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Heal the Bay Blog

To do our part in reducing the spread of COVID-19, Heal the Bay is following guidelines from the Los Angeles County Department of Health and suspending all public programs, including programming at Heal the Bay Aquarium effective immediately. Heal the Bay Aquarium is temporarily closed and all Heal the Bay public program activities are suspended until further notice to accommodate physical distancing and help reduce the transmission of COVID-19. The health and safety of our supporters, partners, staff, and community-at-large are our top priority. We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will abide by any recommendations from our local health agencies and the CDC. We urge you to follow LA’s Safer At Home orders at this time to help #FlattenTheCurve and save lives.

Suspended public programs include: Speakers Bureau, Beach Cleanups (Nothin’ But Sand, Suits on the Sand & Adopt-A-Beach), Angler Outreach Program, Wednesday Volunteers, Marine Protected Area Watch as well as Heal the Bay Aquarium (Birthday Parties, Field Trips, public hours & special events).

We will provide updates as new information becomes available. Our Aquarium staff will remain working at our facility to provide care for the animals and conduct maintenance. Heal the Bay staff will work remotely and in the main office during this time.

For the health and well-being of all, please take proper precautions to limit the spread of illness. Please follow these guidelines:

  • Please stay home if you feel sick and/or have a fever, cough or shortness of breath.
  • Wear a fabric face mask or facial covering when you are out in public.
  • Practice physical distancing by staying at least 6-feet away from people who are not in your household.
  • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. (If a tissue is unavailable, use your upper sleeve or inside your bent elbow.)
  • Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Make frequent use of hand sanitizer if available.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
  • Follow all directives and guidelines by your health care provider and local health officials.
  • Get a flu shot to prevent influenza if you have not done so this season.

For more information, visit Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and view the LA Mayor’s Directive about COVID-19 LA City Guidelines.

If you have any questions, please Contact Us. If you are looking for marine science education resources, check out Knowledge Drops.

 

Last updated: June 23, 2020



We recently honored 24 individuals at our annual Volunteer Party. Our Super Healers are a passionate group of Heal the Bay volunteers who went above and beyond in the past year with their dedication to the conservation of our coastal waters and watersheds. We could not continue our mission without their unique and exceptional contributions. A huge thank you to all of our volunteers!

From the “Thank You Volunteers” spelled out in donuts to the video game corner to the funky photo booth, this year’s donut-themed celebration was certainly sweet.

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In addition to a whopping 22 Super Healer Volunteer Awards, this year we also awarded 1 Jean Howell Award and 1 Bob Hertz Award. The Jean Howell Award is for a volunteer who has been recognized as a Super Healer in the past and is deserving of more praise. A Bob Hertz Award is our lifetime volunteer service award and is given to volunteers who have demonstrated unwavering commitment and extraordinary service year after year.

Thank you to Bodega Wine Bar for hosting us, and to the following organizations for their support: DK’s Donuts, Astro Doughnuts, Geffen Playhouse Theater, Manhattan Stitching Company, California Science Center, Pacific Park, Patagonia, and MaCher.

Meet last year’s Super Healers.

Become a Heal the Bay Volunteer



 

We’re tackling the biggest threats to the Bay by harnessing The Power of Water in 2020. The following three goals represent our key areas of focus this year:

 

Sound the Alarm for Climate Action

What we’re doing: Mitigating the life-altering impacts of climate change by empowering people to make smart choices now to create a sustainable and equitable future.

How we’re doing it: Water is where many will feel climate impacts first: water reliability in a changing climate is paramount. We are scrutinizing the City of LA’s plans for reusing wastewater as well as local projects to capture stormwater, to ensure they are equitable, effective and sustainable. At Heal the Bay Aquarium and events we are engaging the public to take daily actions — like extending Meatless Monday to One Meal a Day for the Ocean — to help mitigate the extremes of warming temperatures, ocean acidification and sea level rise.


Protect Public Health with Strong Science and Outreach

What we’re doing: Protecting people’s health through science-based education and outreach on contaminated water and fish at LA beaches and rivers.

How we’re doing it: We are expanding the reach and scientific rigor of our Beach Report Card, River Report Card and Angler Outreach programs to increase community and agency engagement on issues that directly affect public health. Our focus is on pollution, access, recreational use and fish consumption. We are also advocating for strong water quality protections and better public awareness tools to inform the most impacted communities.


