The Santa Barbara Channelkeepers settled a long-simmering
lawsuit against the Polo Club, claiming that horse droppings
produced by the polo ponies were being washed down a drainage ditch
that fed into a creek that emptied into the ocean. The two sides
filed a consent decree in federal court Monday in which the Polo
Club agreed to stop any further animal waste discharges during
summer months, and to adopt a series of new practices designed to
prevent water that’s come into contact with horse droppings from
running off the lawn. If the Polo Club violates the terms of the
settlement in the next three years, it will be required to build $3
million worth of stables.
