Clean water organizations issue new report on Monterey Bay

A new report looks at how the Clean Water Act has helped to restore and protect the Monterey Bay.

(To read the report, click here.)

Environmental advocates and local elected officials held a press conference in Santa Cruz Tuesday to release “Waterways Restored,” a series of case studies compiled by Environment California Research & Policy Center.

The report looks at the progress made but also looks at what the organizations say is a need for a new law restoring full federal protections for two-thirds of the state’s rivers and streams.

“The Clean Water Act has brought triumph to Monterey Bay, but the law’s promise isn’t yet fulfilled,” said Nathan Weaver of Environment California. “All of our rivers and streams deserve a success story.”

Monterey Bay and its tributaries have long been threatened by the potential of runoff from rapid regional development. The Clean Water Act helped provide funding to conserve a key tract of land upstream.

A loophole in the law, however, means that 140,000 miles of California’s rivers and streams are not guaranteed the same kind of protection the Monterey Bay has.

“The Monterey Bay is recognized internationally as an example of what coastal conservation can accomplish, and the Clean Water Act has played a critical role in preserving the area,” said Assemblyman Mark Stone. “Protecting the bay and the surrounding watersheds has been critical in supporting and sustaining our local marine environment.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year proposed a rule that would restore protections for the headwaters, streams and wetlands left unprotected by the loophole. It was voted down last month by the U.S. House of Representatives, however.

Advocates, business owners and lawmakers who held Tuesday’s press conference are calling for support of this law.

“The only way to continue Monterey Bay on the path to success is protect all the rivers and streams that flow into it,” said Weaver. “That’s why it’s so important for EPA to restore protections for all the waters that crisscross our state.”