Lack of Funds Has Stymied Bay Cleanup Plan, Study Finds

An ambitious plan to prevent further contamination of Santa Monica Bay--one of the most polluted stretches of coastal water in the state--has foundered because of lack of funding, according to a study released Tuesday.

Only 11 of 74 priority actions recommended in 1995 by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project--a consortium of cities, businesses, environmental groups and government agencies--have been fully implemented, the group said.

Available resources to accomplish the restoration goals fall far short, said the project’s director, Marianne Yamaguchi. For example, she said, about $25 million is needed to repair and upgrade storm drain channels to prevent further bay pollution.

Because of the contamination, the bay remains a health threat to swimmers and anglers. Its 50 miles of shoreline, stretching from Malibu to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, include some of the most popular beaches in the country.

Most of the funding for managing storm water--the biggest source of pollution--comes from the State Water Resources Control Board. The board charges industries that use significant amounts of oil, grease, coolants and other types of chemicals $250 a year for industrial storm water permits, said Catherine Tyrrell, the board’s coastal programs director.

In Los Angeles, the $500,000 received annually from such fees is used to pay a staff of five who monitor storm drain systems in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, not to repair storm systems.

Tyrrell said the board’s resources are “really a drop in the bucket.”

At a Venice Pier press conference, the restoration project announced that it will lobby state legislators to earmark $25 million in funds from several environmental bond measures for bay pollution prevention efforts.

The bonds, expected to be on the November ballot, would provide up to $2 billion for environmental cleanup efforts, yet none of the money has been designated for Santa Monica Bay, said Steve Fleischli, a law and policy analyst for the environmental group Heal the Bay.

The restoration project commended outreach programs designed to educate consumers about dumping, but said efforts to curb contamination from storm runoff were insufficient.

The group estimates that an average of 30 tons of lead washes into the bay from Los Angeles County streets annually.