Ban Single-Use Plastic for Good

What we’re doing: Eliminating harmful plastic waste from our beaches and waterways, and restoring the vibrancy of our ocean and watersheds.

How we’re doing it: A dramatic shift away from single-use plastics is needed because less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled and the rest winds up in landfills and the natural environment. Alongside a coalition of NGOs we are helping to establish “Reusable LA”, a new campaign to build a thriving culture of reuse and refill in LA County, encouraging people and businesses to go plastic-free and support new policies that ban disposable plastics in LA County and statewide.


Get Involved

Volunteer With Us

Take Part in a Beach Cleanup

Visit Our Aquarium

Donate


Ver En Español



 

Nos enfrentamos a las mayores amenazas para la bahía utilizando El Poder del Agua en 2020. Los siguientes tres objetivos son las áreas clave para este año:

 

Grito de alarma por el cambio climático

Qué estamos haciendo: Mitigando los impactos del cambio climático que alteran la vida empoderando a los ciudadanos a tomar mejores decisiones para crear un futuro sostenible y equitativo.

Cómo lo estamos haciendo: El agua es el área donde muchos notarán primero los efectos del cambio climático: la accesibilidad del agua en un clima cambiante es fundamental.

Examinamos detalladamente los planes de reutilización de aguas residuales de la ciudad de L.A., así como proyectos locales de captación de agua lluvia, para asegurarnos de que sean justos y efectivos. Y en el Acuario de Heal the Bay involucramos al público para tomar acciones diarias — como nuestra iniciativa “Una comida al día por el océano” — para mitigar las temperaturas extremas, la acidificación de los océanos y el aumento del nivel del mar.


Proteger la salud pública con programas de educación científica y comunitaria

Qué estamos haciendo: Protegiendo la salud pública a través de programas de educación científica y comunitaria sobre pesca y aguas contaminadas en playas y ríos de LA.

Cómo lo estamos haciendo: Extendiendo el alcance y rigor científico de nuestros programas como “Informe de playas”, “Informe de ríos” y “Educación pesquera” (Beach Report Card, River Report Card y Angler Outreach, por sus siglas en ingles) para incrementar el compromiso comunitario e institucional en temas que afectan directamente a la salud pública. Nuestro enfoque es en la contaminación, acceso, uso recreacional y consumo de pescado. Abogamos también por fuertes protecciones de calidad de agua y para mejorar las herramientas de concientización pública en las comunidades más afectadas.


Prohibir definitivamente el plástico de un solo uso

Qué estamos haciendo: Eliminando los desechos plásticos nocivos de nuestras playas y sistemas fluviales y restaurando la vitalidad de nuestro océano y cuencas hidrográficas.

Cómo lo estamos haciendo: Se necesita un cambio drástico en el uso del plástico de un solo uso porque menos del 10% es reciclado y el resto acaba en vertederos y entornos naturales. Estamos estableciendo una nueva campaña llamada “LA reutilizable” para fomentar una próspera cultura de reutilización y recarga en el condado de L.A., alentando de esta forma a la gente y negocios a no usar plástico y apoyar políticas que prohíban los plásticos desechables en el condado de LA y en todo California.


Únete

Haz voluntariado con nosotross

Contribuye a limpiar una playa

Visita nuestro Acuario

Dona

 


Este artículo fue traducido por Beatriz Lorenzo Botella y editado por Frankie Orrala.

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Every year, our Aquarium celebrates its love for whales – just in time to mark the annual migration of the Pacific gray whale.

Pacific gray whales undergo a gargantuan 10,000-mile roundtrip journey between the Arctic and Mexico each year. These gentle giants breed and give birth in the warm Baja waters in late fall/early winter before heading back north with their calves around February. The migration takes the whales through the Santa Monica Bay – sometimes close enough to be spotted from the West end of the Pier.

Make sure to stop by for Whale of a Weekend on February 15-16 at Heal the Bay Aquarium (and don’t forget to celebrate World Whale Day on Feb. 15). From baleen to blubber, you’ll leave with a ton of knowledge. Be sure to take a look through our binoculars from the observation deck; you might just spy a whale!

