-
also In thIs Issue:
2oIl and water don’t mIx
3Protect the san mateo
coast: 1 Percent maxImum Growth
4leGIslatIve aGenda
for 2006
5suPPort our clean
water act
6clean water actIon vote envIronment endorses
Kelly hayes-raItt
messaGe from the calIfornIa dIrector
7calIfornIa lawmaKers
Push for more comPrehensIve
ocean sanctuarIes
8now hIrInG!
Clean Water Actionsustainer news
vol. 16, no. 1 calIfornIa, summer 2006
Mercury in San Francisco Bayby Andria Ventura
c lean Water Action is celebrating a major victory! On September
7, 2005, the State Water Quality Control Board (SWQCB) took a bold
step toward clean-ing up mercury in the Bay by rejecting a plan
that would have allowed mercury levels to remain toxic for 120
years. The SWQCB sent the 120-year plan back to the Regional Board
with many of the rec-ommendations proposed by Clean Water Action
and its allies.
We applaud the SWQCB for their ac-tion. This is a major victory
for our en-vironment and for impacted communities throughout the
Bay Area. Thousands of you signed our petition and made this
pos-sible! Thank you!
Over the past two years, many of you have helped us advocate for
specific actions to prevent further mercury from entering the Bay
and for the implementation of risk
reduction strategies for communities that depend on Bay fish for
basic sustenance.
We now need to focus on en-suring the Regional Board adopts
substantive changes to their clean-up plan. Clean Wa-ter Action
testified at two Regional Board hearings last November, reiterating
specif-ic measures that need to be included in the plan. While the
draft revision that has re-cently been made available for public
com-ment includes some positive changes, there are still
fundamental revisions necessary to improve the Bay’s water quality
and pro-tect local communities.
At the very least, the plan needs: • Standards on how much
mercury indi-
vidual waste water treatment and indus-
see page 8
Jim m
un
nel
ly
-
our water, our health, our future
2 clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006
Oil and Water Don’t Mix by Colin Platt
editor: erich pfuehlermanaging editor: colin platt
editorial advisors: Jennifer clary, Heather Holden, Brett
richer, andria Ventura
layout: designwrench.com
clean water action (cwa), founded in 1972, is a national
citizens’ organization working for clean, safe and affordable
water, prevention of health threatening pollution, creation of
environ-mentally-safe jobs and businesses, and empower-ment of
people to make democracy work. cwa organizes strong grassroots
groups, coalitions and campaigns to elect environmental candidates,
and to protect our environment, health, economic well-being and
community quality of life.
calIfornIa offIce111 new montgomery street, suite 600
san Francisco, ca 94105phone: 415.369.9160 FaX: 415.369.9180
[email protected]/ca
staffcalifornia director: erich pfuehler
canvass supervisor: todd speightPhone canvass director: mary
carbonefield canvass director: lana litvinchuk
senior Program associate: Jennifer claryProgram manager: andria
Ventura
central valley outreach coordinator: Brett richerassistant Phone
canvass director: Bethani cameron
Phone canvass administrators: nigel Dent, Jennifer Doob
office manager and field canvass administrator: Heather
Holden
Phone canvass managers: richard Dunn, melissa Foster, Jennifer
Jordan, steve moss
western regional director: gary steinbergfield canvassers:
Dolores Beliso, megan chambers, corinn Haskins, lindsay love, alan
mazzucchelli
Phone canvassers: Joshua chase, arturo cosio, pam Dodd, evan
Dombrowski,
crystal eastman, James French, michelle patterson, Jessica
marshall, colin platt,
John roguemore, Kelsey schank
Board of dIrectorsBrent Baeslack, pat costner, william
Fontenot,
michael gravitz, maxine lipeles, peter lockwood, grant merritt,
myrna poticha, Bill redding, maurice sampson, David tykulsker,
Frances spivy-weber, David Zwick
the california sustainer news is union printed on 80%
post-consumer recycled, chlorine-free paper with soy-based ink
Clean Water Action sustainer newsvol. 16, no. 1 summer 2006
s ince 1982, Congress has imposed a moratorium on new oil
drilling leas-es within the sensitive Outer Continen-tal Shelf
(OCS)—including the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast, and the entire
East and West coasts of the U.S.—a moratori-um that was recently
reinforced by a vote of 217 to 203 in the U.S. House of
Repre-sentatives on May 18, 2006.
