Operation Medicine Cabinet

In response to growing demand for a safe, convenient way to dispose of household medications, the Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division has teamed up with the County Sheriff’s Department to provide free drop-boxes at each of the Sheriff’s nine substations throughout the county. Residents can bring all types of unwanted medications, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Download PDF

Read Santa Barbara County’s Planning Grant Application To The State!

Submitted September 2010, answer expected from State by January 2011! As a member of the IRWMP steering committee for SB County, HTO advocated for the Scope of Work for Santa Barbara County/South Coast Recycled Water Development Plan! Download PDF

HTO COMMENTS TO SCCWRP ON STATE PANEL

Draft Report: Monitoring Strategies for Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs) in Recycled Water - Recommendations of a Science Advisory Panel Download PDF

Heal the Ocean Founder Hillary Hauser Honored with NOGI Award

Life-long Santa Barbara area resident Hillary Hauser, co-founder and executive director of Heal the Ocean, will receive a NOGI Award for Distinguished Service from the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences. A Lucite statuette crafted by underwater artist Wyland will be presented to Ms Hauser at a gala held on Thursday, November 18, 2010, during the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association's (DEMA) annual trade show in Las Vegas. Download PDF

Down the Drain

After more than five years of fact finding, the folks from Heal the Ocean (HTO) released a sweeping report this week on the good, the bad, and the ugly of wastewater discharge along the entire coast of California. What originally started as an effort to chart the compliance efforts and efficiency of the dozens of wastewater treatment facilities and outfall pipes along the coast of California that pump their treated product out into the Pacific Ocean morphed into something much bigger along the way. Download PDF

Reclaimed water should be top priority, report finds

Coastal communities throughout California flush away more than a billion gallons of fresh water every day by discharging wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, according to a report released yesterday by local nonprofit Heal the Ocean. Download PDF

Reclaimed Water to Offset Your Hand Lotion’s Impact on Marine Species?

Ocean wastewater discharge has become even more questionable as wastewater contains a growing number of contaminants of emerging concern, and fresh water becomes more scarce. Download PDF

HTO Announces Nationwide Release of California Ocean Wastewater Discharge Report and Inventory

The California Ocean Wastewater Discharge Report and Inventory is an exhaustive survey of wastewater discharged into the Pacific Ocean along the California coast from the Oregon border to San Diego/Tijuana. In addition to being the first resource that gathers into one place some important, hard-to-find details of California wastewater discharge, the HTO Report and Inventory examines the new threats posed by Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) that escape standard wastewater treatment. Download PDF

New plan to heal the ocean - Star-studded evening focus: Seas are not ‘private dumping grounds’

The fifth annual Heal the Ocean benefit concert was held at the Coral Casino and Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara on Saturday, hoping to raise $150,000 that would be put toward research to help document the dangers of effluence dumping in the Pacific and to help preserve the ocean. Honorary chair of the event, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, talked about the year in review before about 1,000 guests in attendance and what it means for the environment. "Might I just say, 2009 was a really crap-ass bust of a year," she began. "The economy tanked, we have no health-care bill yet, but there was one bright spot. My dress at the Emmys got some very good press, and might I add, Heal the Ocean had a banner year." Download PDF

City ordered to monitor old landfill

An old landfill encompassing more than 100 acres along Santa Barbara’s waterfront will go under the magnifying glass after a state agency ordered city officials to closely monitor and evaluate the site for contaminants. Download PDF

Hi From Hillary 2009

A letter from Hillary Hauser, Executive Director, for the 2009 New Year. Download PDF

Rincon Septic to Sewer

The Rincon septic to sewer conversion movement is a grassroots effort that has been on the radar of Santa Barbara and Ventura County residents since 1998 when Heal the Ocean founder Hillary Hauser became aware that surfers were getting sick from being in the water at Rincon Point. Download PDF

Elegant fete marks Heal the Ocean’s 10th year

About 350 members and supporters of Heal the Ocean were on hand for an evening of fine dining and fine music -- some of it supplied by local musician Jack Johnson -- as the environmental organization marked its 10th anniversary with a benefit dinner at the Montecito Valley Ranch... Download PDF

Heal the Ocean Stays the Course in Finding Pollution Solutions

Ten years ago, Hillary Hauser became outraged when Santa Barbara beaches started closing. In response, she wrote a newspaper commentary that sparked a public protest over polluted waters. Download PDF

In Beach Enclave, Affluent Are Split Over Effluent

RINCON POINT, Calif. -- Septic tanks or sewers? The question of how to treat wastewater in this exclusive beachfront community is pitting neighbors, surfers and environmentalists against one another. Download PDF

HTO discovers Leaching Landfill

Convinced that the Tajiguas Landfill is contaminating water that drains to the ocean, several local environmental groups staged a protest in downtown Santa Barbara on Wednesday to announce a new pollution testing plan. Download PDF

Groundswell Society: Hillary Hauser

Read about the formation of Heal the Ocean, and of Hillary's experience forming Heal the Ocean! Published in Groundswell's annual publication. Download PDF

For Thine Is the Kingdom, Dude

Santa Barbara's surfers turn to the cleansing power of prayer. "We are calling on the archangels!"exclaims Hillary Hauser in the take-no-prisoners tone that has made her famous as Santa Barbara County's most effective advocate of sewage-free surf. "How can we lose?" Download PDF

Another Day at the Beach?

Read the article that started it all. Referred to by many as the "Genesis Article", this document paved the way for the formation of Heal the Ocean. A real eye-opener. Download PDF