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Heal the Bay Blog

Author: Emily Parker

The Marine Life Protection Act is A Success: Takeaways from the 2023 MPA Decadal Review

06.08.2023 |

CaliforniaCalifornia CoastMarine Protected AreasNews

After a decade of volunteer surveys and scientific review, we now know that Marine Protected Areas are working, but inclusivity and climate resiliency must be considered to ensure the full benefits of these precious sanctuaries for all. 

 Nearly 24 years ago, the state of California passed the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), forever changing the course of marine conservation in our coastal state. Following an arduous community centered process, California established a globally recognized network of 124 marine protected areas, or MPAs. These MPAs, which run up and down our nearly 1,000-mile coastline in varying degrees of protection, limit certain consumptive human behaviors like fishing and collecting tidepool animals in an effort to protect and restore biodiversity and coastal resources.  


(Above) Heal the Bay Marine Protected Area Watch Volunteers completing MPA Survey Training at Point Dume, California.

After California instituted these Marine Protected Areas, there was an immediate need to establish a successful management program and a system to refine or adapt MPA Network over time based on both ecosystem and human data. The state built an adaptive management program, requiring a review of our MPA network every ten years.   

Now, a decade after the final MPA was put into place, the very first California MPA Decadal Management Review (DMR) is underway. Led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and California Fish and Game Commission (FGC), this review process looks at the four managing pillars of MPAs: research and monitoring, education and outreach, policy and permitting, and enforcement and compliance. For more info on the DMR process, check out our blog from last year.  

How is this highly anticipated Decadal Management Review going? In mid-March, Heal the Bay’s MPA team traveled to Monterey along with activists, researchers, Tribal members, Tribal elders, enforcement officers, anglers, and community members to attend three days of MPA management review. We heard from MPA managers, Fish and Game Commissioners, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and many others through a series of meetings, panels, and open forums.  

Here are our top four take-aways from California’s FIRST MPA Decadal Review thus far: 

  1. California’s MPAs are working.
    Long-term monitoring shows that, at least for highly fished species in certain areas, MPAs are supporting larger and more abundant fish compared to reference sites that are not protected. Further, modeling across the central coast showed connectivity and spillover, indicating that MPAs are behaving as designed (i.e., as a network) and that benefits are seen even outside and across MPAs. While there is still much more research to be done, these initial results are incredibly promising, and we expect these positive outcomes to increase with time. 
  2. Indigenous people must be elevated to MPA leadership positions.
    The Indigenous nations of our coastline have been and continue to be the original stewards of this land. They have cared for coastal ecosystems since time immemorial and their knowledge and perspectives are necessary components in managing and evaluating our MPAs. Unfortunately, Indigenous nations and people were largely excluded from the original MPA designation process. Heal the Bay supports the requests made by Tribal members for expanded access to the coastline and to be elevated to positions of leadership within the MPA management system. Access to the coast and all it has to offer must be expanded for all Indigenous people. 
  3. Future MPA management MUST prioritize climate resiliency.
    We are in the midst of unprecedented climate disruption, not only on land but in our marine and coastal ecosystems. California’s network of MPAs presents a unique opportunity to evaluate the climate resiliency potential of MPAs against climate stressors like increased temperature, increased acidity, rising sea levels, changing tides and storm surges, increased erosion, and decreased oxygen. Heal the Bay would like to see the future of MPA monitoring include climate resilience metrics. 
  4. MPA monitoring and research needs to broaden in scope.
    While the level of MPA research that has been conducted over the past 10 years is nothing short of impressive, there are areas where the state can do so much more. For example, long-term monitoring of MPAs should utilize innovative research tools like environmental DNA (eDNA) to measure biodiversity trends in space and time. Analysis of biological data must be expanded to compare the different types of MPAs in the network to assess how effective different levels of protection are. Finally, there are opportunities and a need to better analyze compliance, or how well people are following MPA regulations, to give us the full picture of MPA effectiveness. Heal the Bay is advocating for these expanded monitoring priorities to improve our understanding and management of MPAs overall.

(Above) Emily Parker, Coastal and Marine Scientist, and Crystal Barajas, Senior Community Science & Outreach Coordinator, represented Heal the Bay at the March 2023 Decadal Management Review Forum in Monterey, California.

At the meetings in Monterey, Heal the Bay advocated for the inclusion of Indigenous leadership, the prioritization of climate resiliency, and the broadening of MPA research in an oral testimony to the FGC Marine Resources Committee and submitted these suggestions via a written comment letter. We will continue this advocacy in future FGC meetings and as we meet with agencies, collaborate with partners and stakeholders, and engage the public.  

California’s network of MPAs is still young. It will take more time and improved protection and management to see the maximum benefit for biodiversity. To see those benefits, the MPA network must remain intact and protections must, at the very least, remain as strong as they currently are. This first glimpse of our MPA,s success is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait to see what 10 more years of MPAs bring.  

Interested in diving headfirst into the Decadal Management Review? Read the official report here.  

Looking to get involved in MPA research? Join Heal the Bay’s MPA Watch team to help us collect valuable human activity data in and around MPAs!  

ACTION LINKS

OFFICIAL DECADAL MANAGEMENT REVIEW

BECOME AN MPA WATCH VOLUNTEER

MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT

ESTUARIES AND EQUITABLE ACCESS

DEEP DIVE INTO MPAS

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2022 Wrap-up: California State Legislation Ebbs and Flows

12.15.2022 |

CaliforniaNews

Heal the Bay sails into 2023 celebrating a host of new local legislative policy successes, including LA’s citywide polystyrene ban. But what did Californians gain as a whole in 2022 environmental policy? Take a look back at this year’s wins and losses in California state legislation with Heal the Bay Coastal and Marine Scientist Emily Parker as we embark upon another year of advocacy.

HEAL THE BAY’S Science and Policy team worked tirelessly this year and we are both celebrating some major policy wins and grieving some losses. Let’s take a closer look at what advocates and our representatives have accomplished in the fight for environmental health and justice and where Heal the Bay can eye on continuing our work through determined advocacy next year.

