Conservation Highlights
Relief for Cash-Strapped Cities
The poster child for how Sustainable Conservation's law benefits cities is San Diego (pictured). It faces some of the strictest limits on copper pollution in all of California. By helping cities avoid potentially billions of dollars in new water treatment plants and expensive fines for not meeting water-quality standards, Senate Bill 346 enables local governments throughout the state to redirect much-needed funds to other critical needs.
"City budgets are tighter than ever before, and we need to ensure we're spending money wisely and at the right time," explains Ruth Kolb, the City of San Diego's Storm Water Program Manager. "The source reduction this new law requires will help San Diego, and every city across the state, make that happen."
Stopping Pollution Before It Starts
A key strategy to restore once-healthy California waterways is to prevent pollution in the first place, instead of trying to clean it up once it has escaped into rivers and streams. After-the-fact cleanup can be nearly impossible to achieve and is expensive.
"The US Environmental Protection Agency is working with state and local governments to clean up California's rivers, bays and coastline," states Alexis Strauss, Water Division Director for the US EPA (Region 9). "SB 346 allows us to protect water quality and marine life by avoiding pollution from the outset."
SB 346 also ensures new brake materials that replace copper will be safe for salmon, other aquatic wildlife and drivers.
More: The Sustainable Conservation Difference