• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Keeping Watch for Clean Water

  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • Our Boat
    • Our History
    • Our Impact
    • About the Santa Barbara Channel
    • Financial Information
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Community Engagement
      • Oil Spill Resource Guide
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Water Conservation
      • Events
      • Volunteer
      • Action Alerts
      • Report Pollution
    • Field Work
      • Beach Water Quality
      • Stream Team
        • Water Quality Indicators
        • Stream Team Data Portal
        • Leydecker Archives
      • MPA Watch
      • Cruise Ship Monitoring
      • Ocean Acidification
      • Trash Clean-Ups
    • Advocacy
      • Polluted Runoff
      • Agriculture
      • Oil & Gas
        • Refugio Oil Spill
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Platform Decommissioning
        • Legacy Oil Wells
        • Offshore Fracking
      • Ventura River
      • Plastic
        • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Marine Protected Areas
        • MPA Watch
      • Water Supply
        • Desalination
        • Conservation
    • Enforcement
      • Ventura River
      • Offshore Fracking
      • Agriculture
      • Sewage
      • Ojai Quarry
      • Halaco
  • Take Action
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
      • Watershed Brigade
        • Watershed Brigade Event
        • Watershed Brigade Monthly Challenge
        • Watershed Brigade Corporate Challenge
      • Stream Team
      • MPA Watch
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Events & Outreach
    • Report Pollution
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • Action Alerts
    • Shop
      • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
      • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
    • Upcoming Events
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Newsletter Archive
    • eNews Archive
    • Video Gallery
  • Donate

Settlement Agreement with Southern California Edison will Help Protect Waterways from Toxic Pollution

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and the Ecological Rights Foundation recently reached a settlement agreement with Southern California Edison (Edison) to clean up facilities identified as sources of toxic contaminants that flow into streams, rivers, and other waterways.

The organizations filed a lawsuit against Edison on June 8, 2020, alleging that the company operated 27 facilities in its service region that served as storage and processing locations for wooden utility poles treated with the chemical pentachlorophenol but that lacked appropriate water quality protections.

Pentachlorophenol is a wood preservative used since the 1930s that contains substantial quantities of chemicals known as dioxins and furans, which are toxic to wildlife. Many countries have already banned its use because of its harmful effects on humans and the environment. Water quality monitoring results from Edison facilities demonstrated that significant quantitates of these toxic chemicals wash into environmentally sensitive waterways during storm events.

The agreement, reached on November 9, commits Edison to the implementation of a comprehensive program to prevent contaminants from escaping its facilities. Over the course of the next seven years, Edison will execute a strategy to cover all areas where treated wood is stored or processed or it will contain, filter, or treat storm runoff from its properties to meet specific water quality targets that protect the environment. Edison is bound by the agreement to conduct monitoring to demonstrate that its methods satisfactorily eliminate pollutants from running off its facilities.

Edison has also agreed to mitigate for alleged historic damages to the environment by providing $160,000 to a public-private partnership working to develop robust water quality protections for Areas of Special Biological Significance throughout the State of California.

This settlement agreement will result in environmental protections for over 60 waterways, beaches, and other natural resource areas, including the Goleta Slough State Marine Conservation Area near the City of Goleta and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Goleta Slough is a sensitive ecological preserve that serves as wildlife habitat for numerous rare, sensitive, and endangered species.

“Pentachlorophenol and its byproducts are highly toxic in aquatic environments such as the Goleta Slough. These storage and processing facilities are hotspots for this form of pollution and the agreement will help ensure that our waterways are better protected,” said Benjamin Pitterle, Science and Policy Director for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Meet MPA Watch Intern, Andrea Chagoya!
  • Connecting Kids with Nature to Spark Wonder and Inspire Environmental Sensitivity
  • Introducing Chanelkeeper’s New Board President
  • New Report Outlines a Comprehensive Approach to Prevent Ocean Plastic Pollution
  • Volunteer Spotlight: For Sue Sadler-Paré Cleaning up the Beach is Personal

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Education
  • Marine Conservation
  • Monitoring
  • News
  • Outreach
  • Polluted Runoff
  • Press Release
  • Uncategorized
  • Ventura River

Contact Us

714 Bond Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
info@sbck.org
(805) 563-3377

Subscribe to eNews

© 2022 Santa Barbara Channelkeeper | Website by Mission Web Marketing
NAVIGATION
  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • Our Boat
    • Our History
    • Our Impact
    • About the Santa Barbara Channel
    • Financial Information
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Community Engagement
      • Oil Spill Resource Guide
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Water Conservation
      • Events
      • Volunteer
      • Action Alerts
      • Report Pollution
    • Field Work
      • Beach Water Quality
      • Stream Team
        • Water Quality Indicators
        • Stream Team Data Portal
        • Leydecker Archives
      • MPA Watch
      • Cruise Ship Monitoring
      • Ocean Acidification
      • Trash Clean-Ups
    • Advocacy
      • Polluted Runoff
      • Agriculture
      • Oil & Gas
        • Refugio Oil Spill
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Platform Decommissioning
        • Legacy Oil Wells
        • Offshore Fracking
      • Ventura River
      • Plastic
        • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Marine Protected Areas
        • MPA Watch
      • Water Supply
        • Desalination
        • Conservation
    • Enforcement
      • Ventura River
      • Offshore Fracking
      • Agriculture
      • Sewage
      • Ojai Quarry
      • Halaco
  • Take Action
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
      • Watershed Brigade
        • Watershed Brigade Event
        • Watershed Brigade Monthly Challenge
        • Watershed Brigade Corporate Challenge
      • Stream Team
      • MPA Watch
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Events & Outreach
    • Report Pollution
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • Action Alerts
    • Shop
      • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
      • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
    • Upcoming Events
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Newsletter Archive
    • eNews Archive
    • Video Gallery
  • Donate