SANTA MONICA BAYKEEPER

Programs: Advocacy advocacy has been at the core of los angeles waterkeeper's work since its founding. This work consists of both promoting progressive regulation by various local, state, and federal agencies in addition to enforcing current laws. Los angeles waterkeeper played a major role in reaching an agreement with the u. S. Environmental protection agency in 1999 to establish total maximum daily loads (tmdls) for los angeles and ventura counties. Tmdls are a component of the clean water act that requires the government to regulate pollutants at a watershed level where waters are impaired. Both counties are home to numerous impaired water bodies. In this landmark agreement, the los angeles regional water quality control board and u. S. Environmental protection agency are establishing precedent-setting tmdls over a thirteen-year period that culminated in 2013. In conjunction with tmdl establishment, los angeles waterkeeper has successfully advocated for los angeles county to be the subject of one of the most progressive storm water permits in the nation. In 2006, los angeles waterkeeper was instrumental in establishing bacteria limits in santa monica bay beaches during the summer months. Enforcement of the clean water act and related environmental laws is los angeles waterkeeper's chief pursuit. While los angeles waterkeeper has sued scrap metal yards, industrial manufacturing facilities, developers of hillside lots, and power plants, its biggest win was the august 2004 settlement with the city of los angeles concerning the thousands of sewage spills from the largest sewer collection system in the nation. The settlement agreement requires the city of los angeles to make extensive improvements to the sewage system infrastructure over the next ten years, preserve wetlands and other sensitive ecological areas to mitigate the damage from past spills, and provide the public with better information on the system's performance. This multi-billion dollar settlement has reverberated around the country, particularly in locations with failing sewage systems. Through the execution of the terms in this settlement the city of los angeles has achieved a 84% reduction in sewage spills in 2012 compared to 2000. In addition, los angeles waterkeeper has worked since 2000 to stop the destructive practice of once-through cooling at coastal power plants; once-through cooling is responsible for the deaths of billions of marine organisms each year. Los angeles waterkeeper has pursued once-through cooling reform via legal actions namely as co-plaintiff at the second circuit court of appeals and at the u. S. Supreme court and through the state of california ocean protection council and state water quality control board. In 2012, los angeles waterkeeper entered into a settlement agreement with the city of malibu after several years of litigation. The settlement agreement requires malibu to address its stormwater pollution at several popular beaches in malibu, including surfrider beach. Los angeles waterkeeper has ongoing litigation regarding metals and bacteria pollution against several scrap metal recycling yards and the county of los angeles. In 2014, los angeles waterkeeper launched a campaign to address the ongoing drought. The go dirty for the drought campaign asks residents to take the dirty car pledge to not wash their car for 60 days. Since launching, over 12,000 people and 5 cities have taken the pledge. Los angeles waterkeeper continues to do outreach and education on the drought and things people in los angeles can do to conserve and reuse water

marine / kelp restorationlos angeles waterkeeper's kelp project has worked since 1997 to restore and monitor vital kelp forest habitat in santa monica bay. The giant kelp beds off of southern california are one of the most biologically diverse communities known to exist in the world's oceans. One-fourth of california's marine organisms depend on kelp forests at some point in their life history. Kelp canopies in santa monica bay have been reduced by approximately 80% over the past 100 years. The over-harvest of key sea urchin predators, coastal development, pollution, and el ni o events have contributed to the decline of magnificent kelp forests. This has left coastal waters more prone to invasion by non-native species, increased coastal erosion, and resulted in the loss of recreational and commercial opportunities. The kelp project relies on volunteer divers from local communities who assist in research, monitoring, and restoration of historic kelp beds off of malibu and the palos verdes peninsula. Since the project's inception, thousands of hours have been donated by volunteer divers. The direct results of these efforts are the restoration of 6. 5 acres of kelp forest, a better understanding of the status of the near shore habitat of santa monica bay, and the first steps towards the widespread recovery of the coastal kelp forest. The biological monitoring associated with the kelp project has contributed valuable information to decision makers and the scientific community. In 2008, the kelp project partnered with the vantuna research group of occidental college to perform state endorsed monitoring of coastal resources using cooperative resource assessment of nearshore ecosystems (crane) surveys. The execution of this project has generated a comprehensive data set describing the extant resources of the los angeles county coastline. This data will be of direct benefit to the south coast study region under the marine life protection act initiative. The marine life protection act initiative is a state of california sponsored response to the california marine life protection act, wherein the california department of resources has instituted a process by which marine protected areas are to be established throughout california's coast. To inform this process and advocate for the protections and benefits ascribed to the establishment of marine protected areas, los angeles waterkeeper collected biological data via crane surveys, instituted aerial surveys in partnership with lighthawk, authored an external proposal in partnership with santa barbara channelkeeper, and has performed outreach to the scuba diving community, universities, and schools. La waterkeeper established its marine protected areas watch program in 2012 to enhance the public and fishing community's understanding and compliance with newly established marine protected areas (mpas). The mpa watch program has substantially grown and become an integral part of ensuring mpas are effective. Los angeles waterkeeper's staff and boat of volunteers conducted 60 boat monitoring trips in 2012 - where they monitor and collect data on all fishing activity in and around the mpas and engage any fishermen seen illegally fishing in the boundaries of mpas. Staff and volunteers distribute maps of the restricted fishing areas (in multiple languages) and regularly present in front of school groups, homeowners associations, boating clubs, and the fishing community. Los angeles waterkeeper was also successful in erecting 'no fishing' signs along the coastlines of both the malibu and palos verdes mpas. Los angeles waterkeeper has gained support for mpas among stakeholders and has enhanced the general public's understanding of the importance of marine protected areas. The marine program works on coastal related issues with frequent outreach and advocacy work relating to the operations of the state coastal conservancy, state lands commission, ocean protection council, california coastal commission, santa monica bay restoration commission, los angeles long beach harbor safety committee, united states coast guard, california department of fish and game, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, national marine fisheries service, national marine sanctuaries, united states mineral management service, and the california oil spill prevention and response technical advisory committee.