Our Top Ten Facts About Whales

  1. Whales only breathe through their blowholes – they can’t breathe through their mouths.
  2. There are two categories of cetaceans (whales): those with teeth and those without.
  3. Toothless whales, called baleen whales, include the Pacific gray whale, blue, humpback, fin, and right whales.
  4. Toothed whales include orcas, belugas, dolphins, narwhals, porpoises and sperm whales.
  5. Nearly 90% of all cetaceans are toothed whales.
  6. Baleen whales are the largest mammals on earth but they eat some of the smallest creatures in the ocean: tiny zooplankton.
  7. Baleen whales have two spout openings (like having two nostril openings).
  8. Toothed whales only have one spout opening.
  9. Narwhals actually only have two teeth. One of those teeth is the large spiral shaped ivory tusk that develops through their upper lip.
  10. When baleen whales blow air out of their spout, it creates a spray that sometimes comes out heart-shaped.



From e-scooters to aerial art and more, feast your eyes on some epic highlights from a busy year. Alex Choy, Heal the Bay’s Communications Manager, lists our most-engaged Instagram posts from Heal the Bay’s Instagram account in 2019. 

 

As the manager of our social media channels, I get to see incredible events, people and ideas and follow exciting journeys in the environmental movement and beyond. It’s quite an experience to be directly connected with so many members of our community and watch their stories first-hand. Here are some amazing posts that our Instagram community loved in 2019. Enjoy!

 

A glimpse of some fun aerial beach art for Kids Ocean Day! View on IG


A sneak peek of Heal the Bay’s feature on an NCIS: Los Angeles episode. View on IG


All the electric scooters our Coastal Cleanup Day dive volunteers removed from under the Santa Monica Pier. View on IG


Coastal Cleanup Day happening all across LA County! View on IG

4 Coastal Cleanup Day LA County


We love to highlight neat, innovative, and local projects, like this one where ByFusion turned plastic and recycled surfboard foam into a lifeguard tower. View on IG

ByFusion


A few of the incredible dive volunteers that took part in Coastal Cleanup Day hauling this 20-foot, 250-pound industrial ladder from the water. View on IG

Coastal Cleanup Day Divers


An inside look into Santa Monica’s Recycling Center (now closed), and opportunity to sign our Plastic Petition for Earth Month. View on IG

Santa Monica’s Recycling Center


Inspiring awe and some whimsy with this springtime “sea bunny”! View on IG

Sea Hare


Follow @healthebay on Instagram and tag us with #HealtheBay!



heal the bay

Oh, what a year! We reflect on some of our favorite milestones from this past year. A huge thank you goes out to our bold and dedicated Heal the Bay community. We would not have achieved these victories without your ongoing support.

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heal the bay aquarium

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Take a swim down memory lane with us and replay 6 unforgettable moments from 2019.

6. Released our first-ever Stormwater Report—a groundbreaking assessment of stormwater pollution management in Los Angeles County.

In our new Stormwater Report we found that local governments have made shockingly minimal progress in addressing stormwater pollution over the last 30 years. If the current rate of stormwater pollution cleanup continues, LA County communities will wait another 60 years for clean water.

The LA County stormwater permit, the only real mechanism we have for regulating stormwater pollution, is up for renewal in early 2020. Heal the Bay is pushing hard for a strong stormwater permit. We fear it will be weakened and deadlines will be extended, further delaying cleanup of local waters. Municipalities can tap into various funding sources to implement projects, so there is no reason for them to not make meaningful progress moving forward.

Our Stormwater Report was big news for LA and was covered by the L.A. Times, The Guardian, NBC, CBS, KCRW, KPCC, KNX, LAist, The Argonaut News, Daily Breeze, Patch and more.


Heal the Bay Aquarium
Photo by Kelton Mattingly

5. Welcomed our 1 millionth visitor to Heal the Bay Aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier.

Since our Aquarium opened its doors in 2003, our mission has been to give visitors an underwater experience of the Pacific Ocean without getting their feet wet. We invite all our guests to explore critically important marine habitats and environmental issues.

From swell sharks to red octopus, and seahorses to stingrays, more than 100 local wildlife species thrive at our Aquarium. And now we can proudly say that more than a million visitors have met our local underwater residents!