⭐ Highlight Reel

1. PASSED Senate Bill 54 (Allen): The Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act     

Central to Heal the Bay’s mission to make the coastal waters and watersheds of greater LA safe, healthy, and clean is reducing pollution at the source. Among them is single-use plastic. For four years, Heal the Bay and dozens of other advocates have worked tirelessly toward the passage of SB 54 legislation, combing through countless iterations and amendments. Thankfully the bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Newsom earlier this year. With some compromises, this bill makes huge strides in reducing California’s use and disposal of single-use products, particularly plastic. This bill:  

  • Sets a 25% source reduction goal for single-use packaging production by 2032 and by then, 65% of single-use packaging still being produced will need to be truly recyclable or compostable.
  • Establishes a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to help California reduce plastic pollution, and creates strong state government enforcement and oversight that will remove power from the PRO should they fall out of compliance.
  • Requires $5 billion of environmental mitigation funding from plastic producers to go toward environmental restoration and cleanup over 10-years.

 2. PASSED Assembly Bill 1857 (C. Garcia): Zero Waste Transition and Incineration 

Trash can take many pathways at the end of its lifecycle, and one of the most problematic and inequitable destinations is an incinerator. Incineration burns trash at extremely high temperatures, polluting the air in surrounding environmental justice communities and contributing to climate change. One of the last two incinerators in the state is located right here in LA County in Long Beach and is old, dirty, expensive, and just unnecessary. AB 1857: 

  • Removes diversion credits for incineration, essentially deeming incineration as equivalent to landfill and disincentivizing the use of incineration as an end-of-life pathway for waste.
  • Funds investments into zero-waste infrastructure and programs in frontline communities most impacted by incinerators. 

3. APPROVED California State Budget: Allocations for the Environment 

Laws aren’t the only way to get things done politically. Our state budget plays a major role in how effectively our decision-makers combat environmental and public health crises. Through multiple pathways, the approved 2022-2023 California state budget set aside essential funding for plastic pollution reduction, climate change mitigation and adaptation, drought resilience, and toxic pollution cleanup. Here is the breakdown: 

  • AB 179 (Ting): Budget Act of 2022 – Allocates $25M in the state budget for refillable beverage bottles.
  • SB 154 (Skinner): Budget Act of 2022 – Allocates $5.6M in the state budget for DDT cleanup near southern California.
  • $54 Billion for Climate – A record-breaking allocation, California has ear-marked this pot of funds for programs such as electric transit, wildfire risk reduction, and a whopping $3 billion for combating California’s worsening aridification. Drought funding will be used for water conservation and drought mitigation efforts, including $75 million set aside to fund turf-replacement programs such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s rebate program. 

Other Environmental Wins 

  1. SB 1137 (Gonzalez) – Requires a 3200-foot setback between oil and gas infrastructure and sensitive receptors such as homes and schools. This bill was signed into law in August, however, a referendum has been filed to overturn it, which is currently in the signature-gathering phase. Learn more about how you can fight this. The City of LA also passed an ordinance requiring major oil extraction cessation.
  2. AB 2638 (Bloom) – Requires water bottle refilling stations in schools for new construction or modernization.
  3. AB 1817 (Ting) – Prohibits the manufacturing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale new textile articles that contain regulated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are chemicals known to have harmful effects in humans and animals.
  4. AB 1832 (L. Rivas) – Bans seabed mining in state waters.
  5. SB 1157 (Hertzberg) – Increases drought resilience by updating water use efficiency standards.
  6. SB 1046 (Eggman) – Bans pre-checkout single-use produce bags that aren’t recyclable or compostable (think produce bags).

👉 Get caught up: Learn more about AB 2638, AB 1832, and SB 1157 from our previous California legislation blog post: 5 Bills that Need Your Support Before the End of California Legislative Season

Washouts Worthy of Another Tide 

  1. AB 1953 (Maienschein) – Would have required water refill stations in public places. While this bill was lost in assembly appropriations, it kept the ever-important conversation around the importance of reuse going in the legislature.  
  2. SB 1255 (Portantino) – Would have established the Dishwasher Grant Program for Waste Reduction in K–12 Schools to provide grants to schools for the purchase and installation of commercial dishwashers. This bill was passed by the legislature but vetoed by Governor Newsom who deemed it too expensive for the state to enact and felt that dishwashers could be purchased under existing Proposition 98 General Funds of $750M for schools to purchase and upgrade kitchen equipment    
  3. AB 2026 (Friedman) – Would have required e-commerce shippers to reduce the single-use plastic fill used to ship products (think the puffy single-use plastic in the packages you receive). This bill died in senate appropriations following hard opposition from industry.  
  4. AB 1690 (L. Rivas) – This bill was originally intended to ban harmful single-use plastic cigarette filters (butts) to reduce pollution. The language was watered down so much in scope that it was pulled by the author – we are planning another attempt next year! 
  5. SB 1036 (Newman) – Would have established the Ocean Conservation Corps to conduct ocean conservation projects and workforce development. While this bill was passed by the legislature, it was vetoed by Governor Newsom who deemed it too expensive of a program that was not accounted for in the state budget.   
  6. AB 2758 (O’Donnell) – Would have required CalEPA to conduct public meetings on the agency’s efforts to study and mitigate DDT and other chemical waste located off the coast of Los Angeles. This bill was sponsored by Heal the Bay and was lost in senate appropriations. We are exploring options to revitalize these efforts.

Crystal Ball – Looking Ahead 

Heal the Bay is already preparing for a busy and productive legislative season. We are working with Senator Allen, his staff, and CalRecycle on the successful and equitable implementation of SB 54 and hoping to see some major reductions in plastic pollution off our coast. Stay tuned and follow Heal the Bay on all our channels to stay up to date on how you can be an activist and help support all our efforts, both inside and out of the Capitol!  

ACTION LINK(S)

READ OUR PREVIOUS #CALEG UPDATE

LEARN ABOUT SB 54

SUPPORT OUR WORK

Written by Emily Parker. As a Coastal and Marine Scientist for Heal the Bay, Emily works to keep our oceans and marine ecosystems healthy and clean by advocating for strong legislation and enforcement both locally and statewide. She focuses on plastic pollution, marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, and climate change related issues.

