Less Pollution, More Marine Preservation

California’s coast has 34 Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS) – areas that support a wide variety of marine life and form the basic building blocks for a sustainable, resilient coastal environment and economy. Several ASBS are within critical sea otter habitat. State law requires “special protection” for these areas, and for decades, has prohibited pollution into ASBS to protect them from harm.

However, in 2012 the State Water Board adopted an Exception to the ASBS pollution prohibition, allowing pollution under special circumstances. One of the Exception’s most important requirements is that discharges must maintain natural water quality in ASBS. If monitoring indicates that discharges alter natural water quality in ASBS, dischargers must take corrective actions.

For years, The Otter Project and our partners at California Coastkeeper Alliance have been ringing the bell about the Exception’s many flaws while working to improve and enforce ASBS protections. Now, over a decade since the Exception’s adoption and seven years since dischargers were required to maintain natural water quality in ASBS, we continue to observe rampant ASBS non-compliance. The lack of progress is due to a combination of issues with the Exception itself; inconsistent incorporation of the Exception into permits; widespread non-compliance with the Exception and/or permits; and a lack of meaningful oversight/enforcement by the state.

We are calling on the State Water Board to act on all fronts to protect California’s ASBS as it has promised to in the past.

The Otter Project and California Coastkeeper Alliance recently submitted a letter to the State Water Board highlighting issues with the Exception and offering solutions to fix the same. The letter calls on the State Water Board to:

• Ensure Exception eligibility and deem coverage forfeited for non-compliance;

• Clarify and improve monitoring requirements;

• Require timely implementation of controls designed to maintain natural water quality;

• Require regular ASBS plan updates;

• Preclude dischargers from merely redirecting polluted runoff to non-ASBS;

• Ensure permits accurately implement the Exception; and

• Close the Exception’s loopholes.

California is expected to prioritize the development of new ASBS protected areas as part of its 30x30 goals. But we should not create new protections when the existing ASBS Exception is broken. Considering California’s 30x30 goals, the time to act on ASBS is now. California’s fragile and valuable marine ecosystems have endured rampant and unchecked pollution to areas deemed to be of ‘special significance’ for far too long. We will continue work to improve and ensure the success of the ASBS program for the benefit of California’s marine life, coastal communities, and our ocean economy.