Marine resources: copper-based antifouling paint: standards, studies, and best methods.

Assembly Member Dixon's marine resources legislation directs California environmental agencies to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of copper-based antifouling boat paint and its impacts on coastal waters. The measure requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation to complete a reevaluation of these paint products by January 2028, culminating in a determination to retain, modify, or suspend existing standards or implement new requirements regarding their chemical composition and use.

The bill establishes a coordinated effort among the California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board, regional water boards, and Department of Pesticide Regulation to examine the effectiveness of low-leach-rate paint alternatives and assess elevated copper concentrations in saltwater harbors, bays, and marinas by June 2027. These agencies must then collaborate to determine optimal methods for addressing copper contamination from antifouling paint use. The California Environmental Protection Agency will publish these methods, which may include compliance guidelines and public workshop information, on its website by January 2028.

This initiative builds upon existing studies by the Department of Pesticide Regulation on dissolved copper discharge in California harbors and previous regulatory attempts to reduce these discharges. The bill's findings note that coordinated action across multiple jurisdictions with regulatory authority over marine copper contamination necessitates this new framework for evaluation and potential standard-setting.