Environmental and Policy Focus
San Jose Mercury News - Jun 10
In the largest expansion of national marine sanctuaries in California in 23 years, the Obama administration on Tuesday more than doubled the size of two Northern California marine sanctuaries, extending them by 50 miles up the rugged Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. Under the dramatic move by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries expand from Bodega Bay to Point Arena, permanently banning offshore oil drilling along that stretch of coast. The announcement marks the largest expansion of national marine sanctuaries in California since President George H.W. Bush established the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 1992.
Los Angeles Times - Jun 5
Dozens of Southern California facilities, including oil refineries, aerospace plants, and metal factories, will face new requirements to reduce toxic emissions or notify their neighbors of the health risks from their operations under rules approved last Friday by air quality officials. The move by the South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board follows new guidelines from state environmental officials that estimate the cancer risk from toxic air contaminants is nearly three times what experts previously thought. The air district's current rules govern about 400 facilities across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties that emit pollutants such as arsenic, benzene, and toxic metals. When cancer risk at one of those facilities exceeds 10 in 1 million, the operator is required to notify neighbors and hold public meetings. If the risk reaches 25 in 1 million, the facility must take steps to reduce emissions. A level of 25 in 1 million means that air pollution from the facility could result in 25 cancer cases per 1 million people exposed to the emissions over a 30-year period.
New York Times - Jun 9
A federal court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by the nation’s largest coal companies and 14 coal-producing states that sought to block one of President Obama’s signature climate change policies. The lawsuit, Murray Energy v. E.P.A., challenged a proposed rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. If enacted, the rule could shutter hundreds of such plants, freeze construction of future plants, and slow demand for coal production in the United States. The EPA put forth the power plants proposal last June, and, after taking public comments and revising the plan, the agency is scheduled to publish it in final form in August. Observing that it was unprecedented for a court to review a rule that had been introduced only in the form of a draft, all three judges on the federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed that the challenge was premature.
Southern California Public Radio - Jun 7
A Texas company whose ruptured pipeline created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years had assured the government that a break in the line while possible was "extremely unlikely" and state-of-the-art monitoring could quickly detect possible leaks and alert operators, documents show. Nearly 1,200 pages of records, filed with state regulators by Plains All American Pipeline, detail a range of defenses the company established to guard against crude oil spills and, at the same time, prepare for the worst should a spill occur. A team of experts organized by the company acknowledged the potential for oil to leak, yet assessed that risk as remote according to the company's oil spill response plan.
Southern California Public Radio - Jun 10
The city of Riverside filed a lawsuit on June 4, 2015 seeking to bar the state from imposing a 28 percent mandatory cutback in water use, saying it has secured its own independent water supply from groundwater in the Santa Ana River watershed, an adjudicated basin monitored by a watermaster. Under the emergency regulations, in lieu of greater cutbacks assigned to water suppliers, a “reserve tier” requiring a 4 percent reduction is available to water suppliers who have at least a four-year reserved supply, but suppliers who rely on groundwater are excluded. Riverside argues that it should qualify for the reserved tier. But the State Water Resources Control Board’s senior environmental scientist responded that having surface water set aside isn’t the same as saving up groundwater, and that for many areas groundwater is the savings account during times of drought. “The limited, 4 percent reduction tier is not available for communities who are relying on that savings account to weather the drought."
Bloomberg - Jun 4
Hydraulic fracturing has contaminated some drinking water sources but the damage is not widespread, according to a landmark U.S. study of water pollution risks that has supporters of the drilling method declaring victory and foes saying it revealed reason for concern. The draft analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency, released after three years of study, looked at possible ways hydraulic fracturing could contaminate drinking water, from spills of hydraulic fracturing fluids to wastewater disposal. The study was commissioned by Congress and represents the most comprehensive assessment yet of the safety of hydraulic fracturing.