Around 100,000 visitors come to Heal the Bay Aquarium each year. Local residents and global tourists share their passion for their own local waterways with us and inquire about how to protect what they love. In order to better serve the public, we’ve centered our programs and events around environmental advocacy, community science, pollution prevention and family education.

We also host 10,000-15,000 students each year for school field trips and we offer fun, educational, zero-waste birthday parties.


4. Hosted our 30th anniversary of Coastal Cleanup Day as the LA County coordinator.

What an honor it has been for Heal the Bay to steward this annual event since the 1990s, especially with such vibrant community support. Our very first Coastal Cleanup Day hosted 2,000 volunteers – my how far we’ve come! From diving underwater in the Santa Monica Bay to hiking along the East Fork of the San Gabriel River and everywhere in between, 13,914 volunteers removed more than 30,165 pounds of trash — from 79 locations in Los Angeles County, in a span of three-hours — on Coastal Cleanup Day 2019.

The weirdest finds from 2019 included: A laptop and electric scooters (underwater in Santa Monica); A 20 foot industrial ladder (underwater in Redondo Beach); Horseshoe (Compton Creek); Cat skull (South LA); Positive pregnancy test (White Point Beach); Shake weight (Venice); Half a rat (Arroyo Seco Confluence); and a California King Mattress-sized Styrofoam block (Arroyo Seco Confluence).


Straws-On-Request

3. Supported Straws-On-Request going into effect in the City of LA.

Los Angeles City Hall passed the Straws-On-Request ordinance this past Earth Day, making single-use plastic straws available by request only at all food and beverage facilities in the City of LA. This, along with other plastic reduction strategies, will hopefully decrease the amount of trash we see in our environment while still giving patrons access to straws when needed.

Often times plastic trash flows from our streets into our storm drains and out to the ocean. Plastic straws and disposable beverage, food, and snack-related items are some of the top types of trash we find at Heal the Bay cleanups. In fact, our cleanup volunteers have picked up more than 138,000 plastic straws from LA beaches over the last two decades.

The Ocean Protection Council acknowledges that trash in the ocean is a persistent and growing problem that is negatively affecting human and ecosystem health, not to mention coastal beauty. We’ll continue to work locally and at the state-level in California to reduce the use of harmful single-use plastics.


2. Rejoiced over these announcements: Hyperion will recycle 100% of the City’s wastewater and LA will phase out gas-fired coastal power plants.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant (aka sewage treatment plant), one of the largest in the world, will recycle 100% of the City’s wastewater by 2035. The water will be treated extensively and then put into our local groundwater supply for additional treatment by natural soils. Afterwards, the clean water will be pumped up to replenish our local tap water supply. Hyperion’s capacity is 450 million gallons per day and treated water currently flows out to the ocean. But with full recycling at Hyperion we can re-use that water!

Garcetti’s next big announcement was that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will close three coastal gas-burning power plants in El Segundo, Long Beach and the Los Angeles Harbor area by 2029. The plants will be replaced by renewable energy sources and storage.

Heal the Bay was integral to both advancements. We advocated for over a decade for wastewater recycling and for eliminating the marine impacts of the coastal power plants. Our founder Dorothy Green would be so proud of us, and of our City, for taking these giant steps forward.


the inkwell

1. Celebrated the new listing of the Santa Monica Bay Street Beach in the National Register of Historic Places.

The shoreline at Bay Street in Santa Monica was an active hub of African American beach life during the Jim Crow era. This beach was popular from the 1900s to early 1960s among African Americans, who were barred from enjoying most other southland beaches. Santa Monica’s Bay Street Beach Historic District recent listing in the National Register of Historic Places recognizes this important coastal history.

Since 2013, with the help of African American historian Alison Rose Jefferson, we’ve joined forces with the Black Surfers Collective to honor Nick Gabaldón Day at Santa Monica Bay Street Beach.

Nick Gabaldón (1927-1951) was a pioneering surfer of African American and Mexican American descent. He was the first documented surfer of color in the Santa Monica Bay. Nick Gabaldón Day provides an opportunity for broadening outreach, action and education to connect Angelenos with their cultural, historical and natural heritage.


Now go check out our top Instagram posts from 2019. And view our 2019 wrap up for environmental legislation in California.



