The community coalition Defend Ballona Wetlands filed a lawsuit on July 25 against the California Coastal Commission, alleging the agency unlawfully approved a fossil gas project that threatens the ecologically sensitive Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in Playa del Rey.  The suit, joined by Protect Ballona Wetlands and environmental scientist Robert van de Hoek, accuses the commission of violating state environmental laws by allowing Southern California Gas Co. to plug and abandon two natural gas monitoring wells, Del Rey 14 and 19, without proper review. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims the commission engaged in “piecemealing” by treating the well abandonment as a standalone project, despite its connection to a larger, now-decertified Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project.