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Goals
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Protect and enhance environmental health and
public health by minimizing and where possible
eliminating:
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The use of hazardous or toxic materials, in
particular POPs (persistent organic
pollutants) and PBTs (persistent
bioaccumulative & toxic chemicals), by
residents, businesses and city operations;
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The levels of pollutants entering the air,
soil and water; and
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The risks that environmental problems pose
to human and ecological health.
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Ensure that no one geographic or socioeconomic
group in the city is being unfairly impacted by
environmental pollution.
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Increase consumption of fresh, locally produced,
organic produce to promote public health and to
minimize resource consumption and negative
environmental impacts.
How are we doing?
This year Santa Monica voters supported the
implementation of the Watershed Management Plan by
passing the Clean Beaches and Ocean parcel tax. This
allows work to begin on a comprehensive 20-year
approach to improving water quality in the Santa
Monica Bay, including significantly enhancing the
level of investment in our stormwater infrastructure
and our pollution control efforts. The city
continued its commitment to protecting the bay and
its marine habitat by prohibiting the use of all
non-recyclable plastic take-out food service
containers. Sales of recycled water from the Santa
Monica Urban Runoff and Recycling Facility (SMURRF)
increased 35% to a total of 32 million gallons per
year. The cumulative number of Santa Monica
households properly disposing of hazardous waste at
the Household Hazardous Waste Center increased from
29% to 36%. Four thriving farmers’ markets, one of
which is regularly a zero-waste event, provide
access to fresh, locally grown and organic produce.
These successes aside, the grade for this area has
dropped because wastewater levels continue to be
high and the city is far from reaching its targets
for beach closures and Santa Monica Bay pollution
reduction.
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