[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 9/14/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

September 14, 2007

 

3. Watersheds -

 

Marine debris bills faced rough time in Legislature

North County Times – 9/14/07
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer

 

At the outset of the year, environmentalists and coastal advocates took dead aim at trash soiling California's beaches and harming marine life hundreds of miles offshore.

But by the time the Legislature adjourned this week, just one of five bills they had proposed to attack the problem had safely navigated the rough waters of Sacramento politics.

 

Only Assembly Bill 258 by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, which targets the pellets used to make all kinds of plastic products, is on its way to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

 

"We were disappointed to see the other ones held up," said Steve Aceti, executive director for the Encinitas-based California Coastal Coalition, which represents the state's coastal cities and counties.

With more than 20 miles of beaches, North County has a huge stake in reducing the amount of trash that laces ocean currents and litters the shoreline. According to a recent study by the state Department of Boating and Waterways, 8 million people a year visit beaches from Del Mar to Oceanside, twice as many as go to Yosemite National Park. And they pump about $6 billion into the local economy.

One of the marine debris bills died in a committee. Three others are expected to be picked up again next year.

Those other bills sought to ban the manufacture of plastic packaging by 2015, clear harbors of piles of underwater fishing gear and require fast-food restaurants to serve burgers and drinks in recyclable paper containers. The broad legislative proposal was an outgrowth of a resolution passed early this year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Ocean Protection Council to take aggressive steps to rid the sea of an alarming amount of debris -- much of it plastic -- threatening marine life.

Sarah Abramson, staff scientist for Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental organization that backed the legislation, said an estimated 1 million sea birds, 100,000 marine mammals and countless fish die every year in the North Pacific Ocean after ingesting or becoming entangled in debris.

The legislation also was backed by San Diego Coastkeeper and Environment California.

The bills were opposed by the state's plastics and restaurant industries. However, the American Chemistry Council, which represents plastic manufacturers, reversed its position on the pellet bill in July, when the author took out a provision that would have established a new fee for manufacturers.

Jonathan Barnato, spokesman for the California Restaurant Association, said restaurant owners are happy the food packaging bill was delayed until next year. He said forcing restaurants to switch to paper containers two to three times as expensive as foam ones is pointless because opportunities for recycling or composting food-contaminated products are limited.

"We're not against recycling or composting," Barnato said. "It's a very complex issue."

What's not complex is the need to reduce the amount of trash -- and the kind of trash -- that washes into the ocean, environmentalists say. In advocating biodegradable products, they say, they are aiming to reduce the threat posed to marine animals. The problem with plastics is they don't break down.

Despite the setbacks for most of the trash legislation, Abramson termed her group's campaign a success.

"The thing that was really positive was the buzz that we heard in the Capitol about marine debris," Abramson said. "We've got the buzz going. And we've got some momentum building in the Capitol." She said she is optimistic the three delayed bills will make it to the finish line in 2008.

As for the bill that did pass, Abramson said it represents a strong first step.

AB 258 would have state water quality boards write regulations that, by January 2009, require plastic manufacturers to take significant measures to ensure no pellets escape their plants and wash into waterways.

That's a huge development, she said, because the pellets pose a major threat.

"If you look at them, they look a lot like a fish egg," Abramson said. "They're about the size of a BB."

And she cited a 2001 study that found that pellets accounted for 98 percent of trash items picked up from Orange County beaches and about one-fifth of the weight.

Tim Shestek, a lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council, said he does not know what proportion of pellets escape plastic plants today. He said manufacturers will embrace all available practices to block the flow of pellets into streams in future, but added, "zero is a tough number to get to."

Aceti called the bill "a good start in addressing the debris problem.

But Aceti said there is a lot more work to do to address the food packaging and other debris that clogs California's rivers, beaches and the ocean.#

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/14/news/top_stories/19_27_329_13_07.txt