Environmental and Policy Focus

Senate votes to block EPA’s clean water rule

The Hill 
- Nov 4

The U.S. Senate approved a bill Wednesday to block the Obama administration’s new regulation defining federal authority over small waterways under the Clean Water Act. The Congressional Review Act resolution, passed on a 53-44 vote, would prevent the implementation of the clean water rule. Ultimately, however, the bill is unlikely to take effect, given opposition from President Obama and the GOP’s inability to secure a veto-proof majority. But Republicans said the resolution would put their opposition to Obama’s environmental regulations squarely in the president’s hands. Wednesday’s vote came after Republicans failed to advance a separate bill that would undo the clean water rule and send it back to the EPA with instructions for a re-write.

Tribes say bypass destroyed sacred sites

Courthouse News Service
- Nov 3

Native American tribes say California and the United States destroyed sacred sites, artifacts, and wetlands when building a $300 million stretch of highway in Northern California. The Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and Round Valley Indian Tribes of California allege that state and federal agencies failed to consult with them before starting work on the Willits Bypass. But a Caltrans official said the state consulted with the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians all along, and the suing tribes are latecomers to the process. The four-lane freeway project, intended to relieve congestion in the Mendocino County town of Willits, is 81 percent complete, according to Caltrans.

Coastal Commission sued over approval of expanded San Onofre nuclear waste storage facility

KPBS 
- Nov 3

Former San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the California Coastal Commission's recent approval of an expanded nuclear waste storage facility at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The lawyer said the commission's greenlighting of the project will result in "construction of the world's first beachfront nuclear waste dump." The commissioners gave Southern California Edison unanimous approval for the facility last month. Rosemead-based Edison, the idled plant's majority owner and operator, said its current storage area is nearing capacity. Environmental groups argued that it makes no sense to store the spent fuel right next to the shoreline in an earthquake-prone area.

Southern California water agencies push forward on Delta land purchase

Fresno Bee
- Nov 2

With the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta approaching a critical stage, a group of Southern California water agencies is working to buy four Delta islands, a move that has drawn accusations that the parcels could be used to orchestrate a south-state water grab. The powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and three water agencies in Kern County are working on a joint plan to buy the four agricultural islands, according to the head of the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District in Bakersfield, one of the participants. Also involved are Semitropic and Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa water storage districts. Eric Averett, general manager of the Rosedale district, said the buyers could pursue the same plan that the current owner has been working on for years: converting the islands into reservoirs as a way of moving additional water to agencies south of the Delta. In addition, Averett said, the islands could be useful in forging ahead with the Delta tunnels project, officially known as California WaterFix, a $15.5 billion plan championed by Governor Jerry Brown to re-engineer the estuary’s plumbing, shore up its ecosystem, and improve the reliability of water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

VW challenges EPA's allegations of Porsche diesel cheating

Bloomberg
- Nov 2

Volkswagen AG rejected U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allegations that its cheating on diesel-emissions tests included Porsche and other high-end vehicles, setting up a showdown with U.S. regulators as it seeks to repair its battered image. Software in 3.0-liter diesel engines was not installed “in a forbidden manner,” and Volkswagen is cooperating with the EPA to “clarify” its questions, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said in a statement. The new investigation centers on the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg sport utility vehicles, as well as larger sedans and the Q5 SUV from Audi, according to the EPA. Volkswagen had previously admitted to installing a so-called defeat device in smaller diesel-powered autos from the 2009 to 2015 model years.

Key environmental report for Warriors Mission Bay arena approved

SFGate 
- Nov 3

The proposed Golden State Warriors arena in Mission Bay took a step toward approval Tuesday as a key aspect of the $1 billion project was approved. The board of San Francisco's Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, which is charged with evaluating and approving Mission Bay projects, voted unanimously to certify the project’s environmental impact report, setting the stage for a Planning Commission vote on Thursday to allocate 580,000 square feet of commercial space next to the Warriors' planned 18,000-seat, $1 billion arena.

Governor Brown declares emergency for dying trees

Sacramento Bee
- Oct 30

Lamenting “the worst epidemic of tree mortality” in the state’s modern history, Governor Jerry Brown on Friday sought federal aid to remove dead trees from California forests and called for more controlled burns to reduce the risk of wildfire. The declaration, including a controversial exemption from environmental reviews, comes amid California’s ongoing drought and a bark beetle infestation that has killed millions of trees weakened by lack of water. Brown said the die-off exacerbates the risk of wildfires and the threat of erosion. He ordered state agencies to remove dead or dying trees from high-hazard areas and said his administration will work with federal authorities to expand controlled burns.