Since 1989, Baykeeper has been the pollution watchdog for San Francisco Bay, using science and advocacy to strengthen clean water laws and hold polluters accountable.
Just a generation ago, polluters fouled the Bay with impunity, threatening the Bay's delicate ecosystem and abundant wildlife, as well as our own health and quality of life.
Baykeeper is dedicated to keeping pollution out of the Bay -- whether it's visible, such as oil and sewage spills, or the invisible, toxic threats of pesticides, industrial chemicals and pollution runoff. On the water, in the courtroom and at the decision-making table, we've become the Bay's most effective advocate, working tirelessly to address the most pressing problems facing the Bay.
Now we can look back on two decades of action and see vital progress toward our vision of a healthy, thriving Bay.
Although our work is far from over, we invite you to join us in celebrating how far we've come. Throughout 2009, you can help propel Baykeeper into our third decade of protecting San Francisco Bay from pollution by investing in our 20th Anniversary Campaign. Click here to make a gift for the future of the Bay.
And now, you can help protect the Bay by joining our Bay Steward program. We're inviting our supporters to make an ongoing commitment to protecting the Bay with monthly gifts to Baykeeper. Bay Stewards help us save money on administrative and fundraising costs, so your gift goes further to support our crucial work to protect the Bay from pollution. Click here to learn more about becoming a Bay Steward.
A Legacy of Bay Protection
In our twenty-year history as the leading nonprofit dedicated to stopping Bay pollution, Baykeeper has won critical victories for the Bay and beyond:
Holding polluters accountable for illegal toxics
Baykeeper successfully sued Unocal and Exxon for illegally dumping selenium into the Bay, winning $4.3 million for Bay restoration projects in 1998.
Protecting native fish and wildlife
Together with our allies, in 2008 Baykeeper secured a landmark ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that requires the EPA to regulate ballast water discharges in order to prevent invasive species from disrupting local habitats.
Keeping pesticides out of our water
In a nationally significant victory for clean water, in 2004 Baykeeper compelled the state of California to establish the first-ever regulations for agricultural pollution, including the discharge of pesticides into waterways.
Fighting for an end to sewage spills in the Bay
After years of Clean Water Act violations by the City of Richmond, Baykeeper won a settlement in 2006 requiring the city to spend $20 million to fix its aging sewers and stop spilling raw sewage into the Bay.
Responding to the Cosco Busan oil spill
Baykeeper spearheaded community action in response to over 50,000 gallons of oil released into the Bay in November 2007, and in 2008 developed and passed several laws to prevent future oil spills.
Our Ongoing Work to Protect and Restore the Bay
Baykeeper fills a unique water quality niche in the Bay Area by acting as the watchdog for the Bay and enforcing clean water laws in order to protect and restore the watershed. Our small, highly-skilled staff uses every tool at our disposal to keep pollution out of the Bay.
Our current priorities for Bay protection include:
- Reducing sewage spills and overflows into the Bay and ocean
- Curtailing stormwater pollution to the Bay
- Stopping the flow of industrial chemicals to the Bay
- Strengthening regulation of toxic pollution
- Improving oil spill prevention and response policies and controlling vessel pollution in the Bay
- Ending fish kills by Bay Area power plants
You can help launch another two decades of Baykeeper's efforts by making a contribution today. Thank you for your support!