SeaWorld agrees to settle suit over its fireworks shows

SeaWorld and two environmental groups that sued the San Diego theme park last year over its summer fireworks shows have reached a settlement that largely mimics a state coastal permit it recently received to conduct nighttime drone displays this year.

The settlement, which was reached last week, won’t become official until the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice have had 45 days to review it, said Livia Borak Beaudin, an attorney with the Coast Law Group, which represented the groups suing SeaWorld.

Filed by San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF), the suit had alleged multiple violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the theme park’s own permit that allows it to conduct up to 150 fireworks shows a year.,

In the year since the legal claim was filed, SeaWorld applied and got approval last month for a California Coastal Commission permit that authorizes a one-year pilot program - the first of its kind in the state - allowing the park to conduct up to 110, 15-minute drone shows, each using as many as 1,000 illuminated autonomous aircraft.

The first nighttime drone display will start this Friday and run nightly through Aug. 9. After that, it will shift to a weekend-only schedule through Sept. 7, a schedule that coincides with SeaWorld's summer season.

Both the legal settlement and the coastal permit require SeaWorld to conduct a thorough study of the feasibility and environmental impacts of replacing traditional fireworks displays with drone shows.

In the settlement, SeaWorld denies any wrongdoing and states that it did not violate the Clean Water Act, nor the terms of its fireworks and Waste Discharge permits. The lawsuit had documented not only instances of paper, plastic and metal fireworks debris in the bay following SeaWorld shows, but it also claimed to have found concentrations of metal pollutants such as aluminum, antimony and copper that far exceeded normal levels elsewhere in the bay.

Under the coastal permit, SeaWorld is required to monitor its first two shows and a portion of the rest to document noise impacts, light levels and bird strikes.

“This is a win-win situation,” said Sara Ochoa, CERF Programs Director. “This transition provides an opportunity for a unique type of entertainment and minimizes impacts to the environment, wildlife, and community.”

In a few ways, the legal settlement goes beyond what the Coastal Commission required, Borak Beaudin said. For one thing, the settlement covers a period of time that extends six mnths beyond the end of the drone study period.

Second, if SeaWorld opts to conduct any fireworks shows during the drone study period, the settlement requires “robust best management practices” to prevent debris from falling into the water and more stringent cleanup procedures. While SeaWorld has the option of doing more than 100 drone shows during during the pilot study, it has officially contracted to put on 78 aerial displays. The park confirmed that the Fourth of July is the park's only planned evening for fireworks during the summer season.

Lastly, the settlement,requires SeaWorld to pursue in good faith drones as a permanent replacement for fireworks if the commission-approved study is successful, Borak Beaudin said. SeaWorld has yet to make any commitment to permanently transition away from fireworks, although the pilot program is seen by many as a hopeful sign.

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