2019 ha sido una temporada legislativa emocionante en California. Desde proyectos de ley en torno al plástico que nos mueven incesantemente hacia una cultura de reaprovechamiento, hasta mejoras en el acceso costero para todos los californianos. Nuestro gobierno estatal ha logrado grandes avances en la aprobación de leyes ambientales. Heal the Bay ha estado abogando y siguiendo atentamente las proposiciones ambientales más importantes del 2019, y estamos entusiasmados con algunos de los avances que se han realizado este año.

Echemos un vistazo a los ganadores (y perdedores) del 2019.

De las miles de propuestas de ley presentadas a principios de este año, solo 1042 llegaron hasta el despacho del gobernador, de las cuales 870 fueron aprobadas y firmadas por el gobernador Newsom convirtiéndolas en ley. Entre ellas se encuentran algunas muy importantes como la Proposición AB 619, conocida también como Proposición BYO. Esta Proposición, presentada por el asambleísta Chiu, clarifica el lenguaje del código de salud pública en relación a los envases reutilizables, que facilita a los consumidores llevar sus propios envases a sus locales y restaurantes favoritos. Esta Proposición permite también que puestos de comida, como los que encontramos en ferias y festivales, usen utensilios reutilizables en lugar de desechables de un solo uso (que eran requeridos antes de que esta Proposición se aprobara). Esta Proposición reducirá enormemente los residuos en eventos temporales y podrás rellenar tu contenedor reutilizable donde vayas, ¡incluso en las “loncheras” (food trucks) y puestos de comida!.

El gobernador Newsom también aprobó la Proposición AB 1680 del asambleísta Limón y la convirtió en ley. Esta ley permitirá desarrollar un programa de acceso a las playas de Hollister Ranch, un área de 8.5 millas de costa que actualmente no tiene acceso público. Esta decisión trascendental permitirá el acceso público a estas playas tan especiales de Santa Barbara y es a la vez una gran victoria para todos los californianos.

Fumar en las playas del condado de Los Angeles se prohibió hace años, pero este no era el caso para el resto de California. El gobernador Newsom firmó el Proyecto de ley del Senado SB 8 (Senador Glazer) y lo convirtió en ley, por lo que ahora es ilegal fumar en cualquier playa o parque estatal en todo el estado. Las colillas de cigarros son los objetos más tirado y causan un enorme daño al medioambiente. Están hechas de plástico y cientos de sustancias químicas, son contaminantes y muy notorias en nuestras playas, parques y vías acuáticas. Esta Proposición ayudará a reducir esta basura tan común, y protegerá la salud de los visitantes de playas y parques.

Más Proposiciones que fueron aprobadas este año incluyen:

  • AB 65 – Protección costera y adaptación climática (infraestructura natural)
  • AB 209 – Programa de becas del patrimonio al aire libre
  • AB 762 – Aviso de salud sobre el consumo de mariscos
  • AB 834 – Programa sobre proliferación de algas nocivas
  • AB 912 – Manejo de especies marinas invasoras
  • AB 948 – Programa de conservación de Coyote Valley
  • AB 936 – Respuesta a derrames de petróleo – petróleo no flotante
  • AB 1162 – Prohibición de envases plásticos en hoteles para productos de cuidado personal
  • AB 1583 – Legislación sobre el desarrollo del mercado de reciclaje de California
  • SB 367 – Asistencia Técnica para proyectos y programas educacionales de conservación costera estatal
  • SB 576 – Programa de preparación climática

Aunque la aprobación de estas Proposiciones es un éxito enorme, no todas las propuestas ambientales fueron aprobadas.

El gobernador Newsom vetó la Proposición AB 792 (asambleísta Ting), una Proposición sobre el contenido de plástico reciclado que habría aumentado la cantidad de plástico reciclado usado para producir botellas de bebidas de plástico. Aunque el gobernador apoya este tipo de normativa, la Proposición fue considerada costosa para el Estado, y por eso no se aprobó. Heal the Bay y asociados esperan resolver los problemas de esta Proposición y poder presentar una versión mejorada el próximo año.

