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CURRENT LITIGATION CAMPAIGNS:
Save Lake Worth
 On March 3, 2009, Surfrider Foundation, by and through the Palm Beach County Chapter, set precedent to reform beach management practices, not only within the state of Florida, but throughout the nation. After presiding over a trial that lasted several weeks in September and October of 2008, Administrative Law Judge Robert E. Meale denied the town of Palm Beach a Joint Coastal Permit for the Reach 8 beach fill because of the project's potential to harm environmental and recreational resources.
This permit would have resulted in the burial of approximately seven acres of nearshore hardbottom, take of endangered marine life, destabilizing recreational uses and a wasteful expenditure of tax payer dollars in the tens of millions to fill a beach that is not critically eroded.
Surfrider Foundation was joined by the Snook Foundation and three individuals in filing suit against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approving the permit. The town of Palm Beach intervened in opposition of the project on behalf of the DEP. The city of Lake Worth and Eastern Surfing Association intervened in support of Surfrider's challenge.
By utilizing excellent attorneys from Collins & West P.A. and top notch experts, this ground-breaking litigation brought the concerns of public trust habitat and ocean recreation to the forefront of the beach fill debate. This case has fundamentally challenged the method and permitting process of beach fill projects. Now we must work with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to better these practices, including the drafting of improved standards and regulations, which will set an example for beach fill practices around the nation. In this larger fight for proper beach management, we must address how the permitting system is currently flawed, including a lack of valuation for recreation and fishing resources and inaccurate assessments of environmental harm. Surfrider Foundation will also work to increase public awareness of the importance and fragility of the beach ecosystem and how it is threatened by current beach fill projects.
Surfirder's court battle was the first of its kind to challenge a Joint Coastal Permit of this magnitude. Since the filing of our lawsuit, at least eight other challenges have been or are being made to the DEP's joint coastal permitting process, forcing DEP to reconsider beach management policies. Because of this high profile case, Surfrider is now considered a more legitimate stakeholder in the legislative and permitting process. But much more needs to be done to follow through with this important battle against harmful beach fill.
In order for this ongoing campaign to be successful the Chapter needs your help! The Palm Beach County Chapter is still paying attorney and expert fees. And most importantly, the outcome of this effort could help protect your break in the future. Contributions can be made directly to Paypal - Click here to donate!
**Palm Beach County Chapter is a verified user on PayPal and donations are tax deductable!**
Beach Access: Montauk Point
 Surfrider's Eastern Long Island Chapter is currently helping ticketed surfers fight a legal battle for the right to surf at Montauk Point. Under pressure by the local surfcasting fisherman group, New York State Park Police cited surfers for violating Section 377.1(h) of New York Codes, Rules and Regulations Chapter 9, which prohibits 'swimming' in certain areas of Montauk Park. The defendants are currently arguing that 'surfing' and 'swimming' are not the same activity. In fact, in other sections of New York law, surfing and swimming are specifically separated (see 9 NYCRR 377.1(i)(1); NY Sanit. Code 6-2.16).
Water Quality: 316(b) litigation
Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act seeks to protect fish, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms from unnecessary harm from cooling intake structures. Surfrider Foundation, with a coalition of other environmental organizations, has been working to encourage the EPA to adopt measures to fully enforce this provision. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently interpreted the statute to exclude the use of restoration measures and site-specific cost-benefit analysis as substitutes for the "best technology available" standards under the Clean Water Act. Riverkeeper, Inc. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 475 F.3d 83 (2d. Cir. 2006). Surfrider continues to fight for full enforcement of this provision in litigation pending in both the Second and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Protection of Special Places: Trestles
On February 6, 2008, Surfrider Foundation, in conjunction with NRDC, California State Parks Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, Endangered Habitats League, Sierra Club, and others, were successful in convincing the California Coastal Commission to deny consistency certification for the Foothill Transportation Corridor-South (FTC-S) Toll Road Project under the Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1456, because the proposed toll road was not compliant with Coastal Act Chapter 3 protections, including those involving endangered species, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, marine resources, water quality, and protection of recreational resources. The staff report on the consistency certification noted: 'Surfing at Trestles is the epitome of a low-cost coastal recreational resource which is accorded high protection under Sections 30220 and 30213 the Coastal Act.'
Despite this great victory before the Coastal Commission, the legal battle is far from over. The Transportation Corridor Agency ("TCA") immediately appealed the Coastal Commission decision to the United States Secretary of Commerce. The coalition is now assessing legal claims and arguments to be made at this level of the proceedings.
Additionally, Surfrider is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the TCA under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"), which is pending in San Diego Superior Court.
For more information go to the SaveTrestles.org site.
Beach Preservation: Carlsbad Desalination
On January 14, 2008, Surfrider Foundation, through its San Diego Chapter, brought a law suit against the California Coastal Commission for its approval of a Coastal Development Permit allowing for the construction and operation of a 50 million gallon per day seawater desalination facility, despite the plant's inconsistencies with the California Coastal Act's marine life protection provisions. Additionally, the Coastal Commission committed procedural violations by failing to adopt findings to adequately support its determination, and its findings, determinations or decisions are not supported by substantial evidence in light of the entire record.
Surfrider is also utilizing legal resources to fight destructive desalination projects in Huntington Beach and Monterey, California.
PAST VICTORIES:
1991 - The Surfrider Foundation won the second largest Clean Water Act lawsuit in United States history against two pulp mills in Humboldt
County, California. As a result of this suit, one of these mills, the Louisiana Pacific mill, became the only mill in North America to begin producing totally chlorine-free (TCF) paper.
1994 - The Surfrider Foundation v. Borough of Deal, New Jersey ensured beach access for surfers in New Jersey.
1995 - The Surfrider Foundation represented by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, sued the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii for over 13,000
Clean Water Act violations at Kailua Bay. The suit was settled out of court with the agreement that the City and County would form an advisory council
to monitor the area, research the use of ultraviolet cleansing of wastewater, and upgrade the existing wastewater treatment plant.
1995 The Surfrider Foundation settled a lawsuit against the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which stipulated that IBWC research the feasibility of using environmentally sensitive ponding systems rather than chemical wastewater treatment for the Mexico-California border area.
2006 - The Surfrider Foundation won a lawsuit over blocked beach access points in Ponte Vedra, Florida where the number of beach access sites is
adequate, but their use was severely limited by a lack of nearby parking spots.
Here's more info on Surfrider campaign victories
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