The California Coastal Coalition (CalCoast), is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation formed in July, 1998 by coastal communities to advocate for coastal study and project funding at the state and federal levels.

CalCoast’s initial focus was beach erosion and funding for beach nourishment projects. In 1999 CalCoast and the California Shore and Beach Preservation Association (CSBPA) co-sponsored AB 64 (Ducheny), which created the Public Beach Restoration Program within the Department of Boating and Waterways. Last year, CalCoast broadened its advocacy efforts to include wetlands restoration, clean water, resource management and other legislation benefiting coastal communities. That trend continued in 2000.

The following is a brief summary of CalCoast’s activities during the past year:

• Membership has grown to 28 cities, 6 counties, 5 regional agencies (AMBAG, BEACON, Orange County Sanitation District, SANDAG and SCAG) and numerous allied individuals and organizations.

• AB 2748 (Bates) was drafted and introduced with assistance from CSBPA. The bill would have allocated $35 million to the Public Beach Restoration Program. It was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but with stewardship from Assembly Budget Chair Denise Ducheny, Assembly Member Bates and a bi-partisan effort in both houses, AB 2748 was the catalyst for a $10 million State Budget allocation to the state's beach restoration program. This funding will help coastal communities pay the non-federal share of more than a dozen shoreline studies and projects being undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

• Other bills actively supported by CalCoast included AB 2286 (Davis), which creates a statewide wetlands management plan; AB 2800 (Shelley), which establishes a new classification system for Marine Managed Areas; and

• AB 2748 (Nakano), which will fund studies of cruise ship discharges and current laws regarding discharges and reporting. All of these bills were signed into law.

• Bills we supported that did not pass: AB 1835 (Baugh) (funding for storm water diversions); AB 1909 (Jackson) and AB 2148 (Kuehl and Nakano) (funding for reduction of storm runoff from state and local roads).
  

• CalCoast became a member of the Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup, a state/federal collaboration among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the California Resources Agency and state agencies having an interest in the coast. The workgroup meets on a monthly basis to discuss ongoing studies and projects and discuss future opportunities to cost-share coastal endeavors.

• CalCoast served its second year as a member of the Public Advisory Committee of the State Coastal Conservancy's Wetlands Recovery Project, a unique alliance of state and federal agencies, environmental groups and private businesses, which has developed an extensive list of wetland and watershed restoration projects and acquisitions. The committee meets quarterly.
  

• Our second annual legislative breakfast, "Beach and Wetlands Restoration Day," was held in the State Capitol with the Wetlands Recovery Project as a co-sponsor. The event was attended by legislators, agency executives, local elected officials, staff members and coastal activists. Speakers included Resources Secretary Mary Nichols, Senator Wes Chesbro and Assembly Budget Chair Denise Ducheny. The working breakfast preceded a day of lobbying by CalCoast members on a variety of coastal bills.

• In 1999, CalCoast advocated to have $3 million in beach erosion funds included in the Parks and Coastal Bond Act (AB 18 Villagiarosa/Keeley), then worked with the Planning and Conservation League and others to gain passage of the measure. The bond act was passed on March 7, 2000 and the funds are being allocated by the State Coastal Conservancy for regional solutions to beach erosion.

• CalCoast staff and local elected officials, working with the American Coastal Coalition (ACC), made several trips to Washington, D.C. to advocate for passage of several important bills, including the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill for FY 01 bill and WRDA 2000; the funding sources for many federal shoreline studies and projects in the state.

• CalCoast advocated for passage of H.R. 999 ("B.E.A.C.H. Bill"), which was recently signed into law. The bill, known as the "federal right-to-know law," establishes national water quality standards and testing protocols, similar to California's AB 411 (Wayne).

• We supported an ACC-generated amendment to WRDA which would require the USACE to give more weight to economic benefits in computing the cost/benefit ratio of a proposed shoreline restoration project. This amendment is important to CA and other states which are at a disadvantage under the existing cost/benefit regulations.

• During the '99-'00 legislative session, CalCoast collaborated with the Center for Marine Conservation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Heal the Bay, Surfrider Foundation and other environmental groups to pursue legislation in which we had a mutual interest. This collaboration among diverse groups culminated recently in the creation of a formal "Coast and Ocean Coalition" which met several weeks ago to develop a legislative platform for the next session.

• Testimony was given in Sacramento on a regular basis and presentations were given at the USACE Coastal Engineering Review Board, state agencies, coastal conferences and meetings of regional shoreline groups, city councils, chambers of commerce, realtors’ associations, and environmental groups on a number of issues facing coastal communities.

• Our second annual conference, "Preserving Coastal Environments," co-sponsored by CSBPA and The Association of Monterey Area Governments (AMBAG), was held November 2-4 in Monterey, CA. Keynote speakers included Speaker pro Tem Fred Keeley and California Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas.