The Surfrider Foundation is working closely with allies in the Capitol to reintroduce bold federal legislation to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. The legislation is entitled the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. 

Every year, about 11 million metric tons of plastic waste escapes into the ocean from coastal nations. The United States generates the most plastic waste per capita of any country in the world and is among the top contributors to plastic pollution in the coastal environment, either illegally dumped in the U.S. or collected in the U.S. for recycling and exported to countries where it was inadequately managed. This bill recognizes that we cannot recycle our way out of this problem and provides a comprehensive approach to reduce plastic pollution, including policies to reduce unnecessary plastic packaging and shift responsibility to producers, as well as to improve recycling infrastructure.

The reintroduced Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act will:

• Require producers of packaging, containers, and food-service products to design, manage, and finance waste and recycling programs.
• Launch a nationwide beverage container refund program to bolster recycling rates.
• Ban certain single-use plastic products that are not recyclable.
• Ban single-use plastic carryout bags and place a fee on the distribution of the remaining carryout bags, which has proven successful at the state level.
• Establish minimum recycled content requirements for beverage containers, packaging, and food-service products.
• Channel massive investments in U.S. domestic recycling and composting infrastructure.
• Prohibit plastic waste from being shipped to developing countries.
• Protect state and local governments that enact more stringent standards.
• Require EPA to partner with the National Academies of Science to conduct a comprehensive study on the environment and cumulative public health impacts of incinerators and plastic chemical recycling facilities.
• Establish a temporary pause on permitting new and expanded plastic production facilities while the EPA creates and, as necessary, updates regulations on plastic production facilities to protect frontline and fenceline communities from direct and cumulative impacts on public health.

Surfrider Foundation encourages our members and supporters to contact your federal elected officials and urge them to support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.

The Department of Interior has invited the public to submit written comments on the future of oil and gas leasing on U.S. public lands and waters. Comments received will inform the agency's next steps on energy development and stewardship of public resources. Specifically, it will inform the next 5-year offshore drilling plan which the agency will begin work on later this year.

Please tell the Department that you oppose new oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters!

Fossil fuel development is a dirty and damaging practice that puts our natural environment and human communities at risk. Such development is also an environmental justice issue as communities of color are disproportionately impacted. Finally, new oil and gas leasing will exacerbate the effects of climate change as our nation and world struggle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Now is the time to demand that our federal government boldly transition away from oil and gas energy sources!

To the surprise of many, our nation’s beaches and ocean are plagued by spills of raw and under-treated sewage. Much of our wastewater infrastructure is outdated and failing, releasing harmful pollution into our waterways. Raw sewage threatens public health, coastal ecosystems and tourism-based ocean economies. Years of neglect have left our wastewater infrastructure vulnerable, and sea level rise and increasing coastal hazards associated with climate change will only make the situation worse.

Join Surfrider in calling on congress to allocate $100 billion ($10 billion annually over 10 years) for the Clean Water SRF.

EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) provides assistance to states and local communities for wastewater infrastructure improvement projects, including green stormwater projects and necessary upgrades. However the Clean Water SRF hasn’t been properly funded for decades, despite the well-established economic returns and stimulus that occur from investing in America’s water infrastructure (every $1 in water infrastructure investment results in $2.40 of economic returns). 

A potential reconciliation bill, such as an economic stimulus infrastructure package, provide an important opportunity to catch up with the sewage infrastructure needs of our growing communities across the country, enhance infrastructure resilience for the future, better protect clean water for all people, and provide a much needed boost to our local economies.

In the U.S., billions of unused foodware accessories including utensils, straws, and condiment packets are tossed away annually. This “zero-use” trash clogs landfills, pollutes our streets and waterways, and adds to the global glut of non-recyclable plastic production.   

Restaurants currently offer foodware accessories regardless of request, when many customers already have their own reusable utensils, straws and condiments at home. Moving to an on-request model reduces waste and ultimately saves businesses money: it is a win-win-win for establishments, their patrons and our communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased reliance on food delivery and takeout and thereby increased the use of single-use items. In light of pandemic mandates, restaurants are depending on to-go and delivery options to survive, and the amount of single-use foodware and, according to an estimate by the International Waste Association, the amount of accessory items wasted has skyrocketed by approximately 250-300%.   

Additionally, Coastal Cleanup Month data shows that in September 2020 in LA County, volunteers collected and recorded over 40,000 pieces of trash to total 4,320 pounds. This data shows an increase in food delivery and takeout waste, with foodware accessories the fourth most commonly found item and takeout containers the fifth.

Join Surfrider Foundation LA and South Bay Chapters in demanding that the City of Los Angeles enact a Foodware Accessories Upon Request Ordinance which will reduce a major source of pollution while saving local businesses money in the long run.

(This action alert is available only for City of Los Angeles residents.)

During 2020, the climate crisis unleashed wildfires, hurricanes, severe rains, oppressive heat waves and unusual weather that caused massive damage across the world. Our global society can no longer ignore the existential threat of climate change, especially as sea level rise and extreme weather continue to devastate coastal communities — taking both an emotional and economic toll. 

That is why citizens across the U.S. are demanding Congress enacts climate change policies that protect the ocean, coasts and local communities before it's too late!

Specifically, we need Congress to pass Ocean Climate Solutions legislation that can leverage the ocean’s potential in the fight against climate change by permanently protecting our coasts from offshore drilling, promoting offshore renewable energy, helping communities adapt to sea level rise, protecting blue carbon, supporting climate-ready fisheries, and expanding marine protected areas.

Please send a message to your representatives and demand that they act on climate change by supporting Ocean Climate Solutions legislation. 

The Surfrider SLO Chapter is concerned with continued degradation of Oceano Dunes from impacts of off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity. For decades, California State Parks has failed to enforce its own rules and regulations, and the community and creatures have been paying the price: the area has chronic air pollution issues and dune buggies regularly kill snowy plovers, a listed shorebird under the Endangered Species Act, under their tires. Additionally, the people who live in and visit Oceano are unable to enjoy a restorative recreational experience due to their beach being, in essence, a highway. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oceano Dunes was closed in March to all vehicle activity. Since the closure, the dunes and beach have transformed into a vibrant, safe and clean environment for beachgoers of all kinds.

Please ask State agency leaders to keep Oceano Dunes closed to OHV use until the recent Public Works Plan, the Habitat Conservation Plan, and the Environmental Impact Report have been approved.

California State Parks has drafted a Public Works Plan, a Habitat Conservation Plan and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Oceano Dunes, which are collectively meant to clarify and mitigate impacts from the Park. These plans and the EIR must be reviewed and approved by state and/or federal agencies before they can be implemented. However State Parks intends to reopen the park to vehicle use before these plans get approved. This reopening will reimpose immediate threats to wildlife, sensitive habitats and community health and safety.

Until State Parks receives these approvals, the park should remain closed to OHV activity to prevent continued violations of the Endangered Species Act, the California Coastal Act and the Local Coastal Program. In the interim, all parties should develop solutions that advance real conservation of natural resources and environmental justice for local communities.

Southern California Edison has been storing 3.6 million pounds of spent nuclear waste at the recently decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), within 100 feet of the beach. SONGS has always been exposed to the risks of earthquakes, bluff erosion, storm surge, and wave events.  

Each year, SONGS is increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, growing rates of coastal erosion, elevating groundwater tables and likelihood for more frequent and severe storms resulting from climate change. These conditions require that nuclear waste must be removed from the dynamic and vulnerable coastline as soon as possible.  

The federal government is the only entity that has the authority to supply a long-term solution for storage of nuclear waste offsite. You deserve to know that your coastal areas are safe and protected - call upon our federal elected officials to step up and address this important and pressing issue TODAY.

The safe removal and long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) away from the coast is a national issue, affecting many communities in California and throughout the United States. To date, the U.S. government has failed to produce a solution for the safe, long-term disposal of spent nuclear fuel, despite the millions of pounds currently stored at operating and decommissioned nuclear power plants across the country. Surfrider asks that the federal government take the best course of action to develop federal legislation that includes:

• Long-Term Storage, including a plan for the safe removal of SNF;
• Consent-based Siting, with consent from affected communities for future siting for SNF storage and disposal;
• Federal Accountability, including timeline requirements, incentives for sites to accept SNF, and viable enforcement mechanisms; and
• Environmental Review and Resource Protection, including a grant for states to perform an environmental review over the future transportation, storage and siting of SNF

Tell the California Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee to oppose SB 1090 today! SB 1090 would eliminate Coastal Act provisions that protect public access and recreation by allowing private property owners to build seawalls with almost no review. Because seawalls accelerate erosion, the resulting rush to construct more seawalls along the coastline would drastically accelerate the loss of our beaches at a time when we already risk losing up to 70% of Southern California beaches to sea level rise by 2100. We should be doing everything we can to preserve our beaches. The California Coastal Commission has made it clear that seawalls do not provide any quantifiable public safety benefit but can actually decrease the safety of a beach by speeding up how quickly it washes away. SB 1090 flies in the face of the thoughtful planning and policy work that has been gaining momentum in recent months. We must prepare our communities for sea level rise and offset threats to our coastal resources. SB 1090 would lock us into the one method we know is sure to fail and result in the accelerated loss of our beaches. Send a message to the California Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and tell them to oppose this bill today!

In 2016 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed to study ecosystem restoration options in the East San Pedro Bay, with goals of improving water quality and water circulation.

Unfortunately, what was delivered in the Draft Report released in November 2019 is not ecosystem restoration, but ecosystem enhancement without any water quality or water circulation improvements. The Army Corps must revisit the study to eliminate ecosystem enhancement alternatives and re-insert the water quality and water circulation goals and objectives.

Please take a few minutes and send a message to the Army Corps telling them to follow their own guidelines and satisfy the original stated goals and objectives for the study.   

The public has expressed a strong interest in improving water quality and ecosystem restoration. The Army Corps needs to listen to the will of the people and follow their own guidelines.