(San Diego)--The South Bay Power Plant has been responsible for severely degrading the San Diego Bay ecosystem with thermal and chemical pollution and by killing a wide range of juvenile, larval and adult organisms in its cooling system for more than 40 years. These impacts are severe and continual. This degraded condition is so long-standing that it is considered the "base-line" for South Bay. This grossly inefficient plant also is a source of air pollution and a visual blight on the community.

A new report by the San Diego Bay Council entitled Deadly Power makes it clear that:

The member organizations of the San Diego Bay Council include Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego Audubon Society, San Diego BayKeeper, San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club, San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, and Wildcoast. These organizations represent 22,000 San Diegans and are committed to act through community involvement, regulatory participation, and legal action to ensure that the South Bay Power Plant is torn down and its damaging impacts to sensitive South San Diego Bay are ended.

"Soon, plans will be developed for a replacement for the South Bay Power Plant. We cannot let the degradation and destruction of San Diego Bay continue through the use of bay water for cooling," said Laura Hunter, Director of Environmental Health Coalition’s Clean Bay Campaign. "Now is the time to stop the ‘cooling that kills’."

On Dec. 5, the State Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to hold a public workshop on the proposed 2002 list of waterbodies that do not meet the Federal Clean Water Act ‘fishable-swimable’ standards due to elevated pollution levels. The meeting is slated for Dec. 5, 9 a.m. at 9174 Sky Park Court, Suite 100 in San Diego.

On Dec.12, the San Diego County Regional Water Quality Control Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the five-year renewal of the South Bay Power Plant’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The Regional Board meeting is slated for Dec. 12, 9 a.m. at the Metropolitan Wastewater Department Auditorium, 9192 Topaz Way in San Diego.

The Bay Council urges these and other agencies with authority over the South Bay Power Plant to aggressively pursue the following actions:

Build a State of the Art, Dry-Cooled Power Plant to Replace the South Bay Power Plant

The South Bay Power Plant must be torn down and replaced as soon as possible with a more efficient, dry-cooled plant and there must be aggressive commitments to conservation and clean, renewable energy sources. This will result in less air and water pollution and use of less hazardous materials in the region. Officials should establish an enforceable time line to phase out the South Bay Power Plant.

Provide Comprehensive and Meaningful Regulation of the Existing Power Plant

In the near-term, the Regional Water Quality Control Board must require new, more protective requirements for the discharges into San Diego Bay. The Regional Board should include a permit condition or resolution that clearly states that any replacement plant should not use Bay water for cooling and that impacts from current practices should be fully mitigated and the Bay should be restored. The monitoring regime for the new permit should include discharge and receiving water limits and monitoring for all constituents known to be present in the discharge. It should also be designed to fully assess impacts on beneficial uses.

Recognize the Impacts of the South Bay Power Plant on South San Diego Bay

Impacts to marine life of South Bay will not be addressed until we recognize the extent of the problem. South Bay is heavily impacted by the power plant discharges and cooling process itself. South San Diego Bay should be added to the 303(d) list of "impaired" waterbodies so that it receives priority action for protection.

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