Lawsuit Challenges Legitimacy of Privatized MLPA Process

Lawsuit Challenges Legitimacy of Privatized MLPA Process

by John Lewallen

All the new Marine Protected Areas in Southern California and the North Central Coast are null, void and unenforceable, because they were created by an illegal and corrupt Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process.

In a 55-page petition filed January 27 in San Diego Superior Court, United Anglers of Southern California, the Coastside Fishing Club, and Robert C. Fletcher ask that the works of the MLPA be nullified because they were created without legal authority by a process which did not follow state law.

The defendant in this lawsuit is the California Fish and Game Commission. The petition states that the privatized MLPA process, directed by the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, did not follow the requirements of the 1999 Marine Life Protection Act. No final Master Plan for the state has been approved by the commission, as required by the Act before the creation of any new Marine Protected Areas.

Moreover, states a lawsuit press release, "The privately-funded ‘MLPA Initiative’ process has been conducted in a manner inconsistent with the process the state legislature directed in the MLPA, and meetings held by MLPA planning groups that should have been open meetings were closed to the public."

Also, according to the petition, the MLPA process violated the California Environmental Quality Act, did not apply for a required Coastal Commission permit, and there was no required review of its works by the State Interagency Coordinating Committee.

"From the outset, it was clear that the MLPA process was set up to reach a predetermined outcome under the fiction of an allegedly open and transparent process," said plaintiff Robert C. Fletcher. "In a rush to establish regulations based on political timelines and a pre-determined agenda, the Fish and Game Commission has ignored the legal requirements it must follow."

Every Californian has a vital interest in the outcome of this landmark lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of government process run by private foundations in violation of state laws. Information on the lawsuit is on the website: http://www.oceanaccessprotectionfund.org; the plaintiffs’ phone number is (562)494-9900.

For more information, call John Lewallen, Philo, California , (707)895-2996.