OBAMA BUDGET A BOOST FOR CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENT, POSITIVE INDICATION OF PRESIDENTIAL PRIORITIES
The federal budget proposal (140 pages, PDF) released by President Obama departs significantly from how things have been done over the past eight years in many regards, particularly regarding the protection of the environment and public health.
It's a long and complicated document but there are a number of exceptionally important items that offer hints into the impacts this new administration will have on environmental initiatives here in California. Here are two highlights that we believe demonstrate that the Obama Administration is on the right track:
35% increase in overall funding for the EPA in fiscal year 2010 - The increase is primarily to improve water quality, including $3.9 billion a year in funding for clean water and clean drinking projects. That's enough funding to cover approximately 1,000 clean water projects and 700 drinking water projects each year. This historic increase is above and beyond the $7 billion in funding the agency will receive for projects in the economic recovery package.
Reinstatement of the excise tax that paid for Superfund - This excise tax, primarily on oil, is projected to raise $17.2 billion over ten years. The money will be used to clean up hazardous sites such as the AeroJet facility in Rancho Cordova. All told, there are 94 eligible sites in California and over 1,200 nationwide.
These sorts of funding proposals make us optimistic about the environmental policies and programs that President Obama will pursue during his time in office.
FISH GOTTA SWIM: Environmental and Fishing communitIES speak out on salmon crisis AT HEARING
California's anadromous salmon and steelhead fisheries face a number of serious challenges. Degraded water quality, dysfunctional management of the Delta, insufficient instream flow, poor ocean conditions, and degraded inland habitat all conspire to drive these iconic fish towards extinction.
"There are a myriad of problems facing salmon, but what has to be done before anything else, and above all else - is restoring water flows in the Delta and our coastal streams," said Zeke Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, which represents commercial fishing men and women. "It's critical the state not get lost in the weeds trying to restore salmon; water flow and water quality are at the foundation of rebuilding our salmon fishery. Fish gotta swim."
WORKING TOWARD SOLUTIONS
One timely opportunity raised at the Assembly Water Parks and Wildlife hearing was the chance to improve the salmon protection rules currently being revised by the state's Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Under current logging rules, critical stream habitat in forested areas where many salmon live and reproduce can be degraded by poor logging practices. "For over a decade, state and federal agencies have been calling for changes to the state's logging rules to stop habitat destruction," noted Sierra Club California's Deputy Director, Paul Mason. "As salmon drift closer to extinction, it's time for the Board of Forestry to stop stalling and make these changes when they revise the rules this summer."
In addition to improvements in habitat and water quality, improvements in California's water management and aggressive development of locally based water supplies are an important way to alleviate pressure on our imperiled salmon. As Mindy McIntyre of the Planning and Conservation League explains, "We can save our California salmon by being more reasonable and innovative with our water use. Certainly salmon are more integrally a part of California than our lawns, and we shouldn't be sacrificing California's salmon legacy when we can be smarter about water use. The salmon decline is a call to action to quickly develop recycled water, increase water use efficiency, and clean up streams and waterways."
ZOOMING IN ON DISASTER: NEW REPORT ON SEA LEVEL RISE IN CALIFORNIA MAPS OUT RESOURCES AT RISK
On Wednesday, the Oakland-based Pacific Institute released a new report examining the impacts of sea level rise on California's coastline. The report includes on-line interactive maps showing infrastructure and populations at risk from the 1-1.4 meters of sea level rise projected to occur under medium to medium-high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. The report finds that nearly $100 billion in property is at risk under such scenarios, as well as vast areas of wetlands and other natural ecosystems.
The analysis was prepared for the California Energy Commission, California Department of Transportation, and California Ocean Protection Council, as part of a larger report due out in the next several weeks.
We ignore these findings at our own peril. As this new report confirms, by failing to incorporate global warming into our planning and land use decisions, we're putting our health and economy at risk, as well as our natural resources. At a minimum, these new tools should jumpstart public agencies along the coast to incorporate sea level rise projections into their general plans and CEQA documents.
It's also time to make a sustained investment in protecting communities and natural resources from these types of climate impacts. In particular, we need to ensure that state and federal global warming programs include a dedicated investment in the protection and conservation of our coastal wetlands, wildlife, watersheds, rivers, and other natural resources from the impacts of global warming. To help make sure that happens, join the Teaming with Wildlife coalition or contact PCL's Matt Vander Sluis to find out more.
1107 9th Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 444-8726 • Fax (916) 448-1789
1107 9th Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814 • Phone (916) 444-8726 • Fax (916) 448-1789 •
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