Regional Water Control Board Will Not Issue Permits for America's Cup Regatta
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Control Board is refusing to issue permits for the AC34 regatta until race organizers can prove that the event will not spread an exotic seaweed.
Undaria pinnatifida is a fast-growing invasive species from Asia that has already taken root beneath some piers along the San Francisco waterfront. The permit application, submitted by the Port of San Francisco, addressed the issue with an education campaign about keeping clean hulls but it was rejected as insufficient.
“[T]he information in the application is insufficient to determine whether the outreach program will sufficiently mitigate for potential invasive species impacts from spectator boats,” Watershed Division Chief Shin-Roei Lee wrote in a letter to Port and America's Cup officials.
Apparently, the America's Cup Event Authority will need to provide funding for an invasive species eradication program. Until this is arranged, it looks like AC34 is on hold.
