Some Los Angeles July 4 firework shows canceled because of new environmental mandates: report

Several Los Angeles Independence Day firework shows have been canceled because of newly adopted environmental rules restricting the use of explosives above bodies of water, a report says. 

In late May, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted a new protective fireworks display permit requiring legal shows to adopt practices to reduce plastic and other pollutions and pyrotechnics debris that could fall into oceans or marinas, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

Given the proximity to the Fourth of July celebrations, the board said in a statement that officials “reached out to known fireworks displays over coastal waters in Los Angeles and Ventura counties to explain the permit requirements and offer assistance with permit applications.” 

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The Times reportedly that most of scheduled Independence Day shows indicated that they will comply with the new standard, but at least five, including two in Redondo Beach that planned on using the company Pyro Spectaculars by Souza, have refused to adhere to the new restrictions. 

“We cannot and will not risk the safety of our staff and the public to comply with the restrictive regulations,” Chief Executive Jim Souza said in a statement to the Times. “The water board instituted the new regulations quickly and unilaterally, with little input from us, one of the largest and most experienced firework show producers in the nation.”

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A federal lawsuit brought by the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation earlier this year targeted the annual Big Bang on the Bay July 3 fireworks show in Long Beach, demanding organizers admit the show is a “discharger” of pollutants into Alamitos Bay and therefore be required under the federal Clean Water Act to adhere to standards and adopt mitigation plans.

The Times noted that a judge did not rule in favor of the environmentalist group, but the trial revealed “at least one instance of “fireworks-related pollutants,” ultimately driving the Los Angeles Water Board to issue new regulations for the shows.

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“I’ve lived here a long time and I think this is the first year there will be no fireworks in King Harbor,” Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand reportedly said at a council meeting earlier this month.