April 2011

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper News & Events

News & Events

Local Cities Act to Reduce Disposable Bag Use Sewage Case Update EPA Releases Second Report on Halaco Sampling Results 2011 Blue Water Ball Our Most Successful Ever! Stream Team April 2nd & 3rd Eastside Community Clean-up April 9th Celebrate Earth Day 2011 - April 16th & 17th Save the Date - May 12th - Paul Arsenault Art Show Become a Member

Local Cities Act to Reduce Disposable Bag Use

Santa Barbara City Council to Consider Disposable Bag Ordinance The City of Santa Barbara is one step closer to taking action aimed at reducing the use of disposable shopping bags in Santa Barbara. At its February 1st meeting, the Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to direct their Ordinance Committee to draft an ordinance to address this serious environmental problem. The committee will have its first of several meetings in mid-April to discuss and develop an ordinance, which will then go to City Council for approval. It's important that the Council members know their constituents support an ordinance with teeth, such as those passed by Santa Monica and Los Angeles County which ban plastic bags and place a fee on paper bags. If you are a registered voter in the City of Santa Barbara, please contact your City Council members by email or phone to let them know you support a meaningful reduction in the use of disposable shopping bags in our community. We're going to need a lot of public support to convince City Council to pass a strong ordinance, so stay tuned for opportunities to get involved. Meanwhile, remember to use reusable bags every time you shop! Carpinteria Albertsons Goes Bagless! Albertsons recently launched a "Going Bagless" pilot project at its Carpinteria store. Starting on April 27th, the store will no longer offer plastic and paper bags at its check-out stands. Instead, customers will be encouraged to use reusable bags. The Carpinteria Albertsons is one of only two stores in the state participating in this pilot project, which will save more than one million bags per year in Carpinteria alone! Channelkeeper commends Albertsons for their leadership on this important issue and hopes that other stores and municipalities will follow their example.

Sewage Case Update

Did You Know.
Volunteers have removed over 55 tons of homeless encampment trash from the Ventura River in the past three years? Source: City of Ventura As previously reported, Channelkeeper recently sent the City of Santa Barbara a Notice of Violations and Intent to Sue under the federal Clean Water Act to compel the city to address the serious problems with its sewage system which cause frequent spills of sewage into our creeks, beaches, storm drains and streets. Channelkeeper's goal with this legal action is to protect public health, the environment, our local economy, and the quality of life in Santa Barbara. Channelkeeper has been monitoring this ongoing problem closely for nearly a decade, watching with alarm as the number of spills continued to climb. We've made concerted efforts throughout this time to voice our concerns with the city and to lobby them to deal with it. While the city has applied a couple of band-aids, they have not made the necessary commitment and investments in the comprehensive overhaul that's

sorely needed to fix this serious problem. Channelkeeper aims to resolve this matter quickly rather than having a long, drawn-out legal battle. We've told the city it is our goal to have our experts sit down with theirs to reach an engineering-based solution that gets the city's sewage system up to standards and its sewage spill rate down to near zero as quickly as possible. We are meeting with city officials in the near future to discuss the way forward and to see if we can settle this matter quickly and in the best interest of all Santa Barbarans.

EPA Releases Second Report on Halaco Sampling Results

On March 18th, EPA released the second in a series of reports summarizing the results of soil, sediment, and water testing conducted in 2009-2010 as part of the remedial investigation for the Halaco Superfund Site in Oxnard. This second report describes the testing done on Oxnard City property south and west of the Halaco site. The sampling results show relatively high concentrations of copper, lead, zinc, and other metals in sediments in and near the ditch south of the Halaco waste pile. Evidence of Halaco waste was not found on the beach south of the Halaco properties. Scattered pieces of Halaco's wastes were also observed in the area accessible by pedestrian bridge to the south of Perkins Road. The contaminated soils and sediments may pose a risk to wildlife that ingest contaminated sediment and prey, but do not pose a significant health risk to occasional users of these areas. EPA plans to undertake additional testing in late spring or early summer to complete its evaluation of this property and determine where clean-up may be needed. Thereafter, EPA will work with the City of Oxnard to develop a clean-up proposal, and will then seek and consider public comments. Similar reports for other sections of the Halaco property will follow as EPA moves forward in the Superfund clean-up processes for the site. Please click here to read the report and learn more about EPA's actions related to the Halaco clean-up. Channelkeeper has hired Geosyntec to help us review, analyze and translate into layperson's terms these and other technical reports generated by EPA as part of the Superfund process. Channelkeeper will leverage Geosyntec's technical assistance to help local citizens understand EPA's findings and engage them in EPA's decision-making process related to the clean-up of the site.

