By Jonathan Friedman
Associate Editor

January 8, 2015 -- The Santa Monica-based water quality watchdog and activist organization Heal the Bay has set several goals for this year as part of its 2015 Action Plan. Topping the list that appears on its website is “Keeping Big Oil out of Santa Monica Bay.”

Hermosa Beach voters will decide in March whether to reverse the nearby city’s three-decade ban on oil drilling in Santa Monica Bay, and pave the way for the company E & B Natural Resources to go forward with a plan for oil drilling in the area through a method called slant-drilling.

Heal the Bay is one of the major leaders in the opposition campaign. The Santa Monica City Council has also voiced opposition, unanimously passing a resolution last month encouraging Hermosa Beach voters to reject the proposal known as Measure O.

“Slant-drilling into the Santa Monica Bay from Hermosa poses significant environmental and economic risks throughout Los Angeles County and the entire Bay,” Heal the Bay states on its website.

Santa Monica City Councilmember Terry O’Day said at last month’s meeting when he and Councilmember Ted Winterer proposed the resolution that the project’s environmental impact report gives a 34 percent chance for an oil spill.

“I think we all know what an oil spill could mean for the community here,” O’Day said.

A ballot measure argument in favor of Measure O says passage would not lead to any significant health effects and mentioned supposed economic benefits.

“Every economic study concluded that Hermosa Beach could get hundreds of millions of dollars of new revenue; revenue which could be used to hire more firefighters and police, clean our beaches, upgrade our sewers, fix potholes, create new parking and more," the argument states.

Heal the Bay’s other goals for 2015 include making Southern California more water self-sufficient as it faces a significant drought and “developing a predictive beach water-quality model.”

“Heal the Bay plans to better protect the health of millions of ocean goers by predicting potential bacterial pollution days before swimmers hit the shoreline,” the organization’s website states. 

It continues, “Using statistical models developed with Stanford University, we will begin piloting the new tool at selected beaches this summer.”

Also, the organization wants to inspire “the next generation of stewards.”

"We are forming a coalition of STEM and environmental science educators whose mission is to provide youth with the environmental know-how to create healthy communities, from watersheds to the ocean,” the website states.   

It continues, “Heal the Bay’s educational programs run in classrooms and at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium will support our local teachers' needs for content knowledge and practical hands-on application.”

For more information on Heal the Bay's other goals for 2015, visit healthebay.org.