Editorial:

It’s always disappointing to hear about an instance in which the laws in place may have been blatantly ignored.

We’re not sure what was going through the minds of Cabrillo Mobile Home Park owner Mills Land & Water Co. when, officials said, they started building a parking lot over a protected wetland, despite being warned about the area in years prior.

Even more noteworthy is the fact that the damage to the wetlands was not discovered by any regulatory agency, but by Newport Beach watchdog Jan Vandersloot, who sent extensive photographic evidence of the destruction to government regulators. Part of the problem, and perhaps, part of the solution, is that there are four groups that have responsibilities to regulate the wetlands: city code enforcement, the Army Corps of Engineers, the California Coastal Commission and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

In this case, action was only taken after agencies were notified. But who should have been watching?

Is this an instance of diffusion of responsibility, in which each agency feels that because there are others already handling the situation, no one takes action in regulating it?

What can be done to prevent this from happening again?

While the appropriate legal actions will ensue in this case, the damage to 1.2 acres of the wetlands has been done.

It appears workers not only cleared out wetlands plants, but dug a trench to drain water away from an area in which they were going to store their construction equipment, said city code enforcement manager Bill Zylla.

Efforts to restore the area will help, but if there were more intense and organized enforcement of the laws in place, the wetlands may not have been damaged at all.

Perhaps the regulatory agencies feel that with fines as high as $15,000 per day of construction, little enforcement is needed, because who wouldn’t have enough sense to take the necessary precautions to avoid that punishment?

Obviously, enormous fines are not enough. Regulatory agencies need to communicate and take an active role in determining what is enough to prevent destruction to natural habitats.

Classifying an area as “protected” doesn’t do the environment any good if no one guards it against people who are willing to gamble $15,000 a day.