march to save the sea!
How to get involved
Call Your Representatives!
Stuff to know
California Oceans Day 2025
Join Us for Earth Day Fest
Protest to Protect Will Rogers Beach
Adjacent to High Density Population - A Looming Environmental and Public Health Disaster
We are profoundly disappointed by the plan to repurpose this invaluable local resource—a sanctuary of tranquility, biodiversity, and recreation for all— into a hazardous waste sorting site. This decision is not only short-sighted but also presents significant risks to public health, our ecosystem, and local economy.
We recognize the extreme devastation the recent fires have caused—homes reduced to ash, businesses lost, and lives upended. The urgency of cleanup is undeniable. But this decision is not a solution—it is a new crisis.Toxic contaminants from the wildfire debris could leach into the soil and waterways.
Onshore winds will carry hazardous particulates, compromising the air quality where people live, work, and play. The risk to our ocean’s health is just as alarming.
This Will Only Cause More Harm to Our Community
Local businesses, already struggling, will suffer further as visitors avoid a town marked by environmental neglect. The economic, environmental, and public safety risks of this plan cannot be ignored.
To store, even temporarily, the remnants of catastrophe at the fragile boundary of land and sea is to invite irreversible damage. Wildfire debris isn’t just ash—it’s poison. Asbestos, heavy metals, dioxins, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) will not remain contained. Our beaches are already suffering from post-fire trauma, presenting serious risks to public health.
The EPA must have an unwavering focus on preventing additional disaster or damage to our communities and waterways.
Instead of a responsible and strategic approach to hazardous waste disposal, the EPA has chosen expedience over caution, forcing an already struggling community to bear the brunt of yet another disaster.
A single storm or a single misstep, and these toxins will enter the ocean, poisoning marine life, contaminating fisheries, and polluting the air we breathe.
There are alternatives: industrial zones designed for containment, engineered landfills, and environmental scientists who understand the delicate balance of our coastal ecosystems. Or stage the debris in an already burned-out area in the Palisades.
Our Beaches Are Sacred
The beach is one of the few places where all people find sanctuary. To contaminate this shared refuge is to jeopardize the health and well-being of every person who seeks solace at the shore.
This isn’t a question of feasibility or convenience—it’s a question of willingness to act responsibly.
This is not just any stretch of sand. Will Rogers Beach IS a member of our community.
It is where our children have summer camp, families gather together, and friends play sports. The beach is what brought us here, it's WHO we are, it's what we love.
MALIBU SAID NO.
WILL ROGERS SAYS NO TOO.
WE STAND WITH YOU TOPANGA!
Toxic Debris on our beaches
Protect Will Rogers State Beach and Topanga Creek
As our coastline struggles to recover, the Federal emergency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a hazardous waste sorting site at Will Rogers Beach parking lot, ignoring public outcry and environmental risks.
This decision threatens our ocean, our air, our wildlife, and our health. The ash, soot, and debris from the Palisades Fire have already infiltrated our shoreline, yet no large-scale cleanup has been conducted. Instead of addressing this crisis, the EPA is bringing even more toxic waste to our coast.
Mitigation Request: FEMA/EPA Assistance Removing Soot, Ash and Debris trapped around our Storm Drains.
Future of Will Rogers Beach Parking Lot
After our meeting with the EPA regarding the Will Rogers parking lot, we understand that once the EPA completes lithium battery sorting within 30 to 60 days, the Army Corps of Engineers will assume control of the site. However, the EPA representatives were unable to provide further details on the type of debris that will be managed in the beach parking lot.
Red Tides and Domoic Acid Toxicity
What Is Domoic Acid?
Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin produced by certain harmful algal blooms, particularly those involving Pseudo-nitzschia australis. This toxin accumulates in small fish, such as sardines and anchovies, which are primary prey for marine mammals like sea lions.
Once ingested in significant amounts, domoic acid attacks the brain and heart, leading to seizures, neurological impairment, and even heart failure. If untreated, it often results in permanent brain damage. While the toxin naturally clears from an animal’s system over time, repeated exposure can lead to long-term and more severe effects.