También vetado por el gobernador fue el Proyecto de ley del Senado SB 1 (Senador Atkins), una propuesta que habría promulgado la ley de defensa del medioambiente, la salud pública y los trabajadores de California de 2019. Esta legislación habría asegurado las protecciones laborales obtenidas bajo leyes federales, y también que las leyes y regulaciones medioambientales a partir de Enero de 2017 (como la ley de agua limpia o la ley de especies en peligro de extinción) hubiesen permanecido en orden en California en caso de cambios en las regulaciones federales. Básicamente habría sido un seguro medioambiental y de salud pública para prevenir recortes a nivel federal. El gobernador Newsom vetó este Proyecto de ley por discrepancias sobre su eficacia y necesidad. Heal the Bay apoya medidas como las propuestas en la SB 1 ya que son críticas para proteger los recursos naturales de nuestro estado. Desafortunadamente fue vetada.

Finalmente, el Proyecto de Ley del Senado SB 54 (Senador Allen) y la Proposición AB 1080 (asambleísta Gonzalez), también conocida como la Ley de economía circular y reducción de contaminación por plástico de California. Estas relevantes propuestas llegaron muy lejos, pero los arreglos de última hora y nueva oposición hicieron que no llegasen al plazo para ser aprobadas este año. Pero nada de nervios, la lucha no se ha terminado. Estos Proyectos serán elegibles para votacion a partir de Enero del 2020, y Heal the Bay y otros partidarios (¡todos y cada uno de los 426000!) continuarán luchando para que se aprueben estos Proyectos de ley para reducir integralmente la basura desechable y prevenir la contaminación por plástico en el Estado de California.

¿Tienes preguntas sobre nuestro trabajo de apoyo en Heal the Bay? ¿Te interesa saber qué Proposiciones son por las que estamos luchamos (a favor o en contra)? Síguenos en redes sociales (InstagramTwitterFacebook), y contacta a nuestro equipo de Ciencia y Leyes!.


Este artículo fue traducido por Beatriz Lorenzo Botella y editado por Frankie Orrala.

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first flush november 2019 heal the bay
Recent ‘first flushes’ from around LA in November 2019. From left to right: Long Beach (by Jim LaVally), Santa Monica (by Katherine Pease), Ballona Creek (by Patrick Tyrrell).

As winter rains quench the LA region, local stormwater pollution issues surface and wreak havoc on water quality. Heal the Bay releases its first-ever Stormwater Reporta groundbreaking assessment of how well stormwater pollution is being managed in Los Angeles County. 

Heal the Bay’s groundbreaking new Stormwater Report examines progress, or lack thereof, in stormwater pollution reduction efforts in LA County. We reviewed data from 12 watershed management groups who are responsible for implementing stormwater projects. Despite our region having had nearly 30 years to address stormwater pollution, and six years to execute the latest version of these plans, we found that, as of December 2018, the responsible groups that we looked at are only about 9% complete toward final goals. If the current rate of implementation continues, Los Angeles County groups will achieve their total collective goal in 2082, well past final deadlines ranging from 2021 to 2037.

Some areas have fast-approaching deadlines to meet strict stormwater pollution reduction limits. Yet many local cities are drastically behind, resulting in continued poor water quality across our region. Our report also reveals that monitoring and enforcing stormwater pollution is made more difficult by a lack of transparent reporting requirements and processes.

“Stormwater has the potential to be a wonderful resource for water supply, recreation, and so much more. But right now, it is more of a hazard polluting our waterways. We need to step up cleanup efforts if we are to see water quality improvements in our lifetimes. We should not have to wait 60 years for clean water,” says Annelisa Moe, Water Quality Scientist at Heal the Bay and lead author of the Stormwater Report.

Here are some of the major findings:

