In a recent roundup of industrial polluters around the Bay, our pollution monitoring team encountered a familiar name: Granite Rock.
Granite Rock is a mining and construction company with several facilities around the Bay Area. In 2007 and in 2016, we took legal action against the company for polluting the Bay with contaminated stormwater runoff flowing from two of its concrete plants. Those lawsuits forced the company to install a stormwater treatment system and other pollution controls, significantly reducing polluted runoff into the Bay.
For millennia, the body of water we now call San Francisco Bay was brimming with oysters—so many that their discarded shells formed little mountains and ridges below the surface.
Then things changed. The Gold Rush propelled decades of intense pollution and habitat destruction that decimated native oyster populations. And commercial interests started chipping away at the underwater mounds.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with the team at Beyond the Fog, a local podcast hosted by three San Franciscans who are passionate about everything that makes the Bay Area unique. Their goal is to bring to life the history, art, and culture of the Bay Area—and the people who create it. Their latest series of stories was all about the local environment, and since the Bay Area is a hotbed for environmental activism, I'm honored they chose to include me in this series.
A governmental agency made a decision May 11 that will affect everyone who lives in the Bay Area, especially those who depend on the San Francisco Bay and our creeks for recreation and livelihood. This agency, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, is responsible for protecting water quality throughout the Bay Area. It has long acknowledged that storm water pollution is one of the Bay’s most serious problems, and it approved a permit that is supposed to reduce the trash, metals, and bacteria that run off into the Bay from city streets every time it rains.
Protecting the health of San Francisco Bay is a team effort. That's why it's a special treat for us every spring to recognize Baykeeper’s Blue Rivet award winners. It's our opportunity to celebrate the community members who have stood by our side to fight for a healthier Bay. Just like the rivets of the Golden Gate Bridge, which join the iconic structure together to stand strong over the Bay’s waters, our Blue Rivet awardees are part of what makes us a stronger advocate for the Bay.
At 9pm on April 30, swimmers from an open water relay team jumped into the inky black waters of the Napa River and embarked on an epic journey to San Francisco’s Aquatic Park.
