WASHINGTON – The federal Bureau of Land Management’s decision to ban off-road vehicles from a 75,000-acre swath of Central California wilderness came under fire at a congressional hearing Tuesday.
Critics urged Congress to pass Rep. Sam Farr’s bill, which would require the BLM to prepare a new management plan for the Clear Creek Management Area, or CCMA, to greatly expand access for off-roading enthusiasts.
But the Obama administration defended the ban, which has been in effect since 2008 because of public health concerns. The CCMA contains some of the world’s largest deposits of naturally occurring asbestos, a carcinogen. The BLM controls 63,000 acres of the CCMA, which spans San Benito and Fresno counties and includes a former asbestos mine that’s now a highly contaminated Superfund site.
Off-roading disturbs asbestos fibers in the ground, and once inhaled they could cause lung disease, the government warns. But critics argue that thousands of off-roading enthusiasts drove all over the CCMA for decades before the ban was adopted and no one has reported getting sick.
Farr’s bill is co-sponsored by Central Valley Republican Reps. David Valadao and Jeff Denham. Farr, a Carmel Democrat, was scheduled to testify about his measure but missed the House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing because he was held up at a separate hearing.
In an interview later, Farr said the BLM overreacted to a May 2008 study by the Environmental Protection Agency that said asbestos levels in the CCMA were too high and could endanger humans.
Banning all off-road vehicles is not the answer, Farr said, adding that the BLM should instead find ways to minimize the risk and still allow people to access the CCMA. Off-road drivers are willing to risk asbestos exposure, just as rock climbers and boaters risk falling and drowning when doing what they love, he said.
“All we’re asking in this bill is to figure out the procedures we could follow so we could (continue) this sporting activity, which is extremely popular. And here we have an area that’s just suited for it,” Farr said. “We’re trying to make things work and be smart about it. I’m not trying to put people at risk.”
Local environmentalists and San Benito County officials are on the off-roaders’ side, Farr said, adding that the ban has hurt the impoverished region.
Since March, the BLM has been letting in automobiles authorized for highway travel — a category that excludes off-road vehicles.
But motorists are restricted to a 52-mile portion of the CCMA — a 32-mile scenic loop and 20 miles of trails in the Condon Peak camping area, according to George Hill, associate field manager for the BLM’s office in Hollister. Vehicles can’t enter the CCMA for more than five days a year and non-motorists are limited to 12 days a year.
Farr said that’s not enough access and called on the BLM to let in off-road vehicles as well.
Former Colorado GOP Sen. Wayne Allard, a lobbyist for the American Motorcyclist Association, also blasted the restrictions.
“This is an especially difficult pill to swallow not only because it is discriminatory, but also because many riders travel long distances and arrive late on Friday and leave on Sunday,” he said.
Allard questioned the EPA’s finding and cited other studies showing that the risk is miniscule, about the same as smoking a single cigarette.
Steve Koretoff of the California Trail Users Association accused the BLM of using a stringent public health standard for CCMA visitors but a less-strict standard for its own employees, who routinely inhale the asbestos fibers.
Representing the BLM at the hearing was Carl Rountree, assistant director of that agency’s landscape conservation office.
Rountree opposed the language in Farr’s bill requiring a new CCMA management plan but said he supports provisions that would set aside 21,000 acres of BLM land for preservation purposes and protect seven streams inside the CCMA.
Hill, who wasn’t a witness at the hearing, said in a telephone interview that the BLM will soon begin working on a new CCMA travel plan which should be finished in five years. That plan is likely to allow vehicular traffic — including off-road vehicles — on about 20 to 30 acres, he said.
Much of the opposition to the CCMA access restrictions comes from a few vocal off-roading enthusiasts seeking unfettered access, Hill said. Most others are generally happy with the current level of access, he said.
“They’ve been more or less satisfied with what they got. They might like a little bit more, but, you know, the big issue is exposure to asbestos,” Hill said. “We have nothing against (off-road vehicular) use. If it wasn’t for the asbestos issue there, we probably will have much more of an open (access).”