The chemical has some people concerned about runoff effects, though a 2025 document maintains its safety for La Jolla Cove. 

An application has been noticed for a city of San Diego coastal development permit to “abate noxious odors where accumulated bird and sea lion excrement pose a health hazard to the public” in La Jolla Cove. 

The June 8 notice indicates the odor abatement would take place over a 0.05-acre site along the bluffs north of Coast Boulevard from The Cove to Goldfish Point at Coast Walk Trail. 

The product to be used, according to city spokesperson Benny Cartwright, is Bioactive Odor Counteractant and Cleaner (BIOCAAC), manufactured by ARK Environmental Solutions, Inc in Coronado. 

Cartwright added information that “BIOCAAC is a water-based blend of cultured, non-pathogenic bacteria and surfactant (similar to those in household soaps which acts as a foaming effect to prevent the application from running off the bluffs).”

The bacteria activate when diluted with water, Cartwright said, accelerating the breakdown of animal waste, which reduces the odors associated with high ammonia levels and harmful bacteria from sea lion excrement.

Tourists and business owners adjacent to The Cove have long observed and complained about the Cove odors, which can be noticeable from several yards away.

The byproducts of the BIOCAAC bacteria breakdown are water, oxygen and carbon dioxide; “once the medium dries out, the bacteria dies and stops working,” Cartwright wrote.

The BIOCAAC is diluted (100 gallons water to 10 gallons product) before application.

The notice, however, has some in La Jolla concerned. Speaking during public comment at the June 10 California Coastal Commission meeting, avid La Jolla swimmer and conservationist Eric Fletcher voiced his “strong opposition” to the project.

The biodegradable process happens slowly, Fletcher said, sending chemicals into The Cove’s protected waters in times of heavy coastal mist or rains. 

“This creates severe human health hazards,” he said, irritating membranes and increasing the risk of illness.

The safety data sheet for BIOCAAC states direct contact with its ingredients “may cause an allergic skin reaction in humans, but it is not expected to be dangerous to the environment,” according to an April 2025 Executive Officer’s Report to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region.

Further, the report states, an April 2024 letter from the city to the San Diego Water Board stated “the continued application of BIOCAAC at La Jolla Bluffs does not negatively affect the habitat, wildlife nor public enjoyment.”

Cartwright was not able to immediately answer lajolla.ca’s request for comment on BIOCAAC’s safety by the time of publication.

“There are safer legal alternatives for businesses, such as installing commercial exterior misting fans,” Fletcher said.

There is no current timeline for when the project will be publicly heard, nor is there an estimated spraying date, Cartwright said.