Rather than focusing on renewable en-ergy strategies, President
Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which gives bil-lions of
dollars in tax breaks, loan guaran-tees and other subsidies to
encourage states to increase oil and gas drilling. The legisla-tion
also expands the federal government’s authority over liquefied
natural gas (LNG) terminals, overriding local or state oppo-sition.
Additionally, if offshore areas are leased for natural gas
exploration, there is currently no legislation in place that would
prohibit oil extraction if it is discovered in the same region.
Thanks to our phone and field canvassers, most CWA mem-bers in
California know that Mendocino and Long Beach are major targets for
oil and natural gas development. Many of you expressed strong
support for the moratorium and opposition to the re-quired “seismic
inventories” using sonic blasts that may adversely affect marine
life in sensitive OCS areas. Thank you!
As New Orleans and other cities along the Gulf Coast fight to
recover from Hur-ricane Katrina and the hazardous condi-tions she
engendered, pro-drilling lobby-ists have intensified their efforts
to open sensitive areas along the OCS and with-in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge to oil and natural gas exploration. Thanks
to effective grassroots mobilization and a bi-partisan effort,
however, pro-drilling rid-ers were eliminated from the highly
con-tested federal budget bill in eleventh-hour negotiations.
Clean Water Action recognizes the ex-
treme dangers and consequences of off-shore oil development, and
concurs with the vast majority of Californians that open-ing up our
coast to development would do virtually nothing to reduce the cost
of gas at the pump. We will be fighting against any renewed efforts
that threaten our sen-sitive coastal areas, and will count on our
members’ continuing support on this is-sue.
Colin Platt, Phone Canvasser, can be reached at
[email protected].
114 letters
-
our water, our health, our future
Protect the San Mateo Coast: 1 Percent Maximum Growth
by Erich Pfuehler and Brett Richer
clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006 3
t he north San Mateo County Coastline is a national treasure.
Fortunately, previous generations protected it from
overde-velopment so we could inherit its beauty. Today, however, we
have been pushing the current County Board of Supervisors to remain
faithful stewards of this treasure. Over 300 CWA members sent
letters to the Supervisors expressing the need to protect our
coast. Thank you!
The Board of Supervisors is considering chang-es to the San
Mateo County Local Coastal Pro-gram (LCP). The LCP is the set of
laws that protects our coastline from overdevelopment, ensures
access to the coast for recreation and preserves the character of
our coastal neighbor-hoods, while permitting a modest and
sustainable level of growth for economic development. Clean Water
Action is particularly concerned that unchecked development with
increased amounts of pavement along our coast will have devastating
impacts on our marine environment.
The County Planning Commission recommended to the Su-pervisors a
series of LCP amendments which would strengthen protections against
unsustainable new development, close loop-holes in the existing
document and ensure a 1 percent maximum growth rate. Their
recommendations would also bring the LCP into better compliance
with California’s 1976 Coastal Act. In the past few months, County
Supervisors appear to be influenced by special interest developers
and are reneging on their original 1
percent growth rate maximum. They have considered a 2 percent
growth rate for the unincorporated areas of San Mateo County.
A 2 percent growth rate could cause the population of these
ar-eas to double in 35 years, and would double the strain on our
wa-ter resources and marine environment. The 2 percent growth rate
disregards data and asks existing residents to foot the bill for
new sewers, roads and other infrastructure, which would directly
sub-sidize these new proposed developments. Mid-coast roads drain
into the creeks and ocean, including the Fitzgerald Marine
Re-serve. Doubling the amount of pavement here will increase creek
and beach pollution levels—possibly resulting in more beach
clo-sures, damage to ocean habitat and negative impacts on the
fish-ing industry. Any infrastructure plan needs to have an honest
as-sessment about the area’s carrying capacity—especially for
water.
Clean Water Action does not support the expansion of water
infrastructure projects that promote sprawl and development so near
to California’s coastline. We believe that the maximum 1 per-cent
growth recommendation is the best option for preserving the
character of our coastal neighborhoods and protecting our
irre-placeable natural resources, while allowing for sustainable
growth and business development.
The Board of Supervisors will hold another hearing in July
be-fore making recommendations to the California Coastal
Commis-sion.
Erich Pfuehler, California Director, and Brett Richer, Central
Valley Outreach Coordinator, can be reached at
[email protected].
277 letters
-
our water, our health, our future
4 clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006
ly dismissed by legislators, environmental and environmental
justice organizations.
