Tweet

Boating Community Offers Input For Hull Cleaning Activities in San Diego Bay

Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Contact: John Gilmore (619) 341-5684, (619) 686-7206

Members of the boating community, including divers and marina operators, shared their insights and concerns during a public meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010, over how best to reduce the amount of copper in San Diego Bay.

The meeting focused on a strategy for minimizing the release of copper in San Diego Bay during underwater hull cleaning and maintenance of vessels.

The intent of the workshop was to focus on methods divers can use to reduce the introduction of copper into the bay during cleaning.  However, many key discussion points also identified the need for effective hull paints that are not copper-based.

• Learn More about the Port's Alternative Hull Paint Study

“There is no more important issue than water quality to the people of San Diego,” Environmental Services Director David Merk said at the opening of the first of two public meetings that have been scheduled to gather public comment. “The public wants to see clean water and we do too.”

The Port is under a regulatory order by the State Water Quality Control Board and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board to reduce the amount of copper in San Diego Bay over the next several years. The directive calls for a 10 percent reduction by 2012 and a 76 percent reduction by 2022.

The Port has asked the boating community, professional divers, marinas and others to help craft standards or best management practices for underwater hull cleaning. The reason is that in-water hull cleaning of copper-based antifouling paint has been identified as one of the pollutant sources in the bay.

Those attending the first public meeting at the Bay Club Hotel and Marina on Shelter Island generally agreed with the Port’s goal, to ensure a clean San Diego Bay and clean marinas. Members of the boating community also indicated that they have a role to play in the solution.  Although they expressed a willingness to do their part, they also encouraged paint manufacturers to increase their efforts to find cost-effective non-copper alternatives.  

Several divers and dive organizations cited their existing practices and efforts to conduct hull cleaning in an environmentally friendly manner.

“It is not that the BMPs do not exist, rather they will need to be formalized collectively so that everyone is operating on the same page," said one attendee.  One diver suggested that all hull cleaners complete classroom instruction before being issued a certification card that notes their professional qualification. 

Comments from the public outreach meetings will be given to a strategic work group that is working to write the standards. Once a draft is in place, the Port will return to the public for input. Ultimately, the proposed standards and policy will be forwarded to the Board of Port Commissioners for review and adoption.

The next public meeting will be Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Chula Vista RV Resort and Marina, located at 460 Sandpiper Way (map) in Chula Vista. The meeting will be in the RV Resort’s large Club Room.

Members of the public wanting to comment on the proposed standards may contact:

Jerine Rosato
Program Manager
Strategic Management Services
(619) 725-6084
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or, send comments to:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it