MIXED SIGNALS FROM WASHINGTON ON FATE OF BAY-DELTA
While the California Legislature continues to work on a comprehensive package of Delta bills, the Obama Administration entered the fray on Tuesday with six federal agencies signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a Federal Bay-Delta Leadership Committee.
Over the next several months, the Leadership Committee will coordinate with the state and key stakeholders to develop a federal action plan. The plan will look at habitat restoration, climate change mitigation, water efficiency and recycling, and land stewardship programs that benefit the Delta ecosystem.
Having federal agencies involved will hopefully ensure the success of efforts to restore the collapsing Delta ecosystem.
However, California Senator Dianne Feinstein may hamper the attempt more than help, since she's suggesting that the Endangered Species Act should be waived "as fast as we can" to temporarily transfer Delta water to Central Valley agribusinesses. She has also called for a National Academy of Sciences review of the recent Endangered Species Act Biological Opinions that have helped protect Delta smelt and salmon fisheries.
With the announcement of the MOU, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar also encouraged Governor Schwarzenegger to convene a special session of the California Legislature to finalize the state's bill package. It remains to be seen if and how state lawmakers and the Governor will coordinate their negotiations with the federal Leadership Committee.
GIVING VOICE: ADVISORY COMMITTEE SAYS PUBLIC SHOULD PLAY ROLE IN SB 375 TARGET SETTING
On Wednesday, the Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC) released its final recommendations for implementation of SB 375, California's new law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through smarter land use and transportation decisions.
We're happy to report that many of our top priorities were incorporated into the RTAC document during the last few weeks of deliberation.
We're most excited to see the committee elevate the role of the public in the SB 375 target-setting process. Under the law, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) must set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 18 regions of the state. The RTAC made the right call by recommending public participation at key junctures in this process.
We're also glad to see the RTAC recommend that regional governments model and quantify the wide array of benefits that come from climate-friendly development, benefits such as public health improvements, preservation of farmland, and avoided infrastructure costs. There's also an important discussion of social equity, transit funding, and affordable housing. Providing this big picture perspective will be essential for broadening public participation and advancing environmental justice in SB 375 implementation.
Unfortunately, the report also opens the door to some dangerous backsliding. It encourages CARB to consider whether large regions of the state should be allowed to disregard their travel models and instead rely entirely on achievement of Best Management Practices to demonstrate compliance with their greenhouse gas targets. Travel models aren't perfect but faced with the urgency of climate change we should be racing to improve them rather than ignoring them.
CARB will consider the RTAC's recommendations at its November 19th meeting and will be proposing draft greenhouse gas targets by June, 2010.
CREDIT CRISIS: GOVERNOR SHOULD REJECT LEGISLATURE'S ATTACK ON CEQA, CLEAN AIR
Late last month, opponents of environmental protection scored a major victory. In the last few hours of the session, the Legislature passed SB 827 (Wright) to allow the South Coast Air Quality Management District (District) to disregard previous court decisions and run roughshod over the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), weakening air quality protections in the most polluted air basin in the country.
Chapter I: Southern California
Under the federal Clean Air Act, the District is required to set up a system of air pollution credits to ensure that emissions from sources likepower plants and refineries do not impede efforts to meet clean air requirements. However, the District failed to ensure that its pollution credit system complied with federal law, leading to a shortfall of available credits. What's worse, when the courts ruled that the District needed to do a full environmental review of its permitting system, the District went on the offensive, refusing to issue credits to small businesses and key public service providers like fire stations and hospitals.
Chapter II: The Capitol
Instead of simply complying with state and federal air quality laws, the District marched off to the Legislature to "resolve the situation." There, several key legislators including Senator Joe Simitian and Senator Alan Lowenthal brokered a compromise to allow the District to issue permits for small businesses and essential services. However, in the final hours of the session Senator Wright and the District backed out of the compromise, quickly amending SB 827 to exempt the District from conducting the required environmental review process and rammed the measure through both houses of the Legislature.
Chapter III: The Governor's Office
Now environmental and public health groups from across the state are calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to veto SB 827, and for good reason. First, the measure interferes in pending litigation, which clearly violates the separation of powers inherent in our constitution. Second, ignoring CEQA will increase air pollution, leading to severe impacts to public health. Lastly, because the bill was so hastily amended, it will likely lead to more litigation and confusion, exacerbating the crisis of a dysfunctional credit system in the South Coast Air basin.
The District already has a clear path forward: do the environmental review the courts required. That would resolve the situation without worsening the basin's horrible air quality. A veto is the clear solution.
PCL FOUNDATION TO HOST CEQA WORKSHOP IN OCEANSIDE - SIGN UP TODAY!
Want to know how the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) can work for your community? You're in luck!
The PCL Foundation is partnering with local groups throughout the state to present our popular CEQA workshops, featuring our Community Guide to CEQA and its 2009 updates. We'll review the fundamentals of California's premier environmental law, identify the key legal obligations of public agencies, and provide helpful tips on how to make sure those obligations are met. Our new workshop also highlights how CEQA can aid local residents in the fight against global warming.
Mark your calendars for our next CEQA workshop:
Saturday, October 24th - Oceanside, CA - Register Now!
For more information, or to request a workshop in your community, please contact Paul Gilligan at pgilligan@pcl.org or (916) 313-4506.
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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