and storm water into the river's tributaries.Corps regional supervisor Col. Thomas H. Magness IV told the L.A. Times that, just because The Terminator was able to drive an 18-wheeler down a half-mile stretch of the concrete-surfaced waterway, doesn't mean time-traveling cyborg warriors could battle throughout the 834-sq. mile watershed.
"This decision does not in any way lessen the protections on the L.A. River itself," he said.
Tell that to Megatron.
See also: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms non-navigable status for most of L.A. River (latimes)
Labels: los angeles, news, pop, waterways
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by Marty Barrett at Thursday, June 05, 2008
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