Cleaning Up Santa Monica Bay

The report that Chevron Corp. will stop dumping its sludge just off shore in Santa Monica Bay is really only a half victory at best (Feb. 4). By extending its pipeline two-thirds of a mile from the beach, it seems Chevron is only doing a better job of hiding its waste, not eliminating it, not working to make its disposal more benign to the environment.

It seems the only benefit from disposing Chevron’s waste this way is that it is kept isolated from the swimmers in the bay. Is the primary aim of environmental policy to keep beaches clean for suburbanites to play on? What about the wildlife farther out in the bay? I’ll bet the dolphins and sea lions won’t applaud Chevron’s decision. The bay is not their recreation area. It’s their home.

STEVE JANAS

Hollywood