Heal the Bay Blog

With tax season upon us, it’s actually a good time to think inside the box. As April 15 approaches, ocean lovers throughout the state now have a chance to support their local beach when they file their returns.
 
By simply checking a box on your state tax return, you can make a one-time tax-deductible donation to the California Coastal Commission for any amount you choose.
 
Under the measure sponsored by Torrance-based Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, your contributions will support the Whale Tail Grants Program, doing an ocean of good for underserved kids, ocean-related museum exhibits, habitat cleanups and restoration projects.

So look sharp, feet-draggers: You’ve got a month to pinch those pennies for the Pacific!

Ever dream about building a custom home along the Santa Monica Bay shoreline? Well, you soon may get the chance – thanks to the return of Heal the Bay’s Designer Sandcastle Competition! On Saturday, April 26, teams from across the Southland will roll up their sleeves – and pant-legs – to create some truly spectacular sand creations near the Santa Monica Pier. We are now soliciting entries from architectural firms, design shops, entertainment studios, production companies, civic groups, community associations and other organizations.

This special fundraising event is a great way to help support the work of Heal the Bay in protecting our local beaches and oceans, while helping foster morale and esprit d’corps in your company or organization. It’s also a great way to showcase your civic-mindedness and creativity to the general public, which will be invited to view the competition as part of Heal the Bay’s well-attended Earth Month Festival. The sandcastle square-off is the centerpiece of the festival activities near the Pier, which also include our largest beach cleanup of the year, theme events at our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and a sustainable seafood cooking demonstration.

Space is limited, so please sign up your team today!

Not a card-carrying AIA member? No worries! Our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and Time Warner Cable’s Connect A Million Minds initative are hosting a Family Sandcastle Competition at noon on the 26th. Anyone with an imagination, shovel and pail can enter. Check in at the Aquarium the morning of the competion!

Today’s Thank You Thursday shout-out goes to all of the amazing organizations that helped to make our Volunteer Party on Monday truly special.

Thank you Bodega Wine Bar for hosting the party again this year. We love the space, the food, and your friendly staff is the best!

We had some awesome raffle items donated this year! Our big ticket items came from ZJ Boarding House, which graciously gave an epic skate deck and two board and wetsuit rentals, along with YogaWorks, with a 6-month membership pass! We were able to reward winning volunteers with cool swag from Poseidon Paddle & Surf, El Porto Surfboards, District Skate Shop, and REI.

The Trapeze School of New York and Perfect Day Surf Camp gave certificates for unforgettable experiences for a couple lucky raffle winners. Thanks to all of our special eats sponsors, Locanda del Lago, Pizza Antica, Hamburger Habit, Pitfire Pizza and Baja Buds, who supplied redeemable gift certificates.

And thank you, Becker’s Bakery, for donating 100 of your star sugar cookies for our volunteers to decorate and enjoy. Our A-List volunteers got the star quality treatment, all thanks to a little help from our friends! Thank you to all of our sponsors for making the evening unforgettable.

More Information

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• Health Impact Assessment
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THE ISSUE

Many don’t realize it, but Santa Monica Bay may soon be opened up to oil drilling

The City of Hermosa Beach currently has a moratorium in place that prohibits oil drilling. After years of legal battles, a settlement was reached between E&B Natural Resources and the City of Hermosa Beach that could potentially allow the community to be opened up to oil drilling by putting the moratorium up for reconsideration. Hermosa Beach residents will vote next March on a ballot measure to allow slant-drilling into the Bay. E&B Natural Resources wants to erect an 87-foot drilling rig and up to 34 wells on a 1.3-acre plot in a residential neighborhood, extracting up to 8,000 barrels of oil each day by slant-drilling under the seafloor and surrounding beach communities.

If voters repeal the existing moratorium on drilling, the City would have to pay $3.5 million to E&B, and the company would pursue permitting for the proposed oil drilling operation. If voters uphold the moratorium, drilling would be barred. But the city would have to pay $17.5 million to E&B under a complex settlement brokered by past city councils.

THE PROBLEM

Oil drilling off Hermosa Beach poses significant environmental and economic risks throughout the Bay

An oil spill isn’t restricted to city limits. With nearly 50 million annual visits to Bay beaches and a coastal economy worth over $10 billion, a spill off Hermosa Beach would be a financial and ecologic nightmare for all of Los Angeles. As the Deepwater Horizon disaster showed, it can take years for local ecosystems, economies and psyches to recover from a spill.

Oil drilling off Hermosa Beach would jeopardize public health

With the project site in close proximity to schools, parks, businesses and popular beaches, public health impacts are a major concern. Approximately 49% of the City’s residents live within 1/2 mile of the drilling site. Drilling near homes and pipes placed along busy streets put residents and visitors at risk from explosions, toxic flares and air and noise pollution.

