Focus
DOGE team targets nearly two dozen environmental offices for closure in California
Los Angeles Times – March 18
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to terminate lease contracts at nearly two dozen California offices relating to science, agriculture, and the environment, according to its federal database. The planned closures include facilities occupied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Park Service, Forest Service, and Geological Survey, as well as the Los Angeles office of the EPA. The terminations follow massive layoffs at NOAA and significant cuts to scientific research funding across federal agencies — including the potential elimination of EPA’s key scientific research arm.
News
California bill would restore wetlands protections in wake of Supreme Court ruling
Los Angeles Times - March 18
Two California lawmakers have proposed legislation aiming to reestablish safeguards for the state’s streams and wetlands in response to a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the reach of federal clean water regulations. In Sackett vs. EPA, the Supreme Court held that Clean Water Act protections do not apply to many wetlands and ephemeral streams, which flow when it rains but otherwise sit dry much of the time. That decision was supported by groups representing developers and the agriculture industry who say EPA had overstepped its authority by restricting private property owners from developing their land. The proposed state Senate Bill 601 would restore protections for California’s wetlands and streams by requiring permits for pollution discharges from businesses and construction projects.
Astound Broadband to pay $1.28 million to settle improper hazardous waste disposal claim by Northern California counties
CBS News – March 18
Telecommunications firm Astound Broadband has agreed to settle a claim that it improperly disposed of hazardous waste—including electronic equipment, batteries, silicone gels, sealants, and items containing lead—in Northern California municipal landfills instead of at authorized hazardous waste disposal facilities. District Attorneys for Contra Costa, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, and Yolo counties reached a $1.275 million settlement with WaveDivision Holdings, LLC, which operates under the Astound Broadband name in California. The settlement notes that WaveDivsion Holdings has taken measures to remedy the violations.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reconsiders proposal to protect monarch butterfly
The Hill – March 18
The Trump administration said this Tuesday that it is reconsidering adding protections to the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is reopening the public comment period for 60 days to help evaluate if the insect is likely to become at risk of extinction in the foreseeable future. The move comes five years after the first Trump administration declined to give the monarch butterfly protections. At that time, FWS said it needed to devote its resources to higher-priority species.
EPA stands firm: It will not review Tijuana River Estuary for Superfund status
The San Diego Union-Tribune – March 18
The EPA said in a letter last Friday that it will not reconsider its denial to investigate whether the Tijuana River Estuary qualifies as a Superfund site. In the letter to Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, EPA said that a review for eligibility remains unwarranted in large part because efforts to fix broken wastewater treatment infrastructure are already underway and should “provide a lasting solution.” Major relief from pollution for sewage-impacted communities in South County is still several years away, however, as a treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border undergoing repair and expansion won’t be ready for about seven years, and a long-defunct plant in Baja, California expected to be completed last September has yet to come online.
*This article may require a subscription to read.
[View source.]
