302 Local Businesses Make Santa Cruz's 'Clean Ocean' List

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The city of Santa Cruz recently announced that 63 vehicle service and 239 food service facilities have earned the designation of 2019 Clean Ocean Business. These 302 local businesses have made special efforts to protect Santa Cruz creeks, the San Lorenzo River and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by adopting practices that keep pollutants away from both storm drains and the sewer system, according to the city.

The number of Clean Ocean Business awards continues to increase annually and now encompasses the majority of vehicle service and food service facilities in Santa Cruz; all comply with the Sanitary Sewer System Ordinance and Storm Water and Urban Runoff Pollution Control Ordinance, according to the city.

" ... the recognized vehicle service facilities properly clean up any hazardous material spills, document and properly haul away hazardous material, route any wastewater to the sanitary sewer, train employees on best management practices and post their spill prevention plan onsite," according to the city. "The food service awardees route any wastewater to the sanitary sewer, properly maintain their grease trap and ensure that their dumpster area is orderly."

Two new businesses that received awards are Bad Animal Books in the food service category and DeLaveaga Collision (formerly known as Keener) in the vehicle service category.

"Our children who swim in the ocean don’t deserve to be faced with cleaning up the pollution we left behind. It has to start with us and it has to be now! DeLaveaga Collision is happy to do our part through diligent planning, implementing new ideas and ensuring that we go above and beyond government guidelines," said DeLaveaga Collision owner Julie Pimental.

The 15-year old Clean Ocean Business program is funded with City of Santa Cruz Storm Water and Environmental Compliance funds. The complete list of businesses recognized in 2019 is available at www.cityofsantacruz.com.