By Daily Press staff
In an effort to empower citizens to take a stand for clean water, Santa Monica Baykeeper is launching a new Clean Water Act: “Empower the People Program.”
Beginning July 19, Baykeeper will conduct a series of workshops, each one focusing on a particular water quality issue in Los Angeles County and how ordinary citizens can use the Clean Water Act to help clean up LA’s waters.
The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, set a goal of eliminating the discharge of pollution to waterways by 1985. It also said that all waters would be “fishable and swimmable” by 1983. However, the Clean Water Act has not been properly enforced, which is why 180 of Los Angeles County’s water bodies are currently listed on the state’s Threatened and Impaired Waters List, officials said. Each of those waters is not meeting at least one water quality criteria established to protect the uses of the water body. Without the help of citizens and community groups, polluters will continue to illegally pollute our waterways, and the goals of the Clean Water Act will never be realized, officials said.
Santa Monica Baykeeper believes that the people of Los Angeles, if given the tools and knowledge they need,will speak up and organize for clean water.Baykeeper’s workshops will provide that knowledge and will feature inspirational presentations from a wide range of experts in the water quality field, including Jon Bishop, executive officer of the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board; Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay; Jennifer Novak, deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, and Ozzie Silna, board member of Santa Monica Baykeeper and the Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy.
Each workshop is different, and they will build on one another to some extent, so attendance at each is recommended, if possible. For a complete list of workshop dates, topics and locations, call (310) 822-4522 or visit www.smbaykeeper.org.
Santa Monica Baykeeper is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the Santa Monica Bay, San Pedro Bay, and adjacent coastal waters through enforcement, fieldwork and community action. Since 1993, the Santa Monica Baykeeper has stopped millions of gallons and thousands of tons of toxic waste from entering the local bays. Santa Monica Baykeeper is one of over 150 environmental organizations throughout the world that form the international Waterkeeper Alliance, officials said. Check it: Bicycle donations coming around
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 7, 2006. Read the original PDF.