Focus
California suspends environmental laws to speed rebuilding of utilities after L.A. fires
Los Angeles Times – March 29
As part of a continued effort to expedite rebuilding after Los Angeles' devastating firestorms, Governor Gavin Newsom this week suspended California environmental laws for utility providers working to reinstall key infrastructure. His March 27 executive order eliminates requirements to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act for utilities working to rebuild "electric, gas, water, sewer, and telecommunication infrastructure" in the Palisades and Eaton fire burn zones. Newsom also continued to encourage the "undergrounding" of utility equipment when feasible, which he said will help minimize future fire risk in these communities. Many environmental activists worry that such broad exemptions could have serious consequences down the road.
News
San Diego, other cities to pay $11.4M for 2023 sewage spill along San Diego Bay
The San Diego Union-Tribune - March 31
San Diego and several other local cities must pay an $11.4 million fine for a sewage spill in January 2023 that released 9.9 million gallons of wastewater at 30 locations between Point Loma and San Diego International Airport. San Diego officials say the spill, which was blamed on heavy rains and sewer pump malfunctions, did not significantly impact biological resources within or along the San Diego Bay.
Benicia to increase oversight of Valero refinery after major pollution problems
San Francisco Chronicle – April 2
Months after Bay Area regulators handed a record-setting $82 million fine to Valero Refining Co.'s Benicia facility for air pollution violations, city leaders voted to establish stronger oversight over refinery emissions. The Benicia city council on Tuesday unanimously passed regulations creating a new air quality monitoring program and requiring the refinery and other entities handling hazardous materials to promptly report emissions. The vote was unanimous despite strong opposition from some business representatives and Valero executives, who previously called the ordinance "governmental overreach."
California Coastal Commission to consider $15 million fine for Sable Offshore
Santa Barbara Independent – March 28
California Coastal Commission staff have recommended that Sable Offshore be ordered to pay a nearly $15 million fine and complete a restoration plan for the company's alleged unpermitted construction work along the Gaviota coast. Joshua Smith, a spokesperson for the Coastal Commission, called this administrative civil penalty "one of the largest" the commission has ever considered. The matter will be put to a vote on April 10 during the Coastal Commission's three-day meeting in Santa Barbara. Sable has long contended that its pipeline work does not qualify as "development" under the Coastal Act and is covered by existing permits given to the pipeline's previous owner in 1988, which authorizes pipeline repairs, not development.
Order that had kept water in the Kern River reversed by Fifth District Court of Appeal
SJV Water – April 2
In a 47-page ruling that could have larger implications for public interest lawsuits throughout California, the Fifth District Court of Appeal on Wednesday reversed a preliminary injunction requiring that water in the Kern River through the heart of Bakersfield be retained during historic dry periods. The underlying 2022 lawsuit over the river is still ongoing with trial set for December. In reversing the trial court's injunction, the appellate court also addressed the size of the bond a plaintiff seeking an injunction must post to account for the potential harm that could result if the injunction is later set aside. The Fifth District found that the $1,000 bond Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp required was inadequate and should have instead reflected an amount closer to what the injunction could actually cost the parties being enjoined. Appellants, including agricultural water districts, said the loss of water during the five months it was in effect cost them $5.7 million.
State orders Chiquita Canyon Landfill to take corrective measures or face fines
Los Angeles Times – April 4
A smoldering chemical reaction brewing deep inside the recently closed Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic now threatens to consume an entire 160-acre canyon of buried waste, endangering a storage area for hazardous liquid waste, according to state officials. The California Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Toxic Substances Control say the situation poses "an imminent and substantial danger" to public health and the environment, and ordered the company to take corrective measures or face fines of up to $70,000 daily. Waste Connections Inc., the landfill owner and operator, disputed the state's findings.
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