On Monday, a new bill in the state Legislature is set to be introduced after being pushed by birds that were released at Fort Baker in Southern Marin after being coated with mysterious substance. State Sen. Mark Leno, whose district consists of parts of the bay around Marin, is partnering with environmental protection advocates to move SB 718 forward. It deals with the matter by forming a funding mechanism for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

According to Leno, D-San Francisco, California has a proper oil spill response system. However, in the unique incident when a pollutant is not known, there is no proper funding mechanism for the cleanup. As per Leno, “This legislation clarifies that the state’s top priority during a spill of any kind is to immediately protect waterways and wildlife, regardless of what type of substance caused the problem”.

The bill approves the Office of Spill Prevention and Response to borrow $500,000 from the state’s oil spill prevention fund intended for the rehabilitation and rescue of wildlife in spill incidents, where the substance is non-petroleum based.

If parties responsible for the spills are found, they will be compensating for the costs of cleanup, together with interest.

Coated birds were found in the areas close to the San Leandro Marina, Hayward Regional Shoreline and the Harbor Bay Isle area of Alameda. After that, surf scoters coated in the substance were found near the Foster City shoreline. Over 300 birds were relocated and more than 200 died from hypothermia. And no bird was found in Marin.

According to officials, the nonprofit wildlife center International Bird Rescue spent $150,000 for caring of coated birds since no responsible party for the spill was identified.