U.S. EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Visits San Clemente Island
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – EPA’s Regional Administrator for the country’s Pacific Southwest and staff visited San Clemente Island (SCI) on January 5, 2021. The group visited the island to understand how compliance can be achieved in an expeditionary environment while maintaining mission readiness. Navy staff explained the island operations, training, and innovative compliance and conservation efforts in managing an island 70 miles off the California coast.
Naval Base Coronado staff at San Clemente Island hosted EPA Region IX Regional Administrator John Busterud and EPA Region IX Chief of Staff Charles Munoz. The visit was related to the new Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement (FFCA) signed in November of last year. The agreement brings San Clement Island Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) to full compliance with current federal regulations. The group toured both the wastewater treatment plant and the power plant to better understand island operations.
“By visiting San Clemente Island, we were able to better understand the challenges the Navy faces daily,” said John Busterud, EPA’s Regional Administrator. “We are very glad to be working together to improve compliance, and we are thankful to the Navy for being a cooperative federal partner.”
“SCI is a very important asset because it is the Navy’s only remaining live-fire ship-to-shore and air-to-ground range,” said CAPT John DePree, Commanding Officer of Naval Base Coronado. “It’s the cornerstone of the tactical training ranges that supports Southern California Operations for the largest concentration of naval forces in the world. Equally important to us is our environmental stewardship of the island. The Navy manages waste disposal and a conservation program managing 21 listed species, in addition to caring for over 7,000 archaeological sites.”