  • The Ballona Creek Watershed Management Group is 3.58% complete toward its final goal – their stormwater management projects can now capture 74.58 acre-feet of stormwater for treatment, out of their intended target of 2,081 acre-feet by 2021. (This group includes the Cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood; Unincorporated County of Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.) Learn more on page A-3.
  • The Upper LA River Watershed Management Group is 2.72% complete toward its final goal – their stormwater management projects that can now capture 141.28 acre-feet of stormwater out of their intended target of 5,191 acre-feet by 2037. (This group includes the Cities of Alhambra, Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Rosemead, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Marino, South El Monte, South Pasadena, and Temple City; Unincorporated County of Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.) Learn more on page A-57.
  • The Santa Monica Bay Jurisdictions 2 & 3 Watershed Management Group is 6.50% complete toward its final goal – their stormwater management projects can now capture 22.61 acre-feet of stormwater out of their intended target of 348.1 acre-feet by 2021. (This group includes the Cities of El Segundo, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica; Unincorporated County of Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.) Learn more on page A-51.
  • The Malibu Creek Watershed Management Group is 0.36% complete toward its final goal – their stormwater management projects can now capture 0.35 acre-feet of stormwater for treatment out of their intended target of 96.3 acre-feet by 2032. (This group includes the Cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, and Westlake Village; Unincorporated County of Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.) Learn more on page A-21.
  • Some good news: The Dominguez Channel Watershed Management Group is 60.06% complete toward its final goal – their stormwater management projects can now capture 771.39 acre-feet of stormwater out of their intended target of 1,284.30 acre-feet by 2032. This means that the Dominguez Channel Watershed management group is on track to reach their final goal before the deadline passes, assuming that the rate of implementation continues. This success is due to large regional projects completed in the Machado Lake area. (This group includes the Cities of Carson, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, and Los Angeles; Unincorporated County of Los Angeles; and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.) Learn more on page A-15.

Progress report on local areas:
The graphic above is an overall aassessment of progress for each of the 12 watershed management groups, based on either total retention capacity in acre feet (AF) or total area addressed (acres). Each grey bar represents the final goal for each group, labelled with the final deadline to reach this goal. The orange portion of the bar represents the retention capacity of projects completed since the 2012 Los Angeles County MS4 Permit was approved, as a percentage of the total goal. Interim targets, when provided, are displayed with red vertical lines as a percentage of the total goal, and labeled with the relevant interim deadline year. A final goal was not provided in the Rio Hondo group, so progress cannot be displayed. Only an interim goal was provided in the Beach Cities group, so the final goal was uncertain, identified with a dashed line above.

While our Stormwater Report points out critical issues, we also offer solutions. We recommend clear and measurable guidelines regulators can adopt to strengthen the ability of watershed management groups to reduce stormwater pollution within their jurisdiction as quickly as possible. We also emphasize the importance of making stormwater pollution information readily available to the public, who are directly impacted by polluted waters (see more Recommendations on page 15).

So, what’s next? The LA County MS4 Permit, the primary mechanism for regulating city and county stormwater pollutant discharge, is up for renewal in early 2020. We are concerned that the MS4 Permit will be weakened and deadlines for stormwater pollution reduction goals will be extended, further delaying a much-needed cleanup of local waters. Simply put, groups must be held accountable when they are not on track.

Fortunately, there is new funding available to improve stormwater project implementation. Funding from the Safe, Clean Water Program will be allocated throughout LA County starting in spring 2020, increasing available funding for stormwater projects by approximately $280 million per year. This will more than double the annual amount spent by municipalities on stormwater projects in LA County. This revenue can be further leveraged with a variety of other sources to fund multi-benefit stormwater projects.

With long-term plans in place and new funding opportunities at hand, the approval of a strong 2020 LA County MS4 Permit will lead to more stormwater projects moving forward. Better stormwater management will significantly improve water quality throughout LA County, protecting both public and environmental health, while also providing multiple additional benefits to LA communities such as a new water supply, improved air quality, and climate resiliency.

“The power of local water in LA can only be realized if we protect and clean this precious resource,” says Dr. Shelley Luce, Heal the Bay’s CEO.

 

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Download Local Summaries

Ballona Creek Watershed Management Group
Beach Cities Watershed Management Group
Dominguez Channel Watershed Management Group
Malibu Creek Watershed Management Group
Marina del Rey Watershed Management Group
North Santa Monica Bay Coastal Watersheds Management Group
Palos Verdes Peninsula Watershed Management Group
Rio Hondo / San Gabriel River Watershed Management Group
Santa Monica Bay Jurisdictions 2 & 3 Watershed Management Group
Upper Los Angeles River Watershed Management Group
Upper San Gabriel River Watershed Management Group
Upper Santa Clara River Watershed Management Group

 


We will keep you informed and may call on you to attend the MS4 Permit hearing in early 2020. To stay in the loop, sign up for Stormwater Pollution Action Alerts.