2011 Blue Water Ball Our Most Successful Ever!

Channelkeeper's eleventh annual Blue Water Ball fundraising gala was our most successful yet, raising nearly $75,000 for our monitoring, education, advocacy and enforcement efforts to protect and restore the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds. At the event, which took place on March 19th at the Santa Barbara Woman's Club," we honored Lynne Cox, world-renowned open-water swimmer and author, with Channelkeeper's 2011 Ocean Ambassador Award for her commitment to inspiring awareness for healthy oceans. Lynne gave an inspiring keynote speech about her incredible swimming feats and efforts to foster intercultural understanding and ocean

awareness. We also recognized Peter Shao as our Volunteer of the Year for his dedication and service to Channelkeeper and the environment. Many thanks to all who attended and contributed to making this our best event yet. Thanks also to Lynne Cox, our masterful Master of Ceremonies Geoff Green, our dedicated volunteers, and our event sponsors: Allied Waste Services, Citrix Online, Environment Now, Forester Media, MarBorg Industries, Patagonia, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation, and UCSB. We look forward to seeing you at next year's Blue Water Ball!

Stream Team - April 2nd & 3rd

Note: Special Ventura Stream Team pre-dawn sampling times! Stream Team is Channelkeeper's volunteer-based water quality monitoring program. Every month, volunteers join Channelkeeper staff to test for common water quality parameters at numerous sites in the Ventura River and Goleta Slough watersheds. Come join us to help protect our local waterways! Ventura Stream Team - April 2nd - This month Ventura Stream Team volunteers will collect samples in two shifts. The first shift will meet before dawn at 4:30 AM. The second shift will meet at 12:30 PM. We are conducting diurnal (twice daily) monitoring in order to measure the chemical impacts of algae growth in the Ventura River. Volunteers must RSVP to Ben@sbck.org as morning and afternoon slots are limited. Volunteers for the morning shift must have received training at a prior event. Goleta Stream Team - April 3rd - Goleta Stream Team will meet as usual at 10 AM. Visit www.stream-team.org for more information.

Eastside Community Clean-up - April 9th

Join Looking Good Santa Barbara, a City of Santa Barbara Environmental Services program, along with numerous community groups for the Eastside Community Clean-up Day on Saturday, April 9th. Clean-up activities include a creek clean-up and survey with Channelkeeper, neighborhood clean-ups, tree planting, graffiti removal and more. Volunteers will meet at 9:00 am at Eastside Park (Soledad & Yanonali Streets) to take part in this community event. Contact Lorraine Cruz Carpenter of Looking Good Santa Barbara for more information.

Celebrate the Earth at the SB Earth Day Festival - April 16th & 17th
Celebrate the Earth at the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival, a two-day extravaganza on Saturday, April 16th from 11 am - 7 pm and Sunday, April 17th from 11 am - 6 pm at Alameda Park. The festival's theme this year is "Powered by the People," recognizing our ability to create more sustainable lifestyles using the power of the human body and mind. Stop by Channelkeeper's booth to learn about and take action to support our current initiatives. Channelkeeper is seeking volunteers to help staff our booth at the festival; please contact us at penny@sbck.org or 805.563.3377 ext. 5 if you can help. We hope to see you there!

Save the Date - May 12th Paul Arsenault Art Show to Benefit Channelkeeper

Please join us on Thursday, May 12th from 5 - 8 pm at 122 Santa Barbara St. for "A Shore Thing... Recent Paintings of the Santa Barbara Coast," a reception and special exhibition of artist Paul Arsenault's incredible work. Proceeds from the event will benefit Channelkeeper. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served at this free and fun event. RSVPs to lindsey@sbck.org are appreciated. We look forward to seeing you there! Click here to view Paul Arsenault's work.

Become a Channelkeeper Member!

Your support for Channelkeeper's efforts is needed now more than ever. Become a member of the Channelkeeper crew today with your tax-deductible donation. You'll be investing in clean water and healthy communities along the Santa Barbara Channel today and for future generations. With your membership, you will receive our regular newsletters, news updates and action alerts, invitations to special Channelkeeper events and fun volunteer opportunities, and a free Channelkeeper sticker. All new donors contributing $50 or more can also receive a Channelkeeper t-shirt, and for donations of $250 or more, quarterly issues of Waterkeeper magazine. Sign up today by calling 805.563.3377 or emailing us.

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