A new federal appeals court ruling has upheld reasonable limits on the amount of fresh water that can be pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay. This ruling helps protect endangered fish, the California salmon fishing industry, and the San Francisco Bay ecosystem.
In the 23rd victory for Baykeeper’s Bay-Safe Industry Campaign, Syar Industries Napa Quarry recently agreed to keep contaminated storm water from running off its facility into Arroyo Creek, which flows to the Napa River, and then to San Francisco Bay. The agreement came in response to Baykeeper’s Clean Water Act lawsuit and will protect the Bay from pollutants that include aluminum, lead, oil, grease, and nitrate.
Today Baykeeper sent the City of San Jose a notice that we intend to sue the city for failing to keep trash, fecal bacteria, and other pollution from washing into major creeks and tributaries to San Francisco Bay. Baykeeper conducted a two-year investigation that shows San Jose has some of the highest levels of polluted storm water runoff of any city in the Bay Area.
A coalition of 27 environmental, fishing, and public policy groups, including Baykeeper, have released Wetter or Not – Actions to Ease the Current Drought and Prepare for the Next, a comprehensive set of recommendations to address the impacts of a sustained drought. Organizations taking part include the California Coastkeeper Alliance, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the The Bay Institute.
In a critical win for stopping toxic industrial pollution in San Francisco Bay, Baykeeper has secured an agreement with the Levin-Richmond Terminal Corporation to install an excellent set of controls to protect the Bay from toxic runoff.
Baykeeper recently joined with Waterkeeper organizations across the country to urge federal regulators to tighten lax regulations on crude oil shipped by rail. The amount of crude oil shipped by rail in the US has skyrocketed in recent years due to the increase of oil production in North Dakota and Canada. As a result, spills, accidents, and explosions have also increased, especially because some of this crude oil is highly volatile, yet it is shipped in railroad tank cars not designed for flammable substances.
Ten years ago, San Francisco Baykeeper won a major victory for protecting California waterways from pesticides, when we secured the first regulations on agricultural pesticides in the nation. This year Baykeeper is celebrating 25 years of work to defend the Bay from pollution, and looking back at major victories from our history.
On Saturday, September 20, as swimmers in the annual Dolphin Club Alcatraz Swim were heading into San Francisco’s Aquatic Park, an oil slick drifted across their path. Several swimmers were oiled and a historic rowing boat was left with a “bathtub ring” of oil. So were all of the historic boats at Hyde Street Pier. Swimmers and beachgoers were warned away from the water at Aquatic Park.
San Francisco Baykeeper is looking for an enthusiastic volunteer intern to conduct in-depth research and analysis and develop informational materials related to pollution in San Francisco Bay.
