Brake Pad Partnership
Each time drivers step on their brakes, small amounts of debris are released onto streets, into the air and, eventually, into waterways. Much of this debris contains copper. California drivers use their brakes hundreds of millions of times a day, and the cumulative impact of the copper takes a toll on the environment.
Copper that ends up in streams, rivers and coastal waters can be toxic to aquatic organisms like phytoplankton, which make up the base of the food chain and whose health affects entire ecosystems. Elevated copper levels also are one of the factors contributing to the decline of salmon populations.
In response to the high levels of copper found in urban watersheds, the State Water Resources Control Board is establishing maximum allowable limits for copper pollution in urban watersheds across California. The responsibility for meeting the new copper limits will fall on the municipalities in these watersheds. The compliance deadline for the first of these limits is 2021.
Getting copper out of water once it has been deposited there is difficult and expensive. Reducing it at its principal source – car and truck brakes – is the most efficient and effective way to remove a significant component in the decline of endangered fish such as coho and steelhead, which inhabit thousands of miles of inland streams and California coastline. It also can save municipalities charged with meeting copper regulations from potentially crippling cleanup costs.
A Partnership Is Formed
In 1998, Sustainable Conservation brought together a first-of-its kind group of brake manufacturers, stormwater agencies and environmental groups. Despite their differing perspectives, the members of the highly collaborative Brake Pad Partnership (Partnership) agreed to work together to determine if copper from brakes is a significant contributor to copper contamination, using the San Francisco Bay Area as a case study. Since then, the Partnership's work has proceeded under Sustainable Conservation's stewardship with an emphasis on sound science that all parties find credible.
With unanimous agreement among the Partnership's industry, stormwater agency and environmental members, Sustainable Conservation is now sponsoring SB 346 (Kehoe) that effectively eliminates copper from all automobile brakes sold in California. SB 346 promotes clean water and healthy wildlife, while also creating an achievable goal and equitable playing field for the highly competitive brake manufacturing industry.
Project Details
The Partnership conducted a 10-year scientific investigation into the role automobile brakes play in elevated copper levels within San Francisco Bay Area watersheds. The results of these studies indicate that copper from brakes is the single greatest contributor to elevated copper levels in urban creeks. While our studies focused on the Bay Area, it is likely that copper from brakes contributes significantly to elevated copper levels in all the state's highly urbanized watersheds, including those in Southern California.
Legislation
After evaluating a number of strategies, the Partnership reached consensus that the most effective course of action would be to pursue legislation that reduces the amount of copper used in brakes to an insignificant amount in a phased manner. The resulting bill, SB 346 (Kehoe), places a 5%-by-weight limit on the amount of copper used in brakes sold in California by 2021, and reduces that percentage to a minimal 0.5% by 2032. The brakes developed to meet these requirements will also meet all applicable safety and performance standards.
The bill also includes provisions to ensure that copper will not be replaced with materials containing other harmful substances. Finally, the authorization of a small fee on each set of new-vehicle or replacement brakes means that SB 346 requires no public funding.
In the drafting, introduction and ongoing revision of SB 346 as it moves through the California Legislature, the Partnership has reaffirmed its commitment to a collaborative, consensus-based approach that all stakeholders can embrace to protect water quality, boost the health of aquatic species and support a vital part of the automotive industry.