State employee accuses SLO County air district of quid pro quo threat

February 24, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

The message from the SLO County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) was clear, testified an environmental scientist with State Parks.

If Friends of Oceano Dunes wins its lawsuit and the APCD is forced to return money to a fund dedicated to support off-highway vehicle recreation, the district will impose new fines on State Parks, the scientist said.

Ronnie Glick, a senior environmental scientist with State Parks, testified about the “threat” during a deposition in the Friends’ lawsuit. An attorney for Friends asked Glick if APCD Executive Director Gary Willey threatened to levee fines and fees if they lose the lawsuit.

“At either the May or Sept. 2022 meetings, did the APCD ever say to State Parks that if Friends prevails in this lawsuit that they would seek additional penalties and fines against State Parks?” the attorney for Friends asked during the deposition.

Glick answered that Willey said he would use the APCD’s “enforcement authority under Rule 1001 to assess fines.”

Glick said he perceived that as a threat.

Friends filed its civil lawsuit last May against the APCD alleging that the air district illegally spent money earmarked for the support of off-highway vehicle recreation. The fund, which is managed by State Parks, is capitalized through fees and taxes from off-highway vehicle usage.

A 2021 court ruling invalidated the APCD’s dust rule that had required State Parks to reduce the particulate matter blowing from the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area or face fines of $1,000 per day.

The court found the APCD’s agreement violated public policy because the agency adopted the agreement out of view of the public and without public input. Friends is now seeking reimbursement from the APCD for public monies expended under the void agreement, which Friends says exceeds $1 million.

Even though State Parks is mandated to support off-highway vehicle usage at the Oceano Dunes and oversee the Off-Highway Vehicle Fund, its administration generally takes a passive stance at what has become a politically charged issue.

Glick declined to tell CalCoastNews whether he reported Willey’s statement to anyone else at State Parks.

But when asked by CoastNews whether Willey threatened to increase fees and fines if the APCD loses the lawsuit, Glick replied, “The deposition speaks for itself.”

Wiley did not respond to requests for comment.

Sarah Miggins, the deputy director of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division of State Parks, is the manager of the fund, which is to be used for off-highway vehicle recreation facilities.

Miggins refused to answer questions about Willey’s alleged threat or her oversight of the fund.

Friends of Oceano Dunes is a not-for-profit corporation expressly created to preserve camping and off-highway vehicle recreation at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. Friends represents approximately 28,000 members and users of the Oceano Dunes.

During the past seven years, Friends has successfully sued the California Coastal Commission, the California Air Resources Board and the APCD approximately 10 times over the agencies’ regulatory actions related to the Oceano Dunes State Recreational Area.