California beach use controversy

Did you know that sand can burn? It was news to us, but from the looks of the news out in San Luis Obispo-land, Kern County's Oceano Dunes are the flashpoint of controversy. It all centers on the one beach in California where it's lawful to drive vehicles--including off-road vehicles.

Supporters and opponents of off-roading have been getting a full share of sounding off on the issue and there are two large matters at play. At the heart of the fight is the state-managed Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. Here's folks with motorized play toys can frolic, more or less to their heart's content, among the sandy dunes along the Pacific.

Enter the Sierra Club. The environmental group sued the state park agency arguing the tract where the off-road park is located is technically a buffer area under county planning views, and hence off-limits to vehicles. They demanded the courts close down that section of the dunes to riders. Near the end of December, after the case had wound its way around lower courts, an appeals court ruled against the Sierra Club. In fact, the court said the environmental group must pay the cost of appeals, and can no more raise the issue in the courts in the future.

The Sierra Club says the matter is a setback, but they'll keep at it, figuring if litigation won't work, perhaps advocating before other government agencies will.

Before dune buggy fans launch fireworks to mark success, they have another foe, this one not so much concerned about buffer zones, but in buffering noses (and lungs) from perceived potential harm. The San Luis Obispo Air Pollution Control District contends that off-roading at the beach is stirring up air pollution in the form of particulate matter.

In question, "PM10" particulates--small bits of dust or soot around 10 microns in size. A micron being a millionth of a meter, even 10 of those little critters is pretty small. But plenty big enough to do damage to the human lung by the pollution control folks figuring. The California standard for PM10 is 50 micrograms per cubic meter on a 24-hour average. The District says levels from the area regularly exceeded the limit, and sometimes spiked at 200 to 700 micrograms.

Air air pollution sniffer officials said they associate the high levels of the particulate to the dunes. Just how the particulate blasts are related to the use of off-road rigs is a subject of a great deal of controversy. Off-roaders argue that the wind blowing on the sand is what produces the particulates; the government agency says it's because the off-road rigs are breaking down a crust on the sand that would otherwise limit the release of particulates.

Bottom line: What the Sierra Club couldn't do through litigation may be imposed by legislation. Time will reveal how the scenario plays out.

photo: Airstream Life on flickr.com