Have you heard the latest on the Redwood City salt ponds? After Cargill and developer DMB Associates spent years lobbying the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA has stepped up and will take over the jurisdictional determination of the site. This is good news and our local representatives played a big role in making it happen.
Please join me and Committee for Green Foothills in thanking our Bay Area Members of Congress. If you live in San Mateo or Santa Clara County, your representative is probably one of these four people: Jackie Speier, Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, or Zoe Lofgren.
This decision by the EPA is a huge positive step towards protecting the salt ponds. For years developers have been urging these agencies to renounce regulatory authority over the Cargill site as a way of sidestepping the Clean Water Act. With this recent decision, the EPA will be able to enforce this important law.
Last month all 11 Bay Area U.S Representatives sent a letter to the Corps urging them to maintain jurisdiction and enforce the Clean Water Act. And, these representatives have been very vocal about the need to protect the salt ponds and Bay.
As Speier said in a recent Daily Journal article, “I am glad to see that the law is working as intended to ensure that the Redwood City salt plant site jurisdictional determination is given the most careful and thorough analysis. The EPA’s decision will help safeguard the Bay.”
We agree. We’re so thankful to our local representatives for speaking out on this important issue. On behalf of Committee for Green Foothills, I’ve been involved in protecting these salt ponds for years (you can read more about our work to protect the salt ponds here). While we know this battle is far from won, it is great to have some positive movement in the right direction.
Thank you for joining us in thanking our local representatives for their support.
Sincerely,
Alice Kaufman
Legislative Advocate
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