(Sep 8, 2011) Sacramento, CA – Finally, the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response – part of the Department of Fish and Game – is set to get an increase in funding from oil companies doing business in the state. AB 1112 now awaits Governor Brown's signature if it is to become law.
California oil spill prevention and response programs had been facing cuts next year, prompting...
(Aug 10, 2011) San Francisco – Environmentalists and neighborhood groups plan to urge San Francisco Planning Commissioners at a public hearing on Thursday, August 11, to make improvements in the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 34th America’s Cup. The Environmental Council – a coalition of more than thirty organizations – is concerned that the Draft EIR underestimates the expected...
(Jul 11, 2011) San Francisco – More than 30 environmental groups greeted today’s release of the America’s Cup Draft Environmental Impact Report with guarded optimism. The groups said they had worked with the City on analyzing potential environmental impacts to the Bay and San Francisco waterfront from development associated with America’s Cup and a new cruise terminal at Pier 27.
The groups have...
(May 24, 2011) San Francisco, CA – In a case brought by San Francisco Baykeeper against the West Bay Sanitary District in December 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen has granted summary judgment to Baykeeper in finding the District liable for 21 illegal sewage spills that flowed directly into area creeks and sloughs over the past five years. West Bay serves Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola...
(Mar 15, 2011) (Bay Area, CA) San Francisco Baykeeper, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Water Boards today announced an agreement in a lawsuit over illegal sewage spills by seven East Bay municipalities. The resulting enforceable Court Order requires major improvements to the sewage collection systems of Oakland, Emeryville, Piedmont, Berkeley, Alameda, Albany,...
(Mar 10, 2011) (Bay Area, CA) March 10, 2011 – The City of South San Francisco (“City”) and San Francisco Baykeeper (“Baykeeper”) jointly announce today that the South San Francisco City Council approved a settlement agreement resolving disputes regarding sewage spills in South San Francisco. The settlement agreement will allow the City to dedicate its resources to implementing collection...
(Feb 15, 2011) This week some of the year’s highest tides will breach California’s coastal and bay shorelines, providing a glimpse of what the state can expect as sea level rises due to climate change. Baykeeper is helping to document the impacts of these so-called King Tides, which will occur from February 16 to 18, with particularly high tides of more than 6.8 feet on Thursday, February 17,...
(Nov 17, 2010) The holiday season is quickly approaching, and along with it, winter rains. Many people don’t realize that this combination can lead directly to sewage spills in San Francisco Bay.
Cooking rich holiday meals creates fat, oil and grease that get washed down the drain during the cleanup of dishes, pots, pans and fryers. Over time, cooking oil and grease solidify into thick layers...
(Jul 14, 2010) Frequent sewage spills in Millbrae will soon be dramatically reduced through a new agreement between San Francisco Baykeeper and the City of Millbrae. The pollution watchdog group sued the City last December after public records revealed that Millbrae spills thousands of gallons of raw sewage from its sewer lines in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. The claims Baykeeper...
(Jun 23, 2010) Mayor Gavin Newsom, Sierra Club Chairman Carl Pope, and leaders from environmental organizations today challenged Texas oil companies for bankrolling a November ballot proposition that will repeal the state’s clean energy and clean air standards.
The measure, which qualified for the ballot late yesterday, would repeal California's clean energy and clean air standards. The Texas-...