Mercury Cleanup Plan Victory: Bay Fish Safe to Eat in 70 years!

In July 2007, we successfully concluded a decade-long fight to secure an aggressive plan to reduce mercury in the Bay.  We are proud to say that our advocacy and the steadfast support of our members has ensured that there are better protections in place for our children and for future generations of fish, birds and marine mammals who depend on clean water.

About The Mercury Cleanup Plan (TMDL)
The plan calls for a reduction of nearly 40% of the amount of mercury that reaches the Bay every year from hundreds of sources including contaminated sediment from the Central Valley,  sewage treatment plants, stormwater runoff from cities, and industrial wastewater.

Problems with Mercury
Mercury is a biaccumulative potent neurotoxin with long-lasting effects on human and wildlife health.  Even under the new clean up plan, we may have to wait as long as 70 years to eat Bay fish again because of the amount of mercury already lodged in the Bay from the polluting practices of the past.  This makes keeping new sources of mercury out of the Bay especially important.

Emerging Concerns about Mercury
And while we acknowledge the significance of the  clean up plan's adoption, a new source of mercury pollution may already be emerging. A recent analysis found that local oil refineries could be contributing as much as 1,700 kg of mercury to the environment – nearly 2.5 times the amount allowed under the new plan by all the rest of the sources combined.  Regulators have asked the five facilities to study and account for their mercury emissions within a year, but the industry is fighting the order. Baykeeper will help the Water Board hold refineries accountable for their share of this dangerous toxin that makes Bay fish unsafe to eat.