Coastal resources: Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program.

Hart, Bennett, and Connolly frame a new, voluntary framework that expands California’s Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies effort into a statewide vessel-speed-reduction and sustainable shipping program along the coast, implemented without creating new regulatory mandates. The measure adds a formal chapter to the Public Resources Code establishing the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program, with the Ocean Protection Council participating as a stakeholder in an advisory capacity together with coastal air districts and other parties, contingent on available funding. Participation would be limited to vessels 300 gross tons or greater, and the program is designed to operate on a voluntary basis.

The bill outlines a unified program structure that may include eight components developed consistently with prior program work: a marketing program to engage cargo owners and commercial interests and acknowledge participants; data collection on ship speeds along the coast to inform future refinement or expansion; data collection on underwater acoustic impacts and fatal whale strikes to the extent data exist; data collection on regional coastal air quality impacts from oceangoing vessel traffic; incentives tied to a portion of distance traveled at reduced speed (including 10 knots or less) to the extent funding is available; development of vessel-speed-reduction zones along the coast that account for navigational safety, whale migration and breeding seasons, federal sanctuaries and state marine protected areas, shipping lanes, and other relevant variables; consideration of program seasonality; and a description of the vessels covered. The program is described as supplementary to existing port-related speed-reduction efforts and shall apply only to vessels at or above 300 gross tons. A reporting requirement directs participating air districts to submit an implementation report by December 31, 2029, in compliance with Government Code provisions, with the reporting obligation becoming inoperative after December 31, 2033.

Context and rationale presented in the bill emphasize ongoing coastal maritime activity, air-pollution concerns along the coast, and a historical foundation for the PBW&BSP. The findings note thousands of coast transits, with daily NOx emissions contributing to air-quality challenges, and recount 2014–2024 milestones wherein the program has historically offered voluntary speed reductions and, per the bill, yielded measurable reductions in emissions and whale-strike risk. The authors describe the expansion as a coordination-driven, non-regulatory approach that would engage a broad slate of stakeholders—including federal agencies and maritime industries—across multiple coastal regions to broaden the program’s geographic scope and components while maintaining alignment with federal law.

Implementation and fiscal considerations hinge on funding availability, as the authors specify that Ocean Protection Council participation and certain program components are subject to funding. The bill specifies no new appropriation and envisions incentives, data activities, marketing, and interagency coordination being supported to the extent funding is provided. The advisory structure culminates in a 2029 implementation report, with a statutory sunset on the reporting obligation in 2033. The measure preserves a non-regulatory posture, clarifies that the program should not conflict with federal regulations, and positions the PBW&BSP to complement existing voluntary programs rather than replace them, while focusing the effort on vessels 300 gross tons or greater and relying on coordinated participation among state and federal partners and the maritime industry.