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2019 has been a thrilling legislative season in California. From plastics bills that steadily move us toward a culture of reusability in the state, to improved coastal access for all Californians, our state government has made some major headway in passing environmental bills. Heal the Bay has been closely tracking and advocating for the most important environmental bills of 2019, and we are very excited by some of the progress that has been made this year.

Let’s take a look at the winners (and losers) of 2019.

Of the thousands of bills introduced earlier this year, 1,042 in total made their way to the governor’s desk and 870 of them were signed by Governor Newsom, making them law. This includes some major environmental bills, such as Assembly Bill 619, also dubbed the BYO bill. This bill, introduced by Assemblymember Chiu, clarifies language in the public health code regarding reusable containers, making it easier for consumers to bring their own container to their favorite watering holes and lunch spots. This bill also allows temporary food facilities, like those at fairs and festivals, to use reusable service ware instead of single-use disposables (which were required before this bill was passed). The bill will greatly reduce waste at temporary events and you can now easily fill up that reusable tumbler just about anywhere you go, even food trucks and stands!

Governor Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 1680 (Assemblymember Limón) into law, which will develop a coastal access program for the beaches at Hollister Ranch, an area with 8.5 miles of coastline and no current access to the beaches for the public. This landmark bill will allow any member of the public access to these special Santa Barbara beaches, and is a big win for coastal access for all Californians.

While smoking on the beaches of LA County may have been banned years ago, this was not the case for the rest of California. However, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 8 (Senator Glazer) into law, which makes it illegal to smoke on any state beach or state park across all of California. As the number one littered item, cigarette butts cause great harm to the environment. Made of plastics and filled with hundreds of chemicals, cigarette butts are notorious polluters of beaches, parks and waterways. This bill will help to reduce this pervasive litter item, and protect the health of beachgoers and park visitors.

More environmental bills that were passed this year include:

  • AB 65 – Coastal Protection and Climate Adaption (natural infrastructure)
  • AB 209 – Outdoor Equity Grants Program
  • AB 762 – Shellfish Health Advisory
  • AB 834 – Harmful Algal Bloom Program
  • AB 912 – Marine Invasive Species Management
  • AB 948 – Coyote Valley Conservation Program
  • AB 936 –Oil Spill Response – Non-floating oil
  • AB 1162 – Ban on Hotel Small Plastic Bottles of Personal Care Products
  • AB 1583 – The California Recycling Market Development Act
  • SB 367 – Technical Assistance for State Coastal Conservancy Educational Projects and Programs
  • SB 576 – The Climate Ready Program

While the passage of these bills is a major success, not every environmental bill was signed into law.

Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 792 (Assemblymember Ting), a minimum recycled content bill that would have increased the minimum amount of recycled plastic used to produce plastic beverage bottles. Though the Governor supports this type of standard, the bill was deemed costly and burdensome for the state, and was therefore not signed into law. Heal the Bay advocates and our partners hope to solve the issues with this bill brought on by last minute amendments and bring back a better version next year.

Also vetoed by the governor was Senate Bill 1 (Senator Atkins), a bill that would have enacted the California Environmental, Public Health, and Workers Defense Act of 2019. This act would have ensured protections afforded under federal labor and environmental laws and regulations as of January 2017 (such as the Clean Water Act or the Endangered Species Act) would remain in place in the state of California in the event of future federal regulation changes. It essentially would have acted as a public health and environmental insurance bill to prevent rollbacks at the federal level. Governor Newsom vetoed this bill due to disagreements about its efficacy and necessity. Heal the Bay supports measures such as Senate Bill 1 as they are critical in protecting our state’s natural resources and we were disappointed to see this bill vetoed.

Finally, the pièce de résistance, Senate Bill 54 (Senator Allen) and Assembly Bill 1080 (Assemblymember Gonzalez), also known as the California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act. These landmark bills came inches from the end zone, but due to last-minute amendments and new opposition, did not make the deadline to pass this year. Don’t worry, the fight isn’t over. The bills will be eligible for a vote as early as January 2020, and Heal the Bay and other bill’s supporters (all 426,000 of them!) will continue fighting to pass this bill to holistically reduce disposable waste and prevent plastic pollution in the state of California.

Have questions about our advocacy work at Heal the Bay? Interested in hearing about the bills we are fighting for (or against)? Follow us on social media  (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook), and reach out to our Science and Policy team!

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