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5 Bills that Need Your Support Before the End of California Legislative Season

08.17.2022 |

CaliforniaTake Action

💥 Action Alert: We need your calls of support to pass these 5 bills before the end of the California Legislative Season.

UPDATE 09/06/2022: ALL 5 of these bills were passed! Thanks for your support in helping California protect communities and waterways. Now it’s up to Governor Newsom to sign them into law!

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR: the end of the California Legislative season! Our state Senators and Assemblymembers have some important decisions to make over the next two weeks and we are just a few plays away from passing some innovative new laws that will help California communities battle climate change, pollution, and drought all while protecting our precious water and ocean resources. We have already had some major wins from the year, like Senate Bill 54 (Allen) passing back in June to fight plastic pollution, and losses, like Heal the Bay sponsored Assembly Bill 2758 (O’Donnell), which would have required public meetings on the DDT pollution off our coast but didn’t make it out of Senate Appropriations. However, there are still plenty of bills on the docket that need our urgent attention.

Heal the Bay has been supporting the following five bills over the past 2-year bill cycle and we have until August 31 to ensure that they are passed by the Senate & Assembly and, if they pass, until September 30 for the Governor to sign them into law. A key factor in their decision-making is the opinions of their constituents. That’s right, YOU! Let’s take a look at this year’s top contenders for environmental legislative wins and how you can help get them across the finish line:

1. AB 1832: Seabed Mining Ban (L. Rivas)

The ocean seafloor is a rich and thriving ecosystem, but around the world, that ecosystem is being threatened by seabed mining. A practice that resembles clearcutting a forest, mining the seafloor for minerals destroys habitat and wildlife leaving behind a barren seascape that grows so slowly, it may never recover. Mining also creates enormous toxic sediment plumes and noise, light, and thermal pollution that disrupt marine habitats. Following in Oregon and Washington’s footsteps, AB 1832 would ban seabed mining in California, effectively protecting the entire West Coast of the United States from this dangerous practice.

2. AB 2638: Water Bottle Refill Stations in Schools (Bloom)

Reusable water bottles are an excellent alternative to disposable plastic bottles, but they aren’t a viable solution if there is nowhere to refill them. AB 2638 would require any new construction or modernization project by a school district to include water bottle filling stations. By increasing access to safe drinking water at refill stations in schools, we can contribute to reuse and refill systems across the state, allowing our students to use reusable bottles instead of harmful disposable ones.

3. SB 1036: Ocean Conservation Corps (Newman)

For decades, the California Conservation Corps has served young adults across the state by hiring and training young adults for conservation-based service work on environmental projects. SB 1036 would expand this program and create an Ocean Conservation Corps. This bill would increase workforce development opportunities to thousands of young adults while contributing to ocean conservation projects like those currently happening at the Heal the Bay Aquarium.

4. SB 1157: Drought Resilience through Water Efficiency (Hertzberg)

California is experiencing long-term aridification, which means a hotter and drier climate, and is currently several years into the most severe drought in 1,200 years. We must ensure that California’s urban areas are not wasting water as we adapt to our changing climate. SB 1157 would update water use efficiency standards to reflect our growing need to conserve water based on best available indoor water use trends. Water efficiency is one of the cheapest, fastest, and most efficient ways we can meet long-term water needs and increase resilience in the face of the climate crisis. Saving water also saves energy, so it can help us meet our climate goals while also resulting in cheaper utility bills. That’s a win-win!

5. AB 1857: Anti-Incineration (C. Garcia)

Right now, Californians are sending their waste to incineration facilities to be burned instead of landfilled or recycled. These facilities are disproportionately located in frontline communities already overburdened by multiple pollution sources. Cities that send their waste to these toxic facilities are currently able to claim “diversion credits”, a tactic aimed at reducing waste sent to landfill and classifying incineration inappropriately in the same categories as recycling and source reduction. AB 1857 would redefine incineration as true disposal, and remove these diversion credits while also funding investments in zero-waste communities most impacted by incineration. This is a critical bill for achieving environmental justice in California and moving us away from toxic false solutions to our waste crisis.

Your representative wants to hear from you to help them vote on these bills, and your voice makes a huge difference. So, we need your help.

Here’s how YOU can help us pass these bills.

Call your Representative: Head to this website to find your representatives and their phone numbers. It takes 5 minutes or less to call your reps. Give the numbers a call and read off the script below, and tell your representative to vote YES on these five environmental bills.

Call Script:

Hello, my name is [insert your name here] and I am a constituent of [insert the representative’s name here, e.g. Senator Stern]. I care deeply about the health and wellness of California’s natural ecosystems and am calling to ask the [Senator/Assemblymember] to vote yes on these five environmental bills: AB 1832, AB 1857, AB 2638, SB 1036, and SB 1157.

These bills will help California protect our environment and better prepare for climate change, while protecting our most vulnerable communities. As your constituent, this legislation is important to me and I urge [insert representative name] to vote yes on all of them.

Thank you for your time.

ACTION LINK(S)

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

Written by Emily Parker. As a Coastal and Marine Scientist for Heal the Bay, Emily works to keep our oceans and marine ecosystems healthy and clean by advocating for strong legislation and enforcement both locally and statewide. She focuses on plastic pollution, marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, and climate change related issues.

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The Future of California MPAs: Insights from the Experts

01.22.2022 |

CaliforniaCalifornia CoastMarine Protected AreasNews

Like a national or state park on land, Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs, conserve and protect wildlife and habitats in the ocean. Here in California, we have a unique and science-based network of 124 MPAs all up and down the coastline. This network exemplifies a new kind of MPA science, designed to not only conserve the habitat inside the boundaries of the protected areas, but to enhance the areas in between as well.

 The MPA Decadal Review

California’s MPA network has been around since 2012 and, per the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) passed in 1999, this network must be reviewed every 10 years. This year marks the very first Decadal Management Review of California’s MPAs. What does that mean for our network?

