1986
Consent decree requiring Hyperion Treatment Plant and sewer system upgrades was approved by Federal Court. 

1987
The Heal the Bay Speakers Bureau was formed, which in its 18 year history has reached over a quarter million people.

1987
Hyperion’s sludge no longer dumped in the Bay.

1988
Fishbone logo created and Heal the Bay hired the first paid staff member.

1989
Heal the Bay’s Children’s March attracted 4,000 participants and the cast of Thirtysomething.

1990
Heal the Bay first publishes the Beach Report Card, covering 60+ monitoring locations in L.A. County from Leo Carrillo to Cabrillo. Now, Heal the Bay provides water quality information for more than 430 beaches statewide. Over the years, it’s estimated that Beach Report Card users and impressions have topped 10 million.

1990-2004
Heal the Bay is the L.A. County coordinator for California’s Coastal Cleanup Day. Each year, approximately 10,000 volunteers clean up more than 50 beach and inland sites, collecting thousands of pounds of trash and recyclables.

1990
Heal the Bay hosted the Surfboard Art Invitational where renowned artists designed 112 surfboards for raffle.

1991
Working with the City of Santa Monica, Heal the Bay co-wrote a groundbreaking municipal stormwater ordinance that requires runoff to be treated or infiltrated on site.

1992
Heal the Bay’s first annual "Bring Back the Beach" Benefit Dinner.

1994
Coastal Habitat Restoration programs were in place where more than 1,500 volunteers helped restore endangered habitats along the coast, including the Point Dume Headlands and 20 acres of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Habitat Preserve.

Chevron extended their outfall 2/3 of a mile offshore which helped eliminate 8 million gallons per day of treated effluent out of the Bay’s surf zone.

1994-1996
Heal the Bay worked tirelessly on the Gutter Patrol program which stenciled more than 60,000 catch basins alerting people to the hazards of dumping trash and pollutants in the street.

1995
With USC, L.A., and Orange County, Heal the Bay completed the first health effects study of people who swim in the polluted runoff waters of Santa Monica Bay, finding that swimmers near storm drains are more likely to become ill than swimmers at cleaner beaches. As a result, the Beach Closure and Health Warning Protocol and the Beach Report Card have been modified to better protect human health.

Heal the Bay’s “Revenge” PSA runs in theaters and on television.

1996
The 40-Day Fight for clean water was a huge success in passing L.A. County's first tough stormwater permit.

1997
Heal the Bay and an environmental coalition successfully advocated for the Regional Water Quality Control Board to pass requirements eliminating wastewater discharge from Malibu’s Tapia Water Treatment Facility from April to November each year, which led to a huge improvement in water quality at Surfrider Beach.

A Heal the bay study found high DDT and PCB contamination levels in 84% of commercially caught white croaker, a fish popular for consumption in the Asian community.

1998
Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant reached full secondary treatment.

AB 411, the Beach Water Quality Act, created statewide human health standards for beach water quality, a public notification and closure system, and mandated beach water quality monitoring.

Heal the Bay launched the Stream Team program, a large-scale volunteer project that gathers data and monitors the Malibu Creek Watershed and establishes baseline data for the sources of storm drain pollution and the locations of degraded habitat.

1999
Along with a coalition of environmental groups, Heal the Bay settled a lawsuit with the EPA that required them to develop enforceable clean up plans for more than 150 polluted water bodies in L.A. and Ventura Counties by 2011.

Key to the Sea, Heal the Bay’s "teach on the beach" environmental education program that reaches 10,000 elementary school students each year with hands-on marine studies and activities was created.

2000
AB 885, the Septic System Standards Bill was passed which established statewide water quality standards for operations of onsite sewage treatment systems.

California voters passed Props 12 and 13, which together designated more than $2 billion for land-use upgrades for urban parks and undeveloped state and local wilderness areas throughout the state. $700 million was set aside for the County and City of L.A., with $25 million for specific projects within Santa Monica Bay and $25 million for Ballona Wetlands protection.

2001
Heal the Bay and an environmental coalition won a zero tolerance for trash in the L.A. River ruling at the Regional Water Quality Board which stipulates that cities with storm drains that drain into the L.A. River will have 14 years to incrementally reduce and eliminate all trash entering the waterbody. The precedent-setting decision was followed by zero tolerance for trash in Ballona Creek.

The Clean Beach Initiative was signed into law, dedicating $78 million for projects to help clean up and protect our coast, including $2 million for Mothers’ Beach and $2 million for Surfrider Beach.

2002
Propositions 40 and 50 were passed, providing $5 billion for safe drinking water, clean beaches and coastal waters, park and air quality improvements, and wildlife and open space protection.

The L.A. County Sanitation District upgraded the Carson plant to full secondary wastewater treatment. Together with Hyperion’s upgrades, there has been a 90% reduction in sewage solids discharged to the Bay since 1985.

2003
After years of pressure from Heal the Bay and a coalition of environmental advocates, Washington Mutual agreed to sell Ahmanson Ranch to the State of California, preserving 2,300 acres as parkland and ensuring a contiguous wildlife corridor "from the mountains to the sea."

The Heal the Bay-sponsored environmental literacy bill, AB 1548, was passed by the state which authorizes comprehensive environmental education standards and curriculum in all disciplines for K-12 students.

Heal the Bay assumed management of the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. SMPA brings to life the wonderful world of the ocean and is an incredible resource for the 70,000 people that visit each year.

2004
On November 2nd, City of L.A. voters passed Proposition O, a measure to improve local water supplies and keep dangerous bacteria and toxic pollution from contaminating waterways. The $500 million bond aims to control pollution by advancing storm drain systems and creating community parks that also act as filtration for urban stormwater runoff.