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Baykeeper Press Releases

Fisheries Service Issues New Rulebook to Protect Imperiled California Salmon
Fishermen, tribes, and conservationists hail decision to protect fish, jobs, and local communities
(Jun 4, 2009)

Current operations of state and federal water projects in California’s Central Valley jeopardize endangered California Chinook salmon and steelhead populations, according to a biological opinion filed today by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Today’s announcement also finds that current water operations jeopardize killer whales, which rely on Sacramento River salmon as a major food source.

Supreme Court Rules on Once-Through Cooled Power Plants
Baykeeper Urges State Action to Protect Imperiled Fisheries
(Apr 1, 2009)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could weigh industry costs when establishing environmental protections for power plants with cooling water intake structures. The Court’s ruling states that a cost-benefit analysis is not categorically forbidden by the Clean Water Act, leaving it to the new Obama Administration to decide whether and how to compare costs to benefits when it issues new regulations for existing power plants.

Conservationists Win Decision Protecting Local Water Supplies, Fisheries & Wildlife
Court Vacates Bush Rule Exempting Pesticide Application From Clean Water Act Protections
(Jan 7, 2009)

In yet another in a long list stinging defeats for the Bush’s Environmental Protection Agency, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a clear rebuke against the administration’s 2006 rule which exempted certain commercial pesticide applications from the oversight provided by Congress under the Clean Water Act. The Court held that pesticide residuals and biological pesticides constitute pollutants under federal law and therefore must be regulated under the Clean Water Act in order to minimize the impact to human health and the environment.
Waterkeepers Support Obama’s Appointment of Sutley to Key Environment Post
Nancy Sutley’s experience in California, a lead state on environmental issues like climate change, makes her an ideal choice for the post.
(Dec 11, 2008)

California environmental leaders learned Wednesday that one of their own, Nancy Sutley, could be tapped to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Sutley currently serves as the deputy mayor for energy and environment in Los Angeles and previously served on the California State Water Resources Control Board, which is responsible for managing California’s water quality.
Stopping Sewage Spills in the San Mateo Peninsula
Baykeeper Secures Agreement from Burlingame to Improve Sewage System, Files Two New Sewage Lawsuits Against Hillsborough and the Burlingame Hills Area
(Aug 20, 2008)

Frequent sewage spills in Burlingame will soon be reduced through a new agreement with San Francisco Baykeeper to make substantial improvements to sewage operations. The pollution watchdog group sued the City for Clean Water Act violations in February after investigations revealed that Burlingame spills thousands of gallons of raw sewage from its sewer lines every year and uses an unpermitted pipe to discharge treated wastewater to the Bay near Coyote Point, a
popular windsurfing spot.
9th Circuit Upholds Case Requiring U.S. EPA to Regulate Invasive Species Pollution
EPA must now regulate ship ballast discharges under the Clean Water Act
(Jul 23, 2008)

Dealing a setback to the shipping industry, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of environmental organizations seeking to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate ship discharges under the Clean Water Act. The decision follows a 2005 lower court ruling that EPA had illegally exempted ship discharges from Clean Water Act requirements. That decision gave the agency until September 2008 to end the regulatory exemption and issue permits to ships, an order that EPA appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
Baykeeper to Address More Illegal Sewage Spills in the San Mateo Peninsula
The pollution watchdog group also co-sponsors bill to reduce sewage spills
(Jun 5, 2008)

San Francisco Baykeeper just announced its intent to enforce the Clean Water Act against the Town of Hillsborough and the Burlingame Hills area of San Mateo County for sewage spills. A recently completed investigation of the Hillsborough and Burlingame Hills sewer systems revealed that these poorly maintained and operated systems suffer from high rates of spills to nearby creeks and the Bay, and are contributing to the City of Burlingame’s illegal sewage discharges into San Francisco Bay near the Coyote Point recreation area.
California Coastkeeper Alliance and Baykeeper Call for Improvements In Oil Spill Preparedness and Response
Organizations Respond to Release of Phase II U.S. Coast Guard Review of Cosco Busan Oil Spill
(May 16, 2008)

The California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA), a coalition of 12 Waterkeeper groups spanning the coast from the Oregon border to San Diego, and San Francisco Baykeeper today called on the U.S. Coast Guard and the State of California’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response to work with the public and lawmakers to improve oil spill preparedness and response in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the state. CCKA and Baykeeper spoke in response to the U.S.
Judge Tosses Biological Opinion for Salmon and Steelhead in California
Groups say delta water project operations must protect water supply for fish and people
(Apr 16, 2008)

A federal judge has invalidated a water plan that would have allowed more pumping from the San Francisco Bay Delta at the expense of five species of protected salmon and steelhead trout. Fishing and conservation groups and a California tribe called the ruling a victory for the millions of Californians who depend on the delta for drinking water, fishing jobs and agriculture. The ruling comes in the wake of federal fisheries managers’ unprecedented April 10 decision to cancel this year’s salmon fishing season because of a record decline in spawning fish.
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Case Has Implications for Cleanup in San Francisco Bay
(Feb 27, 2008)

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case surrounding the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 1987, the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled tens of millions of gallons of Alaskan crude oil into Prince William Sound. The Court will hear arguments from Exxon about why it should not have to pay the $5 billion liability award imposed by an Anchorage jury in 1994. The High Court’s decision is relevant for oil spill prevention and cleanup in San Francisco Bay.