We sat down with Tova Handelman, the Senior Marine Protected Areas Program Manager at California’s Ocean Protection Council (and former Heal the Bay staffer) to give us the inside scoop on what’s in store for California’s treasured MPAs.

To get started, California’s MPAs are really special – what makes our network of 124 MPAs different from other MPAs in the United States and around the world?

Most MPAs around the world are designed as individual protected areas: a specific spot on the map that is set aside and conserved. Our MPAs are different; they span the entire California coastline and are ecologically designed as a network. They are meant to interact with each other, connected by the California Current, wildlife migration, and dispersal patterns.

Since California’s MPAs are a statewide network, we can actually manage them as a state. All 124 MPAs are managed to the same degree, unlike MPAs that are managed differently region by region. This allows for more equitable distribution of resources, no matter how remote an MPA may be.

Point Dume MPA
Point Dume is one of 124 stunning Marine Protected Areas in the state that offer safe refuge for ocean inhabitants as well as breath taking views from the land that make up the California Coastline.

The state of California manages our entire MPA system, how exactly does that work?

We use “adaptive management” for our network of MPAs in California, which gives us an opportunity to change how we manage these areas as the ecosystems change over years or decades. What might be working in MPA management now, might not work in the future. It was quite brilliant to include adaptive management in the MLPA and we are already seeing now, with the climate changing so rapidly, how necessary it was.


A variety of information is taken into account when monitoring an MPA. Heal the Bay partnered with scientists like PhD candidate Dr. Zack Gold to study eDNA in protected waters over the past couple years.

A key part of adaptive management is checking in on our MPAs to see how they are working and then adapt management accordingly. Here in California we do that through the Decadal Management Reviews, and the very first one is happening this year. Tell us about this review.

The Decadal Management Review, which was written into the MLPA, is an opportunity for us to use science and monitoring to see what has been going on in MPAs over the past 10 years. Based on the evidence presented, we can determine if there are any ways we can strengthen MPA management to make it more effective.

What does this scientific evidence look like?

The state of California has been funding long term MPA monitoring for a long time, and it all started with baseline data. Researchers went to all different types of ecosystems like sandy beaches, rocky reefs, kelp forests, and estuaries and gathered information to get an idea of what was going on inside and outside MPA boundaries 10 years ago, before the MPAs were put into place. Since then, those same sites have continued to be monitored over time to look at changes and see if anything interesting has happened since the baseline data was collected. In addition to the long-term data sets, we also will be interested in community science, like MPA Watch, to give a broader picture of the human dimension of MPAs [how humans interact with, use, impact, and value these areas]. The review will also include Traditional Ecological Knowledge from Indigenous communities who have been stewards of these lands and waters since time immemorial.


MPA volunteers like Sophia von der Ohe (seen in the picture above) are crucial to the success of the Decadal Review. Over 36161 surveys have been submitted by MPA watch volunteers to date.

How exactly will the review work, and who is involved?

The major players are the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC). The review will start with the gathering and synthesizing of scientific evidence by CDFW – this is happening right now and will continue through the year [and Heal the Bay is helping to contribute evidence and data for this critical step]. As the managing agency of the MPA network, CDFW will present this evidence to the FGC through a report, a presentation at a Commission meeting, and a symposium. This is set to happen in early 2023. As the regulatory body, the FGC will then review the evidence and make the decision if any changes are needed in MPA Management. If they choose to make any changes, they would have to go through a full regulatory process.

What can we expect from this first review? Will the science show major changes? Will there be any big management adjustments like MPAs added/removed or shifting boundaries?

The science might show some changes [like this Channle Islands MPA study showed increased abundance and biodiversity] but we don’t know yet because we are still analyzing that data. These are cold water climates and here, things take a long time to change. So, even though we are reviewing the science every 10 years, and we will see some interesting things, this review isn’t going to definitively show an extremely different landscape from 10 years prior.

We don’t expect any major management adjustments during this first 10-year review, such as border changes, adding new MPAs, or removing current MPAs. If you have heard that this management review is going to determine whether or not we are going to keep our MPA network or not, that is not this case: this review isn’t like a pass-fail test.

What you CAN expect from this review is a very interesting narrative and look back on the past 10 years of MPA management. We will see the amount of effort that was needed to manage our MPAs and interesting ecological data and stories. We will see data on the human dimension, such as community science, socioeconomics, how communities have interacted with their MPAs, and a review of the resources that were put into the network. This review will help to show the international global significance of this network and how other managers are looking to us as an example.

How can folks get involved in the review process?

The state is working to involve all ocean users and MPA stakeholders in the review process. If you are interested in getting involved in the review, you can:

1. Submit comments to CDFW for the review on their webpage

2. Stay informed by signing up for CDFW’s mailing list or learning more on their FAQ page

3. Attend FGC meetings and give a public comment

4. Get involved in the science! Join Heal the Bay’s MPA Watch program or The California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program to help collect important data used for the review

5. Go visit your MPA! We have four gorgeous MPAs here in LA County where you can swim, hang on the beach, surf, whale watch, snorkel, or tidepool!

So, folks, there you have it! All the information you need on California’s 2022 MPA Decadal Management Review. To close, some words of advice from an MPA: Be adaptive, base your decisions in science, protect yourself, get by with a little kelp from your friends, and do your own decadal review!

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Environmental Wins (and Losses) from the California Legislature in 2021

12.01.2021 |

CaliforniaClimate ChangePlastic Pollution

2021 was a turning point for environmental legislation in California.

Following a legislative season of major challenges for the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, our assemblymembers and senators were able to push through some exciting new laws and regulations this year to tackle plastic pollution, water quality, and climate change. Despite some successes, there is much more work to be done. Our team of scientists and advocates breaks it down for you below so you can stay in the know.

A Big Win for Water Quality: AB 1066 (Bloom)

This year, Heal the Bay sponsored Assembly Bill 1066 which passed with flying colors through the legislature. We firmly believe that inland water recreation areas, where people swim, boat, and wade in the water, should have the same health protections as coastal areas. AB 1066 takes the first steps toward addressing water quality monitoring disparities between ocean and freshwater sites by requiring that the California Water Quality Monitoring Council develop recommendations for a uniform statewide freshwater monitoring program. Learn more about this bill and what it means for freshwater quality monitoring.

