There’s one question I’m being asked a lot right now: How do you stay optimistic when our environment and the laws that protect us are under attack? It’s a good question, and for me the answer comes quickly. The wins keep me going! I’ve been part of a hardworking team fighting on the frontlines for the last 23 years, and I’ve seen firsthand how our work makes a difference.
Here’s a recent example:
For the past year we’ve been engaged in a lawsuit against Radius Recycling (formerly known as Schnitzer Steel), and some of its facilities around the Bay. The company’s self-reported stormwater sampling data indicated that four of its automobile recycling facilities were discharging heavy metals into the Suisun wetlands, San Pablo Bay, Arrowhead Marsh, and the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge. The operations are also located near neighborhoods in Richmond and Oakland.
So, we did what Baykeeper does best. Our scientists gathered evidence of the pollution violations, and our lawyers sued Radius for violating the Clean Water Act.
Earlier this year, the company settled. It agreed to make improvements to its facilities and to stop discharging heavy metals and other pollutants into waters around the Bay. And, as we ask of all corporate polluters, they agreed to make a payment to mitigate for their past pollution. The payment was $400,000, but that money doesn’t go to Baykeeper—we direct it to other nonprofits working to preserve and restore the Bay.
Here’s where we got creative. We had recently seen the news that the U.C. Davis fish laboratory was at risk of losing federal funding. The lab works to preserve the Bay’s most endangered fish species, including Chinook Salmon, Longfin Smelt, and White and Green sturgeon. It also houses the world’s last remaining Delta Smelt population—the very fish that has become the scapegoat for this particular federal administration’s war against the San Francisco Bay watershed.
Losing federal funding would have led to the lab shutting down, and these 3-inch fish might have disappeared forever.
We worked quickly with the lab to identify its needs and collaborated with Radius Recycling to direct the money to where it was most needed. Just in time, we provided the bridge funding to keep the lab in operation, literally saving the smelt. What a win!
Our staff recently had the opportunity to tour the lab (pictured, below) to meet the Delta Smelt we saved firsthand. And you know what? Folks familiar with the fish say they smell like cucumbers—and it’s true! We were honored to meet them face to fin and see how they are thriving thanks to our win.
Over the years, Baykeeper has directed over $15 million dollars in environmental payments like this to local conservation efforts. It’s all work that needs to get done, and along with your support, it’s this kind of lasting impact that keeps us going.
