Accomplishments
Since 1989, Baykeeper has successfully defended the San Francisco Bay from pollution and activities harmful to water quality, wildlife and human health. Below is list of some of our major accomplishments and successes of the past eighteen years.
Lawsuits and Legal Action
•Brought legal action against the City of Richmond to stop the discharge of raw and partially treated sewage to the Bay. A settlement on several of the claims has already resulted in a new $80,000 fund for local environmental projects. We are still negotiating other claims, but expect the City will upgrade its infrastructure to prevent raw sewage spills as a result of the suit. (2006)
• Won a landmark legal ruling in a suit against the US EPA to control the dumping of polluted ballast water from commercial ships. The ruling compels the federal agency to develop regulations that will be apply to endangered estuaries nationwide, helping to stop the spread of invasive plant and animal species in California and throughout the nation.
• Reached an important agreement with SIMS Group USA Corporation, a metal recycling company, to prevent toxic heavy metals from reaching Bay Area waterways. Water samples of stormwater runoff from the sites showed high levels of heavy metals including lead, copper, iron, manganese, and zinc. Under the settlement agreement, SIMS will implement new control measures to curtail contaminated runoff from the facilities. We are planning to take legal action against another metal processing company, Schnitzer Steel, unless they stop dumping waste materials into the already heavily polluted Oakland Inner Harbor. (2006)
•Filed lawsuits against the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau of Reclamation challenging their positions that increasing water exports from the Delta would not harm protected salmon and steelhead trout. (2005)
• Filed a lawsuit against the City of Richmond for massive sewage spills. (2005)
•Won a lawsuit against the US EPA over the regulation of polluted ballast water discharges from commercial ships. The victory will help stop of the spread of invasive species in California and the nation. (2005)
•Won lawsuits challenging three Central Valley irrigation districts over aquatic pesticide discharges. This victory assures that the districts perform a thorough analysis of environmental impacts of the aquatic pesticides before application. (2004)
• Filed a lawsuit against the Port of Stockton for failing to adequately evaluate the environmental impacts of a proposed expansion. (2004)
• Filed a lawsuit against the City of Roseville for discharging “recycled” water without first obtaining a pollution permit. (2004)
• Won a lawsuit against Cargill, Inc., the largest privately held corporation in the nation. The lawsuit stops the company from dumping waste material into the Don Edward’s San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge provides critical habitat for many species of waterfowl and songbirds and is adjacent to one of the largest seal pupping grounds in the San Francisco Bay. (1993-2003)
• Won a lawsuit against the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Control Board, which closed a key loophole in permitting process for municipal stormwater discharges. Cities and counties are now required to monitor their polluted stormwater. The victory marked the end of an era of special privileges for municipalities, which have avoided strict stormwater permits for years. (1999-2003)
• Filed a lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board and two regional water board charging them with violating clean water laws in granting a pollution waiver to logging operations. The waiver allows the companies to harvest timber without having to control erosion or pesticide discharges. (2003)
• Won order halting massive Vallejo city sewage overflows, generating $650,000 for watershed protection. (1997-1999)
• Sued Unocal and Exxon for illegal selenium dumping, winning $4.3 million for Bay projects. (1994-1998)
• Forced stormwater clean up by Navy at Treasure Island, Hunter's Point and Point Molate. (1994-1997)
Regulatory Advocacy
• Compelled the State of California to reject a clean up plan for mercury in San Francisco Bay and order the San Francisco Regional Water Board to include more aggressive clean up strategies and to educate public health workers in recognizing and treating signs of mercury poisoning in people who may fish from the Bay. (2006-7)
• Won an appeal before the State Water Board of the Stockton Dredging Permit, forcing the Port of Stockton to withdraw the permit and guaranteeing a more thorough public review process for future permit applications. (2005-7)
• Strengthened “clean up plans” or TMDLS for pesticides in San Francisco Bay-Area urban creeks and in the Sacramento-Feather River, and mercury and PCBs in San Francisco Bay. (2001-2005)
• Reviewed and analyzed more than 50 pollution permits for scientific and legal adequacy. We succeeded in strengthening the permits’ water quality provisions. (2002-2007)
• Defended California’s “polluted waters” (303d) list against proposed changes to weaken standards and to reduce the number of waterways on the list. (2004-2006)
• Compelled the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to re-evaluate diazinon and chlorpyrifos, two of the most heavily used pesticides in the state. (2002-2003)
• Compelled the state of California to establish the first-ever regulations for agricultural pollution including pesticide discharges. (1997-2004)
• Secured improved stormwater permits for Sacramento, Modesto and Stockton. (2003)
• Prompted regulations stopping use of lead shot for recreational shooting as well as for waste disposal at boatyards dumping highly-toxic lead-based paints from boat hulls directly into the Bay. (1995)
Education and Preservation
• Guided more than two dozen educational tours of the San Francisco Bay, Delta and Petaluma River for students, regulatory agency officials, media representatives and the general public. (2003-2007)
• Launched the “Clean Marinas” Program, designed to educate and inform boaters and marina operators about clean boating practices. (2004)
• Secured millions of dollars for farmland preservation and $850,000 for restoration projects in the Central Valley. The funds are part of a settlement agreement with three Central Valley communities and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District over a 40-mile pipeline and water diversion project. (2004)
• Worked with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department to identify, remove and dispose of more than sixteen abandoned and derelict boats from the channels and marshes of the Petaluma River. (2003-2004)
• Secured the preservation of 270 acres of wetlands and open space, “Petaluma Wetlands Preserve,” along the Petaluma River. Part of property will be used to construct special “polishing wetlands” to cleanse water from the City of Petaluma’s wastewater treatment plant. (2001-2003)
• Helped found national Waterkeeper Alliance, bringing together "keeper" groups from across the U.S. (1999)