Friends of Oceano Dunes, Friends, was handed their latest legal victory in the long ongoing battle for recreational access at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA).
PHOTO BY JAYSON MELLOM
The Sacramento County Superior Court ordered the California Air Resources Board, CARB, to release more than 40 documents it had refused to provide in response to a Friends’ Public Records Act request made in 2019.
The public records concerned secret negotiations between CARB, the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (APCD), the California Department of Parks and Recreation and other state agencies on SVRA dust control measures. The APCD and State Parks deliberatively blocked Friends from the negotiations and then refused to hold any public meetings on the so-called “consent decree” detailing the implementation of dust control measures.
While Friends is pleased with the Court’s ruling and final judgment, and will seek attorney’s fees against CARB, Friends remains deeply concerned by the continuing lack of transparency and back room deals being cut by CARB, the APCD, State Parks and the Coastal Commission to increase dust control acreage and limit riding and camping.
Friends of Oceano Dunes is a 501(C)(3) California not-for-profit corporation expressly created to preserve camping and off-highways vehicle recreation at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area (ODSVRA). Friends is a grass root volunteer organization which represents approximately 28,000 members and users of the Oceano Dunes SVRA. www.oceanodines.org