When negotiations on the Governor’s package failed in March,
legislative leaders of both parties, led primarily by State Sen-ate
President Pro Tem Don Perata, devel-oped a compromise bond package,
which was approved by both houses and signed by the Governor in
early May.
Unfortunately, no compromise was reached by the Legislature on
drinking wa-ter infrastructure or habitat needs. While the approved
a $37.3 billion infrastructure package does contain a little over
$4 bil-lion for levee maintenance and repair, it in-cludes no
funding to meet current or fu-ture drinking water, open space or
habitat needs. In a state with a growing population and facing the
increasing uncertainty of cli-mate change, this is a serious
oversight.
Fortunately, water agencies and envi-ronmental organizations,
anticipating in-action by the Legislature, began prepar-ing a water
bond proposal in 2005. A pe-tition was prepared and circulated to
place a $5.4 billion water bond independently on the November
ballot. This bond includes funds for drinking water infrastructure
and habitat restoration, as well as planning for current and future
water needs. Signa-tures have been submitted to the Secretary of
State for approval. Unfortunately, since this bill did not go
through the same pro-cess as the other bond measures, its passage
may be a greater challenge.
enforcement of vended water ProtectIonsA growing number of
Californians de-pend upon vended water for drinking wa-ter, even
though the cost exceeds 100 times that of tap water. Disturbingly,
the 7,000 plus vending machines serving hundreds of thousands of
Californians receive lit-tle oversight. In fact, these machines are
inspected only when the Department of Health Services receives a
complaint. Clean Water Action and Latino Issues Fo-rum are working
with Sacramento legisla-tors to create enforcement guidelines
for
dental amalGam seParatorsIn the United States, the most common
form of dental filling is silver amalgam. This amalgam is actually
50 percent mer-cury, which, converted to its methylat-ed form in
nature, is one of the most haz-ardous contaminants in our water
system. Dentist office disposal of these amalgams is the single
largest source of mercury enter-ing our sewage treatment plants,
compris-ing about 40 percent of the total mercury load.
Fortunately, there is an effective and affordable solution. For
less than $1000, amalgam separators can remove 95 percent of the
mercury at the dentist’s office before it enters the waste stream.
While some lo-cal communities already require these sep-arators
(San Francisco and Palo Alto are two examples, and East Bay MUD is
short-ly to follow), attempts to create a statewide program to
protect all communities have met with strong opposition from the
Cal-ifornia Dental Association.
Clean Water Action, backed by a grow-ing number of allies
including the Sier-ra Club, is pushing the State Legislature to
enact a strong law to protect Califor-nians from this easily
preventable source of mercury contamination. Assembly mem-ber Lori
Saldana (San Diego) introduced a bill last year, AB 966, to require
the use of amalgam separators statewide. Unfortu-nately, that
requirement was removed from the bill on the Assembly Floor. Clean
Wa-ter Action and its allies will continue to push for a statewide
mandate for amalgam separators, through this bill or other
vehi-cles in the State Legislature.
Bonds for water InfrastructureIn January, Governor
Schwarzenegger un-veiled a $68 billion bond proposal, which he
touted as a plan to repair the state’s ag-ing infrastructure. This
proposal included $9 billion for water infrastructure, which was to
be augmented by a water user tax to finance additional projects.
Neither the bond nor the tax addressed critical drinking water and
habitat needs, and were general-
Legislative Agenda for 2006 by Jennifer Clary
these machines to ensure that consumers receive pure, clean and
safe drinking water. Our bill, AB 2644, was introduced by As-sembly
Member Cindy Montanez in Feb-ruary, and we will be working with her
to get it to the Governor’s desk.
Jennifer Clary, Senior Program Associate, can be reached at
[email protected].
water vending machines in poor repair.
586 letters
lati
no
issu
es F
oru
m (2
)
-
our water, our health, our future
clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006 5
Support Our Clean Water Actthe threatSpecial interest polluters
are pushing the newly formed Supreme Court to narrow the Clean
Water Act’s protections to “tradition-ally navigable” waters. If
the Supreme Court overturns two ap-peals court decisions, the Clean
Water Act would no longer pro-tect the streams, tributaries and
wetlands that are integrated and integral parts of our waterways.
Water does not flow only in “navi-gable” ways, and it would be
irresponsible to forget that we all live downstream.
