‘Unprecedented Threats’ to Coastline Cited by Lawmakers

Declaring that California’s 1,100-mile coastline faces “unprecedented threats,” nine Democratic legislators on Monday announced a package of 10 bills to protect it, including a study to identify the source of toxic pollution in San Diego Bay.

The San Diego Bay study was included in a package of bills intended to combat ocean pollution, impose strict liability on petroleum companies for oil spills and increase funding for the Coastal Commission.

The loose-knit alliance of coastal legislators said they banded together to spotlight problems that have mounted since the passage of the Coastal Act a decade ago.

“The law needs to be strengthened,” Assemblyman Sam Farr (D-Carmel), organizer of the group, said at a Capitol press conference.

One of the bills, introduced by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), would establish an ocean pollution research facility on Santa Monica Bay, where concerns about sewage dumping have been steadily mounting.

Asserting that the public is becoming acutely aware of pollution along the California coast, Hayden also introduced six bills on his own, separate from the other 10 measures. Among other things, they would restrict ocean dumping and increase state monitoring of toxic chemical levels in fish.

Three of the coalition’s bills were aimed at countering what the legislators view as persistent problems caused by offshore oil drilling. One measure would ensure that oil firms are held strictly liable for damages from offshore operations. A second bill would require coastal oil drillers to purchase anti-pollution equipment, and another would direct the Coastal Commission to inspect the equipment.

The Coastal Commission, which has suffered budget cutbacks under Gov. George Deukmejian, would get some help. In three bills, the legislators proposed to increase the commission’s staff, force the commission to reopen regional offices, and prohibit the governor from returning federal coastal planning funds to Washington, as he did last year. Assemblyman Byron Sher (D-Palo Alto) said the Administration sent back $296,000.

Deukmejian long has held that the commission should be abolished and in past years has sharply reduced its staff. This year, however, his budget calls for a total of 117 employees, an increase of two.

Other bills highlighted at Monday’s news conference would restrict the burning of toxic wastes at sea and proclaim April as “the month of the coast.”

“It is all part of the integrated effort up and down the coast,” said Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista), who did not attend the press conference.

Peace is co-author of a bill by Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego), which would appropriate $220,000 to the San Diego County Regional Water Control Board for the bay study. The measure was introduced last week.

“We want to know what is happening . . . and what we can do to solve it,” Peace said.

Killea said several agencies have conducted tests over the years that confirm that the bay is badly polluted with toxics. But pinpointing those who are responsible has been a persistent problem.

“It has reached a point where we need a study of what is the source of the toxics,” Killea said.

“The bay is too valuable for us to allow its contamination,” she added.

Killea’s bill would require a report back to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 1988, with detailed findings on the source of toxic contaminants in the bay and recommendations on enforcement actions by the water board and other agencies.

Other legislators joining in the coalition were Sens. Milton Marks (D-San Francisco), Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) and Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara), and Assemblymen Jack O’Connell (D-Santa Barbara) and Dan Hauser (D-Arcata).