The California Circular Economy Package: Wins for Fighting Plastic Pollution

This year, a suite of bills dubbed the California Circular Economy Package was introduced by a variety of California decision-makers. While not all of the bills made it through the harrowing process to become law, these five did, and they mark some major wins for tackling plastic pollution and toxins in California.

✅ SB 343 (Allen) expands on California’s truthful labeling law and limits the use of the “chasing arrows” symbol to products and packaging that are actually recycled in California, reducing consumer confusion and recycling contamination.
✅ AB 881 (L. Gonzalez) reclassifies mixed plastic exports as disposal instead of recycling while still allowing for truly recyclable plastics to be counted towards our state’s recycling goals.
✅ AB 1276 (Carrillo) requires foodware accessories to only be given to customers upon their explicit request, reducing the waste of “zero-use” plastics like utensils and condiment packets.
✅ AB 1201 (Ting) also requires truthful labeling for compostable products, only allowing the word “compostable” to be used on products and packaging that are truly compostable in California, increasing effective composting and reducing toxic chemicals in packaging materials.
✅ AB 962 (Kamlager) paves the way for refill systems in California by allowing reusable glass bottles to be returned, refilled, and reused as part of California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program.

Climate Wins (and losses)

The climate crisis is here. In 2021, numerous extreme weather events across the world brought increased urgency to the issue along with the realization that these “extreme” events will become increasingly more common and will affect each and every one of us. Let’s take a look at the big wins of 2021.

✅ SB 1 (Atkins) formally recognizes sea level rise as an urgent need to be addressed by the California Coastal Commission, establishes cross-agency coordination to tackle sea level rise, and establishes a $100 million grant program for local governments to prepare for rising seas.
✅ Climate Resilience Package included in this year’s state budget invests $15 billion – the largest investment to date – in addressing an array of climate change concerns, including wildfires & forest resilience, rising heat, and sea level rise.

California is leading the charge for addressing climate change in many ways, but still has a long way to go. Let’s take a look at the places where California fell short on addressing the climate crisis.

❌ SB 467 (Limon and Weiner) would have banned oil and gas production across California and required a 2,500-foot buffer between drilling sites and sensitive receptors such as homes and schools. We were devastated to see this bill die in the Senate this year but are working closely with environmental justice groups across the state to tackle this issue with creative solutions.
❌ AB 1395 (Muratsuchi and C. Garcia), also referred to as the California Climate Crisis Act would have set ambitious climate goals for the state, including strict emissions standards and accelerated efforts to reduce the burning of fossil fuels.

Other Environmental Wins of 2021 

Plastics and Climate Change aren’t the only challenges our communities and environment face. The legislature had a few other successes this year in tackling pollution.

✅ AJR2 (O’Donnell) calls on Congress and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to take action on the recently uncovered dumping of DDT and other waste into the deep ocean between the coast of Los Angeles and Catalina Island. This resolution is a great first step and Heal the Bay looks forward to continued work in 2022 on securing state funding for work on DDT and pushing for a community oversight committee on the issue to ensure transparency and accountability.

✅ SB 433 (Allen) expands the authority of the California Coastal Commission to enforce the 1976 Coastal Act through fines. Previously, the Coastal Commission could only levy fines for violations related to public access but now, with SB 433, the Commission can impose fines for violations related to impacts to wetlands, beaches, and coastal wildlife and waters. Coming on the heels of the devastating oil spill in Orange County, we are thrilled to see increased accountability for those who cause damage to our precious coastal resources.

✅ AB 818 (Bloom) requires clear and conspicuous labeling on disposable wipes that states “DO NOT FLUSH”. All too often, disposable wipes that are not intended to be flushed end up down toilets and in municipal wastewater treatment facilities where they can wreak havoc and cause blockage and spills. Especially after the disastrous sewage spill at the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Center in Los Angeles earlier this year, legislation like this is important to both reduce consumer confusion and protect our local water bodies and wastewater treatment workers from harm.

Looking Forward: 2022

As we plan for the year ahead, we are hoping for a much stronger and more progressive year in passing regulations to tackle the climate crisis and water pollution issues, and we already know some items on the table. Heal the Bay will be strongly supporting these measures:

  • SB 54 (Allen) is a bill you have heard us mention before – a massive plastic pollution reduction bill that would comprehensively tackle plastics through reduction measures and recycling reform. Next year will be the 4th year this bill is attempting to make its way through and we are committed to supporting it.
  • The California Plastic Waste Reduction Regulations Initiative is an initiative eligible for the November 8, 2022 ballot that would enact a massive plastic pollution reduction program, including a “pollution reduction fee” holding producers financially accountable for the pollution they create. Keep an eye out for it on your ballot next year!

With the COVID-19 pandemic still creating a massive public health crisis in California and globally this year, environmental legislation once again struggled to make significant progress. Heal the Bay is prepared and ready to help make up for lost time next year by pushing as hard as we can to pass regulations and laws that reduce production and pollution of plastics, end oil and gas drilling both onshore and on land, and protect our communities, waters, and watersheds from the climate crisis. Stay tuned for how YOU can help us get there.

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Take Action Against Plastic Pollution: Call Your Reps

08.30.2021 |

NewsPlastic PollutionTake Action

UPDATE 10/5: Good news – Gov. Newsom signed SB 343, AB 1276, and AB 962 into law! Thanks for making your voice heard.

Action Alert! Support Heal the Bay’s top 3 California plastic-reduction bills. Call your reps and help get these environmental bills to the finish line. Learn about the bills, contact your representatives, and use our sample script below.

Call My Reps

A few major plastic bills are up for a vote, and we need your help to urge your representatives to vote YES! This year, the California legislature introduced a suite of bills to fight plastic pollution called the Circular Economy Package. While not all of the bills have made it through the long and harrowing process, three are nearing the finish line and are priorities for Heal the Bay. These bills are heading to the floor for a vote, which means we only have a couple weeks left to get them passed! The bills each tackle plastic pollution in a unique way, so let’s break them down.

