In a message dated August 14, 2009 Jan D. Vandersloot, MD Director of the Ocean Outfall Group (OOG) writes;

“In a stunning development, the Coastal Commission voted 8 to 1 to end the last 301(h) waiver in California at San Diego, despite a concerted effort by San Diego and its allies to continue the waiver.

See news article here.

Thanks to OOG Directors Joey Racano and Doug Korthof for their persistence over the past few years in bringing public attention to this last waiver at the local level in San Diego and the harm that ocean pollution from inadequate sewage treatment does to the ocean, human and marine life and the Marine Protected Areas that are currently being developed. Thanks also to Heal The Bay’s Mark Gold and NRDC’s David Beckman for their roles in opposing the waiver.

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2009 National Beach Conference The 2009 National Beach Conference will be held April 20-22 in Huntington Beach, California. This 3-day conference, “Riding the Wave of Emerging Science,” is sponsored by EPA’s Office of Water and will bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to discuss water quality at beaches. It will provide a national framework for discussion of beach water quality issues, exchange of information, and coordination of efforts in research and decision-making. The conference format will consist of presentations, panel discussions, and a debate between prestigious universities. World-class waterman and big wave surfer, Laird Hamilton, will be one of the keynote speakers.

Registration is open to all and attending the conference is free. For more information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/meetings/2009/. We look forward to seeing you there!

MARINE DEBRIS/PLASTICS/RECYCLING BILLS IN STATE LEGISLATURE

The following marine debris/plastics and recycling bills have been introduced into State legislature and are more than likely to be strongly opposed by the chemical and plastics manufacturing support groups and lobbies.

SB 1625 (Corbett) Updating California’s Bottle and Can Recycling Law.

Summary; SB 1625 aims to update California’s Bottle and Can Recycling Law by, among other measures, expanding the program to include all plastic bottles.

AB 2058 (Levine) Plastic Bag Reduction Benchmarks.

Summary; Requires large groceries and pharmacies that distribute free plastic bags to meet phased plastic bag diversion and reduction benchmarks.

AB 822 (Levine) Bringing the Opportunity to Recycle to Every Californian.

Summary; Provides a residential recycling opportunity for more than 7.1 million Californians residing in more than 2.4 million multifamily dwelling units.

AB 2505 (Brownley) PVC Packaging Phase Out.

Summary; The bill will prevent human and environmental exposure to toxins, as well as encourage the recycling of consumer packaging, by phasing out the use of toxic, non-recyclable PVC packaging.

REF: California Coastal Coalition www.calcoast.org