watershed programlos angeles waterkeeper's watershed program encompasses water quality monitoring, public education, and litigation support. The watershed program is focused on identifying and addressing sources of pollution that impact the los angeles and san gabriel rivers, ballona creek, and ultimately the santa monica and san pedro bays and the pacific ocean. Over its 15-year history, the program has taken a holistic approach, conducting river and coastal restoration and monitoring projects that help to improve water quality and viable habitats in the watersheds of the los angeles basin. Drainwatch, los angeles waterkeeper's water quality monitoring program, is the primary component of its water quality & monitoring program and a critical arm of its litigation activities. Through rigorous end-of-pipe monitoring, drainwatch identifies the dominant sources of pollution that impact the los angeles river, ballona creek, and ultimately the santa monica and san pedro bays, and the pacific ocean. Drainwatch works with volunteer "citizen monitors" to gather evidence from storm drains and creeks throughout los angeles, which informs advocacy on regional and statewide public policy related to water quality. Since the establishment of drainwatch in march 2011, los angeles waterkeeper has developed training materials, ensured quality assurance certification from state agencies, ground-truthed sampling locations along ballona creek, los angeles river, and dockweiler beach, installed a water quality lab in the los angeles waterkeeper's office, and trained over 100 volunteers through monthly training and monitoring events. Now, drainwatch is expanding its reach and refining and tailoring the program to target specific audiences and develop a dedicated and efficient group of volunteers. Developing a trained and experienced corps of volunteers ensures that high-quality and defensible water samples will be collected during each rainy event of the season. Obtaining this data is critical to the success of new and specific ongoing litigation and advocacy projects. Currently, drainwatch staff and volunteers are investigating scrap metal recycling yards, waste transfer facilities and plastic pellet manufacturers because these facilities have been identified as some of the biggest violators of water quality laws and regulations. In addition, los angeles waterkeeper's watershed program provides technical and scientific review and comments to a variety of development proposals and policies in the los angeles area and throughout the state of california. These comments are often complimentary to advocacy work and encompass a number of state agencies and their respective jurisdictions including the ocean protection council, california coastal commission, state lands commission, california state and regional water quality control boards, california energy commission, united states epa, army corps of engineers, and numerous local, city and county agencies and departments.

public education and outreachlos angeles waterkeeper's public outreach and education activities are designed to teach local residents and schoolchildren the value of coastal resources and what can be done to protect them. Protecting the natural resources that support communities is the responsibility of every resident and thus los angeles waterkeeper offers various programs that educate and involve residents, families, and students in conservation of coastal resources. Los angeles waterkeeper continues to coordinate volunteer clean ups several times a year. These include participation in coastal cleanup day, where hundreds of participants are attracted to marina del rey and redondo beach to remove trash from jetties and breakwaters. The adopt a highway program in coordination with caltrans enables volunteers to assist in monthly removal of trash from lincoln boulevard in venice and marina del rey. Volunteer events include educational presentations regarding the cause and purpose to the actions undertaken by los angeles waterkeeper and those volunteering their time. Volunteer education and outreach is integrated into los angeles waterkeeper's other programs, many seasoned volunteers are advocates in their own right, in part a result of their training and experiences with los angeles waterkeeper staff. Much of the public outreach and education performed by los angeles waterkeeper occurs within the kelp restoration and monitoring program, advocacy program and watershed program. This outreach includes presentations, curriculum development, development of building codes and standards, inclusion of volunteers in restoration actions, informal environmental education, and education of public representatives and public agencies related to the mission of los angeles waterkeeper.