Since its inception, Coastkeeper has employed strategic legal action and regulatory advocacy to promote policies that are protective of our natural resources and to challenge the practices of those who violate our environmental laws. The landmark legal and regulatory victories Coastkeeper has achieved have helped to shape clean water policy throughout San Diego and the nation. Having engaged in so many successful legal and regulatory campaigns, Coastkeeper is now often able to leverage its reputation to promote critical clean water policies without resorting to adversarial tactics. Through the relationships we have developed at the local, state and national levels, elected officials and regulatory agencies often view Coastkeeper as an invaluable resource in the effort to restore our waterways.
San Diego Coastkeeper complements our education and restoration efforts with a strong advocacy program that effectively challenges those who violate environmental laws and harm our natural resources. Our landmark legal and regulatory victories have greatly reduced the amount of pollution reaching San Diego's waters, and have helped shape clean water policy throughout the nation. Coastkeeper's historic legal victory over Southwest Marine shipyard, and our settlements with other shipyards, auto dismantlers, local municipalities, and Caltrans, has changed the way that business is done in San Diego. We also partner with local environmental organizations, the California Coastkeeper Alliance, and the international Waterkeeper Alliance to tackle regulatory and policy issues of regional, statewide and national significance.
In addition to its in-house legal staff, Coastkeeper launched an Environmental Law & Policy Clinic in 2000. Guided by Coastkeeper's experienced senior legal staff, law students are provided with a unique hands-on internship opportunity that exposes them to a wide spectrum of advocacy activities, ranging from participation in the regulatory and litigation arenas to analysis of water quality legislation at the local, state and federal levels. The Clinic allows Coastkeeper to more effectively address the chronic pollution problems that plague our region, while also serving to foster a self-sustaining network of attorneys able to handle environmental litigation and promote environmental policy objectives once they enter the workforce.