The surface waters that provide drinking water for more than 110
million Americans, nearly 60 percent of U.S. streams and more than
20 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states could be
excluded from Clean Water Act protections if the special inter-est
polluters prevail. Undermining the protections for upstream waters
and wetlands will turn back the clock on a generation of success in
cleaning up our nation’s water and render the goals of the Clean
Water Act unobtainable.
These changes to the Clean Water Act could allow pollution
dumping, filling and dredging in up to 20 million acres of
wet-lands. California has lost approximately 90 percent of its
original wetlands, more than any other state.
the solutIonA strong, clear message needs to be sent to our
elected officials—our rivers, streams and wetlands are critical for
safe drinking wa-ter. Our health and the health of future
generations depend on a strong Clean Water Act.
That is why Clean Water Action is supporting legislation in
Congress—the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (H.R. 1356 and
S. 912)—which will re-enforce the original intent of the Clean
Water Act and protect all U.S. waterways, including wet-lands.
This bill simply and specifically confirms that the intent and
subsequent interpretation of the original 1972 Clean Water Act is
codified by clearly defining “waters of the United States” as all
waterways. The bill also addresses protections for certain
so-called isolated streams and wetlands in the wake of the Supreme
Court’s 2001 decision in Solid Waste Agency of North-ern Cook
County v. Army Corps of Engineers, which will help ward off any
future legal challenges to the scope of the Act.
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and many of California’s U.S.
Rep-resentatives have already cosponsored the Clean Water
Authori-ty Restoration Act. Most Californians understand that
protection of our waterways benefits everyone in our state,
especially future generations. To date, however, U.S. Senator
Dianne Feinstein has not yet signed on with her colleagues.
taKe actIon!Please write to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and
ask her to sup-port the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act, S.
912.
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein U.S. Senate Washington, D.C.
20515
samPle letterDear Senator Feinstein,
As a leader in environmental and health issues, you understand
that removing protections of the Clean Water Act will contami-nate
our drinking water, worsen floods, and endanger wildlife and public
health. The Clean Water Act was written to protect ALL waters of
the U.S. We need to better enforce the Act, not limit the scope of
its protection. As a concerned resident of California, I am asking
you to cosponsor the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (S.
912). Thank You.
Sincerely,Your Name Your Address
the mouth of the russian river, Jenner, california.
ww
w.t
oD
Dst
an
Dis
H.c
om
-
our water, our health, our future
6 clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006
Clean Water Action Vote Environment
Endorses Kelly Hayes-Raitt by Erich Pfuehler
c alifornia Clean Water Action’s Vote Environment Committee has
en-dorsed Kelly Hayes-Raitt as the best choice in the June 6
primary to replace Fran Pav-ley in California’s 41st Assembly
District (Santa Monica area).
“Our Vote Environment Committee un-derstands just how important
it is to elect a leader when we see one. We are proud to lead the
way in endorsing Kelly for Assem-bly,” said Erich Pfuehler,
California Direc-tor for Clean Water Action. “Kelly won’t just be a
good vote on our issues, she will lead the fight to protect our
environment, preserve our coastline and fresh drinking water. We
know protecting our environ-ment is more than just an issue for
Kelly—it is a deeply held part of her life. Back in the early
1980s, Kelly spearheaded the cit-izen outreach campaigns in San
Francisco and Los Angeles for the California League of Conservation
Voters. She helped found Heal the Bay, galvanized the community to
preserve the Ballona Wetlands and fought offshore oil drilling
while working with Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy. She was also a pret-ty
darn good Clean Water Action canvass-er back in the day.”
“Our coast is under renewed threat from zealous
overdevel-opment, offshore liquid nat-ural gas processing, and the
Bush-Schwarzenegger Admin-istrations who want to weaken
environmental protection laws we fought for years ago,” said Kelly
Hayes-Raitt. “In Sacramen-to, I will fight to preserve our
coastline and safe drinking water. And I will take on the
record-gouging profiteers in the oil and gas industry. We need to
fight for renew-able energy, not renewing our fight against
offshore oil drilling or processing.” For
message from the california
director
t he first year on the job has been an exciting and
enlight-ening experience. the program and canvass teams in our san
Francisco office work extremely hard with infectious
enthusiasm.
as we head into this election season, we will be keeping you
informed about our work in some exciting races—including a few of
national significance.
we are also seeking to expand our rural water collaborative work
in the central Valley.
we have embarked on an excit-ing new “sustainable Jobs through
green chemistry” project, which will put us at the forefront of
chem-ical policy reform.
i look forward to working with all of you as we continue our
cam-paigns in 2006. without you, none of our victories are
possible. thank you for your continued sup-port!
