Coastal Power Plants

Phasing Out Once-Through Cooling

Unlike inland power plants, California's coastal and bay-side power plants use an antiquated cooling technology that sucks in over 16 billion gallons of cold seawater per day.  The State Water Board estimates that these plants kill over 79 billion marine species unlucky enough to be near the intake pipes each year. This "once-through cooling" (OTC) process needlessly kills fish, larvae, plankton, and other marine life as they are drawn into the plant, and kills larger marine species such as sea lions and turtles as they become trapped on the intake screens. The plant then pumps heated water back into the delicate coastal and Delta ecosystems, many of which serve as nurseries for marine life. This outdated technology dramatically impacts the health of our ocean, the viability of coastal economies, and the natural heritage we will leave for future generations.  View a map of California's OTC power plants.

Several private companies have proposed to co-locate ocean desalination plants with existing once-through cooling plants to provide drinking water to the public.  The desalination plants use the same pipes as the power plants, and would continue to suck in water and kill marine life, long after the power plants stop using once-through cooling. Ocean desalination using fossil fuels is by far the most energy intensive source of water available.  By contrast, as much or more water can be developed swiftly, at relatively low cost, and consistent with the state’s greenhouse gas goals through conservation, local stormwater capture and tailored recycling. The state should also investigate “green” desalination, such as desalination of salty groundwater using alternative energy sources, and use of less destructive, alternative intake systems where ocean desalination is absolutely necessary.

CCKA is Taking Action

There are readily available, and more efficient, alternatives to once-through cooling already in use right here in California at numerous power plants. CCKA is leading a broad coalition of several fishing, environmental and community groups who are concerned about the effects OTC is having in their area, and throughout the state.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations in 2004 requiring plants using OTC to reduce their environmental impacts, but their regulations contained illegal loopholes that allowed the power companies to continue to pollute our water and to kill marine life.  With CCKA as a named plaintiff, the Waterkeeper Alliance sued in Riverkeeper v. EPA ("Riverkeeper").  In January 2007, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found EPA's regulation illegal and agreed with CCKA and the other plaintiffs that after the fact restoration cannot be used as a substitute for using the "best technology available" to avoid killing marine life in the first place.  Industry representatives appealed to the Supreme Court in Entergy v. Riverkeeper. The Supreme Court let stand all of the Second Circuit's decision in Riverkeeper aside from finding only that EPA may use cost-benefit analysis, if it so chooses, in determining what is the "best technology available" that the power plants must use to avoid killing marine life. Pending and following these decisions, CCKA worked to ensure completion of a statewide policy to phase out once-through cooling in California.  

In April 2006, with coordinated and widespread support from CCKA's coalition, two state agencies-the Ocean Protection Council and the State Lands Commission-unanimously passed resolutions strongly discouraging the continued use of this environmentally devastating technology. In May 2008, the State Lands Commission adopted a second resolution calling for stricter controls to prevent marine mammals and sea turtles from being killed by these power plants. These resolutions send a clear message that Californians want the highest protection for their irreplaceable coastal and marine resources, and that power companies can and must stop the destruction caused by these outdated cooling systems.

During and following these resolutions, and with the assistance of independent technical studies funded by the Ocean Protection Council, the SWRCB conducted a comprehensive, five-year process to develop a policy on this issue.  After extensive input by CCKA and the OTC coalition, in May 2010 the SWRCB adopted a final Water Quality Control Policy on the Use of Coastal and Estuarine Waters for Power Plant Cooling.  CCKA will work to ensure final regulatory approval of the Policy by the state's Office of Administrative Law, and then its timely implementation at the regional level.