Protecting California’s Marine Environment from Flushed Pollutants

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION II. THE WASTEWATER LIFE CYCLE--A PATHWAY TO THE OCEAN A. Flushed Pollutants B. The Effects of Flushed Pollutants on Marine Organisms 1. Pharmaceuticals 2. Illicit Drugs 3. Caffeine III. EXISTING LEGAL AND REGULATORY LANDSCAPE A. The Clean Water Act and Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act B. The Controlled Substances Act and California Uniform Controlled Substances Act C. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and California Medical Waste Management Act D. Endangered Species Act and California Endangered Species Act IV. TOOLS FOR PROTECTING THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT A. Policy Reform and Legislative Amendments 1. The Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals Rule and the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2009 2. Amending the CWA/Porter-Cologne Act 3. Amending the CSA/Uniform Controlled Substances Act 4. Adoption of a Universal No-Pharmaceutical Flushing Policy B. Public Education and Continued Research V. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION Big cities produce a lot of sewage, which often contains pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and caffeine. These flushed pollutants can remain in wastewater even after processing by a wastewater treatment plant, and may have negative effects on marine organisms and ecosystems if introduced into the marine environment. California is home to Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose--three of the ten most populous cities in the United States. (1) All three are located in coastal counties (2) and utilize wastewater treatment plants (publicly owned treatment works or POTWs) (3) that discharge treated wastewater effluent directly into the Pacific Ocean. (4) As our cities grow, municipal wastewater is expected to contain increasing concentrations of flushed pollutants, posing a heightened threat to the health of our coasts and the marine environment more broadly. However, monitoring and regulation of flushed pollutants is currently insufficient, allowing them to be introduced into the marine environment undetected. This raises serious concern that flushed pollutants may devastate the marine environment beyond repair. The precautionary principle, a central tenet of environmental law and policy, asserts that regulators and decision makers should act in anticipation of environmental harm, without regard to the certainty of the scientific information pertaining to the risk of harm. (5) In the face of great uncertainty as to the amounts of flushed pollutants being introduced into the marine environment and the effects they will have on marine organisms and ecosystems, a precautionary approach is necessary to ensure adequate protection. This Article advocates for policy reform to increase monitoring and regulation of pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and caffeine in wastewater, and to ultimately minimize the amounts of these flushed pollutants that are discharged into California's coastal waters. Part I provides an overview of the wastewater life cycle as a pathway for flushed pollutants to enter the marine environment. This is followed by a discussion of the effects that pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and caffeine may have on marine organisms. Part II discusses the current legal and regulatory landscape for managing pollutants in municipal wastewater and its inadequacies in preventing flushed pollutants from harming marine organisms and ecosystems. Part III proposes various legislative tools that can be used to address this issue and suggests topics for future research. II. THE WASTEWATER LIFE CYCLE--A PATHWAY TO THE OCEAN In addition to their contributions to tourism and the economy, coastal ecosystems offer unique recreational and educational opportunities, hold important cultural value, and provide a variety of ecosystem services. …