Tell Governor Newsom and the California Senate and Assembly to commit at least $5.6M in California’s state budget to match proposed federal funding for studying the toxic DDT off the coast of Los Angeles.

Just over a year ago the LA Times broke the shocking story of large-scale and widespread dumping of DDT waste in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean near Southern California from the 1940s to the 60s. The dumping of DDT took place in unceded Tongva, Acjachemen, and Kizh ancestral waters.

The revelation of this extensive, deep-water dumping in the San Pedro Basin, off the coast of Southern California, surprised and horrified so many people who, for decades, have been working on and following the well-known DDT Superfund site right off the coast of LA, in the shallower waters of the Palos Verdes shelf.

DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), a legacy pesticide, is known to have devastating and long-lasting impacts on wildlife, ecosystems, and human health.

The Montrose Chemical company produced DDT from 1943-1983 at their factory in Torrance, California—with much of their DDT-contaminated waste dumped into the sewer system and released off the coast of Los Angeles. This created the largest underwater Superfund site in the United States. Stormwater runoff from the factory contaminated the Dominguez Channel and Port of LA too, both of which remain poisoned to this day. And, over the last year we learned that DDT-waste was also taken in barges far offshore and dumped in the deep ocean.

There are still many questions that need to be answered about the extent of DDT contamination in the deep ocean. Options for removal or mitigation must be explored. The health of people who eat local seafood, especially subsistence fishers, must be protected. Companies that caused the pollution must be held accountable, and government agencies that oversee research and cleanup must be proactive in their work. Above all, the public must be engaged and informed on progress clearly and frequently.

The federal government has already proposed $5.6 million for NOAA, UC Santa Barbara, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography to study the San Pedro Basin deep-water DDT dump site. This is a great start, but it is not finalized and it is only about half the amount required to conduct a comprehensive assessment.

The State of California permitted dumping decades ago and has the responsibility to deal with the environmental disaster in collaboration with federal agencies. Sign this petition urging Governor Newsom and the California Senate and Assembly to commit, at a minimum, $5.6M in the 2022-2023 State budget to match the proposed federal funding allocated to DDT.

The following organizations have signed on to this petition:

• Heal the Bay
• Clean Water Action
• LA Waterkeeper
• Surfrider Foundation
• Surfrider Los Angeles Chapter

Image credit: Barrel containing industrial toxic waste found off the coast of California. (David Valentine / ROV Jason)