Senate Bill 343: The Truth in Environmental Advertising Act

Have you ever turned over a plastic cup or container to read the number on the bottom and noticed it’s encircled with a recycling “chasing arrows” symbol, only to then learn that item in fact could not be recycled? Us too, and it’s frustrating. This bill would make that illegal, and only permit the chasing arrows symbol to be used on items that are actually recyclable in California and never as part of a plastic resin identification code (those numbers that tell you what type of plastic the item is made from). SB 343 would help to clarify what items should go in the blue bin, reducing confusion among consumers, contamination, and waste volume while improving diversion rates, meaning less waste is sent to landfill and more is actually recycled.

Assembly Bill 1276: Disposable Foodware Accessories

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all begun relying much more heavily on takeout and delivery to feed ourselves and our loved ones while supporting local restaurants. The downside? Receiving disposable foodware accessories like cutlery, condiment packets, and straws that we don’t need and frequently end up in the trash without ever being used. These items, often made of single-use plastics, are clogging waste facilities and polluting our environment. AB 1276 would require that these food ware accessories only be provided upon explicit request of the customer, so you wouldn’t get them unless you ask.

Assembly Bill 962: California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act

What’s the best way to fight plastic pollution? Tackling the problem from the source. This bill focuses on replacing harmful pollution-causing disposable plastic items with sustainable reusable and refillable alternatives. AB 962 helps pave the way for returnable and refillable beverage bottles in California by allowing glass bottles to be washed and refilled by beverage companies instead of crushed and recycled into new bottles – a much less energy intensive process that encourages reuse and refill. The measure reduces waste and encourages the use of glass bottles over disposable plastic ones. 

All of these bills will be up for a vote soon. Call your representatives and urge them to VOTE YES on SB 343, AB 1276, and AB 962.

Use this handy tool to find and call your reps.

Call My Reps

Use this sample script when you call:

“Hi, my name is __________ and I am a resident of __________ and a constituent of representative__________. As an active member of my community with concerns about plastic pollution, I urge you to vote YES on SB 343, AB 1276, and AB 962. As part of the Circular Economy Package, these bills will reduce plastic pollution in my community and protect my public health. Thank you for your time.”

 

Stay in the loop on the progress of these bills by signing up for our newsletter and following us on Instagram.

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Plastic Pollution Reduction Bills: No Vote, No Go

09.11.2020 |

CaliforniaPlastic PollutionTake Action


Bills Fail to Pass the California Legislature in 2020

It is with a heavy heart that we share that SB 54 and AB 1080, two plastic pollution reduction bills known as The California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, did not pass. These bills would have taken on Big Plastic by reducing single-use plastics across California by 75% by 2032. And because of their transformative potential, the plastic industry pushed back with a $3.4 million lobbying campaign, spending not only money, but an enormous amount of time lobbying representatives.

The public is demanding a coordinated solution to reduce plastic pollution. People are recognizing the harm plastic has on public health, local economies, and the environment. Labor groups, small businesses, and communities are in support, as evidenced by the bill’s formal support list of 325 organizations, companies, and municipalities, as well as Heal the Bay’s support petition, which garnered more than 433,000 individual signatures. 

Despite this overwhelming support, the bills died in the California State Assembly on the last day of the 2020 legislative season. AB 1080 had narrowly passed the Senate, but when it was time for the Assembly to decide, the bills were just 4 votes shy of the necessary 41 needed to pass. We were up against a massive opposition campaign with Big Plastic spending millions to defeat this, and in the end, the bills fell short only by 4 votes. We are thankful to all 23 Senators and 37 Assemblymembers who voted AYE in support of these bills.

A tremendous amount of work went into these bills to strengthen them, rally the support we needed, and get them to the finish line. Never before has the California legislature been so close to passing such a landmark plastic pollution reduction bill. While this is disappointing, it is not a defeat. We know that the fight is not over. We still had major wins this year as we continued to elevate the critical conversation around the full lifecycle impacts of plastic pollution, and gained a bigger and broader coalition of support and more committed legislators working to reduce waste and plastic pollution in California than ever before. 

In her riveting closing argument Monday night, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez reminded us that the issue of plastic pollution is no longer one we can ignore, saying “It’s not a white, coastal problem…I have a Brown community that is dirty […] with your plastics. It’s dirty because there’s nowhere to put them.”  It is thanks to authors Assemblymember Gonzalez and Senator Allen, other co-authors, legislative supporters, and support from the community that these bills got as far as they did.

Looking forward, we will be bringing the plastic pollution fight to the people. Earlier this year, Heal the Bay and other organizations gathered 870,000 signatures, enough to qualify a plastic pollution reduction measure for the 2022 ballot. In 2022, California voters will vote on the California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act.  This measure would reduce plastic pollution through source reduction, funding mechanisms, a polystyrene ban, and other tools. This initiative gives California voters the unique opportunity to finally hold the plastic industry accountable for the waste they produce.

In the meantime, Heal the Bay will be refocusing here in Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City, and continue working to push local plastic pollution reduction policy forward. Stay tuned for ways to get involved, and check out Reusable LA for more information.

Thank you to all who called, emailed, posted, and supported over the past year and a half. We could not have pushed SB 54 and AB 1080 this far without all of you, and we are ready to keep fighting. Are you?

#CAMustLead #breakfreefromplastic 

Top photo by @_adventureiscallingme

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Call your Representatives to Fight Big Plastic

08.18.2020 |

CaliforniaPlastic PollutionTake Action

California is on the cusp of passing a transformative bill to reduce plastic pollution, and we need your help to get there.

Last year, California State Senators and Assemblymembers came together and introduced a pair of identical bills to address plastic pollution. Known as the California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, Senate Bill 54 (SB 54) and Assembly Bill 1080 (AB 1080) are now again poised to become transformative legislation in the global fight against plastic pollution.

California is in the midst of a waste crisis. With waste haulers no longer able to export recyclables to countries like China and India for disposal, our plastic trash is piling up, yet our throw-away lifestyle continues to grow. If we continue on with business as usual, we can expect to see a 40% increase in plastic production over the next decade, and more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.

Plastic pollution isn’t contained to the coastline. Plastic products are made from fossil fuels, and they contribute to air pollution throughout their entire lifecycle, from extraction to refining, manufacturing to disposal. This pollution disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. This pollution can lead to health impacts such as asthma, respiratory illness, headaches, fatigue, nosebleeds, and even cancer and makes members of these communities more susceptible to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused an increase in the use of disposable plastics, as industries revert back to harmful disposable products over reusables.

The time for drastic action is now, and SB 54 and AB 1080 can get us there.

Heal the Bay has been closely tracking and supporting this legislation since it was introduced more than a year and a half ago. At its core, the bills function similarly to the greenhouse gas emissions limit bill of 2006 (SB 32) by setting a reduction target for single-use plastic packaging and products of 75% by 2032. Check out our FAQ for the full break down of the legislative language.

If SB 54 and AB 1080 pass, California will be at the forefront of the global fight against plastic pollution and Heal the Bay has been working tirelessly alongside our partners to make that happen. But, now we need your help. The bills will be voted on by September 13 (we don’t know the exact date) and if they pass, they go on to the Governor and need to be signed by him before October 13.

Make Your Voice Heard

Our Senators and Assemblymembers need to hear from YOU now.

Please call your representative and tell them you support SB 54 and AB 1080. A call takes two minutes or less, and it makes a world of difference for our representatives to hear from their constituents.

This phone-to-action page makes it easy: Just type in your information, and you will receive a call from a service that can easily connect you to your representative. Make the call today:

Call Your Representative Today!

Sample Call Script:

Hello, my name is ____________________and I live in _____________________. As your constituent, I’m calling to urge you to support Assembly Bill 1080 and Senate Bill 54, which would reduce plastic pollution in California by 75% by 2030 and reduce the increasing costs of cleanups that are falling on taxpayers.

Plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental problem, it is a financial issue and a public health concern. Right now we are in the midst of a recycling crisis, and California is unable to deal with mounting plastic waste.

Our communities and our environment need to be protected now. That’s why I’m urging you to support AB 1080 and SB 54 in addressing plastic pollution before it’s too late. Thank you.

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Take Action: Bring the Plastic Pollution Fight to the VOTERS

07.23.2020 |

CaliforniaPlastic PollutionTake Action

California has long been a leader in fighting plastic pollution, and our leadership can have rippling impact. When we banned single-use plastic bags in 2016, we were the first state to do so. Now, eight states have done it. It’s up to us to continue to push solutions to an issue that is devastating our oceans and frontline communities.

The California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act of 2020 is a California ballot initiative aimed at reducing plastic pollution, restoring and protecting environments harmed by plastic pollution, and increasing recycling. Among other objectives, this initiative would:

  1. Reduce the amount of single-use plastic sold in CA by 25% by 2030
  2. Ensure the remaining is truly recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2030
  3. Create a “plastics tax”: a fee on plastic producers that will help fund the state’s recycling and composting infrastructure, and restore environments impacted by plastic pollution
  4. Phase out the use of Expanded Polystyrene (so called “Styrofoam”) takeout containers in favor of more sustainable alternatives

If passed by voters, it would be the strongest regulation on disposable plastics in the country. This groundbreaking legislation was introduced in 2019 by Recology, a trash and recycling hauling company, and is supporting by numerous environmental organizations including Heal the Bay.

To get on the statewide ballot in 2022, this initiative needs signatures from California voters, and LOTS of them! As of now, the initiative is on track to qualify thanks to signatures from hundreds of thousands of Californians, but we need your help to get it past the finish line. Because signature gatherers have been pulled off of the streets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are bringing the signature gathering to you. We have fortunately been given an extension on the deadline to get these signatures in, giving us a second chance to get the signatures we need.

To send in your signature, follow these simple steps. It’s as easy as PRINT. SIGN. MAIL. DONE. Please send in your signatures by the end of September for them to count.

  1. PRINT THE PETITION AND TOP FUNDERS SHEET
    • Do not fill out on a computer
    • You will need to print, staple, and submit all 8 pages (double-sided is ok)
    • Review the text if you want more information on the initiative
  2. FILL IN YOUR INFORMATION
    • On Page 8, fill in the county that you live in and are registered to vote in
    • Fill in the signature box with your Printed Name & Residence Address, Signature, City & Zip Code
    • Fill in the Declaration of Circulator box with your: Printed Name & Residence, Address Date range in which you obtained your signature(s) (can be the same day), Date you executed (signed) the Declaration of Circulator (must be signed last), Location of signing, and Signature
  3. MAIL YOUR COMPLETED PETITION
    • Place the signed, stapled petition (all 8 pages) in an envelope and seal securely
    • Use 2 Forever® letter stamps for a standard letter envelope. Use 3 Forever® stamps for a “9×12” envelope (add 2 Forever® stamps per additional petition included after the first)
    • Place in outgoing mailbox to the following address:

CAMPAIGN OFFICES PLASTICS-FREE CA

26500 W. Agoura Rd, #102-146

Calabasas, CA 91302

Want more detailed instructions? Head to the Plastic Free CA Campaign Website or check out this PDF with step by step instructions.

 

FAQs

Why do we have to print all 8 pages? That seems wasteful.

We agree, and we wish it was possible to submit signatures digitally just as much as you do. Unfortunately, the signature gathering protocol set by the state where many signatures are collected on one page by hired employees has been around for a very long time, and up until this year, had never been an issue. COVID-19 changed all that, and the state did not have time to set up a digital signature gathering method that would effectively count and verify signatures. So, printing and mailing is the best method the state has available to collect signatures at a safe distance.

Can others sign the same petition I print out?

Absolutely. We highly recommend having everyone in your household and shelter in place circle sign the same petition that you do. This will save paper AND get more signatures in.

Why won’t it be on the ballot until 2022?

Ballot initiatives appear on the ballot every two years, and this bill didn’t meet the deadline to make it onto this year’s ballot, so our next opportunity is in 2022.