Oil drilling off Hermosa sets a dangerous precedent for further exploitation of our Bay

Thanks to the hard work of Heal the Bay and its partners, there are no oil drilling operations in the Bay. Lifting the moratorium and allowing drilling to proceed in Hermosa is like opening Pandora’s Box. Other oil and gas companies may be emboldened to pursue similar drilling projects, rolling back years of hard-fought coastal protections.

THE SOLUTION

Uphold the moratorium

Voters naturally worry about paying off an oil company $17.5 million because of a bad agreement negotiated in the past. But Hermosa Beach is financially sound and has more than $6.2 million already set aside to cover the settlement cost. It’s better to settle a bad debt now than mortgage the future health of our Bay for decades to come.

Advocate for policies to prevent future slant drilling along entire Los Angeles coast

Our policy staff is now documenting the history of oil drilling moratoriums in all Santa Monica Bay cities and assessing energy policies in bordering cities. We are also using our technical expertise to evaluate risks to the community and environment. Heal the Bay successfully fought to enact the current moratorium in 1995, but now seeks a regional approach to stop drilling.

Worried about the prospect of oil drilling in our Bay? Sign up to stay informed.

Marina del Rey Harbor is the most toxic metropolitan marina in the state. Here, staff scientist Peter Shellenbarger discusses how refinishing boat hulls can reverse the decline.

Update: After a heated discussion that lasted over four hours, the Regional Water Board unanimously approved the amendments to the Marina del Rey Toxics TMDL at its Feb. 6 meeting that will require boat owners to remove copper-based paints from the hulls of their boats (see below for details). Although many boaters expressed concerns over the potential costs of repainting, Regional Board staff reiterated their intent to help secure some grant support. USEPA and others also discussed studies and research by the Department of Toxics Substance Control and others that identified cost-effective, non-toxic paint alternatives. Heal the Bay looks forward to working with the Regional Water Board, the County and the public to help find a sensible path forward for TMDL implementation.

Marina del Rey attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year with its breathtaking views and coastal amenities. Its harbor, the centerpiece of the community, is the largest man-made marina in the United States, with mooring space for more than 6,000 small vessels. It also serves as home to many coastal service industries, such as sport fishing, whale watching, and boat racing.

Before the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers created the Harbor in the 1950s, a vast salt marsh covered the area, providing habitat for many aquatic and terrestrial species. Despite the massive transformation of the area over the past 60 years, it remains home to many species that once occupied the wetland, such as sea lions, pelicans, and gulls.

Despite all this animal and human activity, there’s a reason to be concerned about the health of the Marina. Most visitors don’t know that in 2009 Cal EPA found the Harbor to be the most toxic metropolitan marina in the state. Bottom line: Many aquatic species can’t survive in these polluted waters, which also pose a health hazard to humans who regularly come in contact with the water.

Marina del Rey is now on the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies for a variety of pollutants (chlordane, copper, lead, zinc, PCBs, DDT, dieldrin and sediment toxicity). Accordingly, many beneficial uses of the Harbor, such as water contact recreation, fishing and marine habitat, are negatively impacted.

In response, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board established pollution limits in 2005 for the water body to help clean up the Harbor and protect the many uses of its waters. At its Feb. 6 hearing, the Regional Board will reconsider the pollution limits – also known as a TMDL – in order to incorporate the latest science.

The most controversial element of the proposed revision is a requirement for an 85% reduction in copper loading from boats into the water column. Unfortunately, many of the boats in the harbor have their hulls coated in paints that contain high levels of the metal. The copper is effective in keeping barnacles and other unwanted creatures off hulls, but it also can leach into surrounding waters and be a major contributor to overall toxicity.

The new rules would dictate that 85% of the boats now moored in the Harbor would need to refinish their hulls with an alternative product by March 2024. The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board recently adopted a similar requirement to reduce dissolved copper in the water column in the Shelter Island Yacht Basin Copper TMDL.

Understandably, the cost of refinishing hulls is a big concern for boat owners. However, studies indicate that the difference in total lifetime costs for using copper-based hull coatings versus alternative hull coatings is fairly small when routine maintenance schedules are followed. On the positive side, non-copper-based hull coating outlast copper-based products.

To help offset the high upfront costs of switching to non-copper based hull coatings, the Regional Board is exploring grant options for boat owners. The San Diego water board has pursued a similar path to help boat owners.

Marina del Rey is an iconic location in Los Angeles. In order to ensure future generations can fully enjoy this important coastal resource, it is critical that water quality is protected. Heal the Bay’s policy team has determined that updating the Marina del Rey Harbor Toxic Pollutants TMDL to address the copper issue will help protect this resource and the marine life that depends on it.

For more information on copper leaching from boat hulls, you can visit:

http://www.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/safe-paint/index.html

http://www.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/safe-paint/san-diego.html

http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb4/Boater_Fact_Sheet_updated.pdf