Pollution and damage to San Juan Creek from a neighboring horse-riding park in San Juan Capistrano are at the heart of a lawsuit filed against the city by environmental nonprofit Coastkeeper. Coastkeeper filed the lawsuit in federal court Wednesday, July 5, alleging some 9,000 violations of the U.S. Clean Water Act over a five-year period by the city-owned Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park to the nearby environmentally sensitive San Juan Creek. “We’ve never seen a site with more violations than this one,” said Coastkeeper Senior Staff Attorney Colin Kelly. For its part, the city said it has been working with the firm tasked with managing the equestrian center and the lawsuit from the environmental nonprofit came as a surprise. “Rather than participate in these collaborative efforts, Coastkeeper has opted to pursue legal action against the city, without warning or opportunity to work in partnership with our equestrian community,” said City Manager Ben Siegel in an email. “This rush to involve attorneys based on exaggerated claims is disappointing and will result in the expenditure of taxpayer funds that could be better committed to protecting the local watershed and our city’s natural open spaces.” Among the allegations Coastkeeper levied against the city and Blenheim Facility Management, the firm that…