How is this initiative different from Senate Bill 54 and Assembly Bill 1080?

Although they are very similar, these bills focus on ALL disposable materials, not just plastics, and use different methods to reduce them. These bills also must be passed by the California legislature, whereas California voters themselves can pass the ballot initiative.

What if I have more questions?

Get in touch! Send an email to info@plasticsfreeca.org with your questions.

 

Paid for by Heal the Bay

 

More Ways to Get Involved:

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Fighting Big Plastic from My Living Room: A Cry for Action 

04.17.2020 |

Plastic Pollution

Emily Parker, Coastal and Marine Scientist at Heal the Bay dives into how to fight Big Plastic from your living room during the COVID-19 pandemic while staying safe, protecting your community, and supporting struggling local businesses.

Update: California Governor Gavin Newsom temporarily suspends the statewide plastic bag ban on April 23, 2020 in response to inaccurate claims from the oil and plastics industries that disposable plastics are safer than reusable items, an untruth that creates unnecessary panic. We are alarmed that some of our elected leaders are listening to the oil and plastics industries at a time when our resources should be supporting our strained health care system, protecting essential employees, and providing assistance to vulnerable communities. We encourage Californians to bring reusable bags if your local store allows it and opt to bag yourself! If the store is not allowing reusable bags, refuse the plastic bags at checkout, bring your items outside in the cart, and bag there with your reusable bags.  Read our full statement.

It’s a Friday evening. Everyone across the city, the nation, the globe, is sheltering in place. Local businesses are suffering and I want to do the right thing and support them (plus, I’m hungry). So I order some noodles. They arrive at my doorstep, and they hit the spot, but the problem? They are packaged in a single-use plastic container. This is my dilemma, and I am not alone.

Plastic pollution advocates are all experiencing this same predicament: how do I stay safe, protect my community, and support struggling local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, all while still fighting Big Plastic (i.e. the plastics industry behemoth that includes plastic manufacturers, fossil fuel companies, and food conglomerates that all support the harmful production and disposal of single-use plastic products)?

Over the course of the past month, all of our lives in the US have changed drastically. Those who are fortunate enough to have a place to live are isolated in their homes, distanced from loved ones. More and more people fall ill every day, vulnerable communities are suffering disproportionately, and our governments and healthcare systems are pushed to the brink. Yet, all the while, Big Plastic does not sleep.

Behind the scenes, industry lobbyists from plastic corporations and fossil fuel companies are using the COVID-19 crisis as a front to push their agenda: make and sell more plastic. The result? Cities and states like San Francisco and New Hampshire have reversed their bans on plastic bags and the safety of reusable items has come into question causing delays for plastic bag bans in New York and Maine. All of this because an industrial conglomerate wants you to believe single-use plastic is less likely to make you sick (a claim with no un-biased evidence to back it up). So, what can we do about it?

Here are a few ways you can fight Big Plastic while sheltering in place:

1. Continue to support your local restaurants and prioritize those that choose sustainable alternatives for their take-out and delivery

Our friends at Surfrider Foundation have just the tool for you to keep ordering take-out and avoid the dirtiest plastics: Ocean Friendly Restaurants (OFR). This program works to stop plastic pollution at the source, and offers restaurants an easy way to show their commitment to making sustainable choices for our ocean. All OFR certified establishments make a commitment to reduce plastic waste through targets such as eliminating polystyrene (the worst plastic litter offender), only offering utensils and non-plastic straws on request, and not offering plastic bags. Use this handy map to find an Ocean Friendly Restaurant near you!

Don’t see your favorite spot? Call them up and politely ask if you can order your food with as little plastic packaging as possible. Keeping local businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic while reducing plastic waste IS possible!

2. Take extra care to avoid single-use plastics when buying your essentials and support refill systems when possible

With bulk bins taped over and reusable bags being turned away, even a simple trip to the market for essentials can seem overwhelming if you are avoiding single-use plastic. However, a little extra preparation and research can go a long way.

Bring along reusable produce bags and pack up your own produce to avoid the plastic packaged stuff. Look for pantry items packed in cardboard, tin and aluminum to avoid disposable plastic bags. Already an avid refill customer? Check with your local refill store and see if they have curbside pick-up or delivery options for cleaning, household, and personal care products while we shelter in place.

Finally, go easy on yourself. Now is the time to show compassion and, if you buy more single-use plastic than you would like, don’t despair. We are all doing our best and limited options may force our hand. Do try to clean and repurpose any plastic you may get as best as you can; Pinterest and YouTube have great tutorials on how to reuse single-use plastic items.

3. Use your voice and your vote to stand up to Big Plastic 

Stand with Heal the Bay and the Reusable LA Coalition as we take an active stance against Big Plastic’s fear mongering techniques to increase the production and sale of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic. By supporting legislation such as the STOP Act of 2020, (a bill that would prohibit the Federal Administration from slashing royalty rates and giving away billions of dollars to fossil fuel companies) and continuing to push for local legislation that equitably reduces plastic use in Los Angeles County, Heal the Bay and our partners are working to ensure that Big Plastic and the fossil fuel industry do not benefit from a global crisis.

Every day, in the background of the growing pandemic, more fossil fuels are extracted and refined to produce disposable plastic products. This process directly impacts fenceline communities who live next to these operations and are exposed to higher levels of pollution; those same communities are also being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 virus. Those plastics then must be disposed of and with a broken recycling system, and more and more recycling programs being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ending up in landfills and the environment.

Your voice MATTERS. Stand with us and tell Big Plastic they won’t get away with payoffs and rollbacks while our vulnerable communities continue to be impacted by plastic production. You can support these efforts by signing up as a Reusable LA supporter, making a financial contribution to Heal the Bay, or by signing our plastic petition. Follow Heal the Bay on social media or sign up for volunteer action alerts to stay in the know on our fight against Big Plastic and how you can take action from anywhere.

We want to hear from you. Use #fightplasticfromhome and let us know how you are continuing to fight Big Plastic and reduce your plastic consumption while sheltering in place. Together, we can reduce plastic pollution and keep our communities safe through this crisis and beyond.

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