When affected marine mammals receive care before substantial damage occurs, they can often recover. Treatment typically involves administering fluids to help flush out the toxin, providing a diet free from domoic acid, and managing seizures with anti-convulsant medications similar to those used in human medicine.
On Marine Mammals
Domoic acid poisoning has been widely reported in sea lions, otters, cetaceans, and other marine mammals.
- In California, the toxin has been linked to hundreds of sea lion illnesses and fatalities.
- Affected animals often display disorientation, tremors, seizures, and abnormal behavior.
- Chronic exposure can cause irreversible brain damage, leading to long-term neurological deficits.
Domoic acid remains a significant threat to marine ecosystems, highlighting the need for monitoring harmful algal blooms and protecting vulnerable wildlife from exposure.
From Baywatch to toxic waste - LA's iconic beaches unrecognisable
With its sun-drenched lifeguard towers, bronzed surfers and bikini-clad volleyball players, Will Rogers State Beach is one of the most recognizable stretches of sand in the world thanks to the global cult classic "Baywatch".
But now the iconic beach is surrounded by the ruins of burned homes and palm trees, its parking lot a sorting ground for hazardous waste from the wildfires. The beach babes have been replaced by Environmental Protection Agency crews in hazmat suits sifting through melted electric car batteries and other hazardous waste before it's trucked away to landfills.
Concern for Public Health & Environmental Disaster
If this plan moves forward, we are risking:
- Carcinogenic waste seeping into the ocean with every storm.
Hazardous particulates carried by the wind into our homes, schools, and parks. - A tourism-based economy collapsing as visitors avoid a debris filled coastline.
- Marine life poisoned by toxic runoff.
Even Heal the Bay toured the Topanga and Will Rogers sites and publicly stated that the EPA’s safeguards are inadequate. This is a reckless and unnecessary risk to our environment.
Our Public Comment at Santa Monica City Council Meeting
I am here tonight to bring urgent attention to the alarming amount of soot, ash, and fire debris that has accumulated on our beaches following the Palisades fire.
Every day that passes without immediate action, we lose the opportunity to properly remove and remediate these contaminants before they become a long-term environmental hazard.
Right now, people are walking barefoot and swimming in water so thick with ash it looks like lava. This crisis is not only environmental, but also a grave danger to public health . The toxins in wildfire ash include heavy metals, asbestos, and other hazardous materials that, once broken down, will mix into the sand and disperse with the ocean currents. Every high tide carries these pollutants onto the sand, every low tide pushes them further into the marine ecosystem, endangering wildlife and posing significant risks to human health.
Santa Monica takes pride in being a leader in environmental responsibility, and yet we are standing by as toxic debris spreads into our waters. I am urging the city to take immediate action: deploy cleanup crews, conduct water and sand testing, and coordinate with environmental experts to ensure this contamination is addressed before it’s too late. LA County is not acting on this matter, and if you believe they will, please walk down to the channel road storm drain and will rogers, the conditions are inexcusable. The window to act is rapidly closing—every tide, every wave, every footstep on the beach is dispersing these toxins further.
We cannot afford to delay. I ask this council to prioritize emergency remediation efforts before this pollution becomes an irreversible part of our coastline.
Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Rehabilitating Lahaina On Reuters
Over the weekend, beneath the runway at LAX, a whale carcass washed ashore at DRockweiler Beach. The 40-foot gray whale was examined by marine mammal specialists, and found to have bite marks consistent with either sharks or killer whales, and its head was reportedly almost decapitated.
Protect Will Rogers State Beach and topanga creek
As our coastline struggles to recover, the Federal emergency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a hazardous waste sorting site at Will Rogers Beach parking lot and Topanga Creek ignoring public outcry and environmental risks.
Sign the Petition
Clean Up Our Beaches & Malibu coastline
The Army Corps of Engineers must immediately remove debris from homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire along the Malibu shoreline. Currently, this debris remains in the ocean, continuously leaching pollutants into coastal waters.