– Erich Pfuehler
more information, visit www.KellyForAs-sembly.com.
Clean Water Action Vote Environment supports candidates which
work for clean, safe and affordable water, for the preven-tion of
health-threatening pollution, for the creation of environmentally
safe jobs and businesses, and for the empowerment of people to make
democracy work.
Erich Pfuehler, California Director, can be reached at
[email protected].
california 41st assembly district candidate Kelly
hayes-raitt.
other democratIc PrImary endorsements:
Governor: phil angelideslt. Governor: John garamendi
and liz Figueroacongressional district 6:
lynn woolseystate senate district 8:
leland yeeassembly district 6: Jared Huffmanassembly district
11:
mark Desaulnierassembly district 28: ana
Ventura pharesoakland mayoral: nancy nadel
-
our water, our health, our future
california lawmakers Push for more comprehensive ocean
sanctuaries
by Colin Platt
t he north coast of california is home to one of the most
biologically diverse marine environments in the world—exceeding the
biological productivity of tropical rain for-ests. three million
people visit the sonoma county coast ev-ery year to enjoy the
natural beauty and catch a glimpse of the nesting seabirds,
elephant seals, seasonally migrato-ry marine mammals and other
protected species that inhab-it the region.
clean water action supports legislation that would strengthen
protections for our precious marine environment, as well as
supporting the tourist and fisheries economy along the marin and
sonoma coasts. H.r. 1712, authored by u.s. rep-resentative lynn
woolsey (District 6–ca), is currently pend-ing in the House
committee on resources chaired by rep. richard pombo (District
11–ca). this legislation, also sup-ported by the Farallones marine
sanctuary association, would block any attempts to conduct seismic
surveys or drill for oil in this important area. rep. woolsey’s
bill, along with a parallel measure s. 880 sponsored by u.s.
senator Barba-ra Boxer, would add 1,094 square nautical miles to
califor-nia’s sanctuary network, which also includes the channel
is-lands and monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries.
clean water action continues to encourage our members to thank
rep. woolsey and senator Boxer for taking this pro-active step to
protect our coastline.
Colin Platt, Phone Canvasser, can be reached at
[email protected].
clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006 7
clean water fund is an earth share of california member. to
support clean water fund via payroll deductions, contact earth
share of california at 800.368.1819 or www.earthshareca.org.
senator Boxer and rep. woolsey announce their marine sanctuary
legislation.
158 letters
(so far)
co
urt
esy
Fara
llo
nes
ma
rin
e sa
nc
tua
ry a
sso
cia
tio
n (2
)
-
our water, our health, our future
now hiring!
w e are hiring articulate and motivated activists to build
grassroots support throughout the Bay area. community involvement =
strength in numbers. we win over 90 percent of our campaigns here
in california and across the country. we cannot afford to be silent
while our health, environment and future are traded away for
short-term corporate profit. we will train you to become a
grassroots or-ganizer for the summer or as a career. Flexible part
time or full time weekday shifts are available. call Heather Holden
at [email protected] or 415-369-9160 ext. 301.
8 clean water action • sustainer news • spring 2006
our water, our health, our future
clean water action111 new montgomery street, suite 600san
francisco, ca 94105
we value our volunteers. Please consIder donatInG your tIme to
clean water actIon. for more InformatIon, contact volunteer
coordInator
heather holden at [email protected] or 415-369-9160.
trial facilities can discharge should be en-forced.
• A plan to develop meaningful risk reduc-tion strategies
(beyond current fish advi-sories).
• Actions to identify and prioritize the impacts from mines,
most of which are no longer in use but continue to release mercury
into our waters.
• The requirement that refineries account for all of the mercury
leaving their facilities in order to prevent further pollution.
Please be aware that fish consumption ad-visories still remain
in effect for San Fran-cisco Bay and other water bodies. For
in-stance, pregnant women and young chil-dren should limit their
intake of Bay fish to one meal per month.
For more details about the advisories, please visit
www.oehha.org/fish/so-cal and click on the waterbody in which you
are in-terested.
Andria Ventura, CWA California Program Manager, can be reached
at [email protected].
2,400 sIGnatures
san francisco bay, from page 1