News
Los Angeles sues FAA over flight path review
Courthouse News Service - June 25
The City of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday challenging the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) environmental review of noise levels caused by planes flying over communities under the flight path towards Los Angeles International Airport. The city alleges that the FAA's failure to properly study environmental impacts and to consider public comment resulted in an increase in noise and environmental complaints from residents in the West Adams neighborhood, where incoming flight paths were consolidated. According to City Attorney Mike Feuer, the lawsuit comes after two years of unsuccessful negotiations between the city and the FAA over several issues, including reducing nighttime noise levels by requiring pilots and air traffic controllers to maintain flight paths at a higher altitude during arrival to LAX.
Conservation groups petition to list coastal mountain lions as threatened or endangered species
The Tribune – June 25
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Mountain Lion Foundation petitioned the state Tuesday to list six unique populations of mountain lions on the southern and central coast as threatened or endangered under California’s Endangered Species Act. Listing the lions as threatened or endangered could trigger mitigation obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act process during development and help preserve wildlife corridors in the regions in question, where researchers in 2018 found isolated populations with poor reproductive and genetic health. It generally takes about two years to evaluate whether a new species should be added to the endangered list.
Court rejects federal approval of Cadiz water pipeline in Southern California desert
San Diego Union-Tribune – June 21
A U.S. District Court judge in the Central District of California last Friday struck down a 2017 U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision that cleared the way for Cadiz Inc. to build a water pipeline across public land in the California desert. Judge George Wu found that BLM’s 2017 reversal of its 2015 opinion, that the use of the railroad right of way for the water pipeline did not serve a railroad purpose and therefore was not allowed, was arbitrary and capricious. The ruling is a blow to Cadiz’ decades-long effort to pump groundwater from beneath its desert property 200 miles east of Los Angeles through a pipeline along the railroad right of way to the Colorado River Aqueduct and sell it to urban Southern California. Cadiz’ counsel downplayed the significance of the ruling and said BLM could quickly respond to the court’s directive and provide support for its 2017 opinion.
Environmental groups oppose S.F. Bay dredging plan
SFGate - June 25
The Sierra Club and four other environmental groups sent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a public comment letter Monday objecting to the agency's plan to dredge a 13-mile channel in San Francisco Bay. The proposed dredging, which would deepen shipping channels used by tankers to carry crude oil to and from local refineries, would run from the central San Francisco Bay to Avon. The groups contend that the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement does not adequately consider the effects of increased oil traffic on air quality, water quality, aquatic species and the risk of oil spills, and does not account for an expected sequel of future dredging extending to Stockton.
State regulators weigh penalties against Southern California Gas for Aliso Canyon leak
Los Angeles Times – June 27
California regulators opened an investigation Thursday to consider penalties against Southern California Gas Co. for the 2015 Aliso Canyon blowout, which led to the largest known release of methane in U.S. history and was blamed for sickening thousands of residents. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) made the decision in the wake of a May investigative report concluding that the blowout resulted from a corroded pipe casing, safety failures by the utility, and inadequate regulations. The utility has 30 days to submit information to the CPUC to show why it should not be sanctioned. The CPUC also opened an investigation against Southern California Gas and its parent, Sempra Energy, to determine whether their corporate culture and operations made safety a priority.
South Coast Air Quality Management District refinery committee rejects ban on toxic acid
Los Angeles Times – June 22
The South Coast Air Quality Management District's refinery committee on Saturday rejected a ban on modified hydrofluoric acid, a highly toxic chemical used to make high-octane gasoline. Community groups had sought the ban since a 2015 explosion at a Torrance refinery raised concerns about a potential catastrophic release into surrounding communities. The committee instead voted in support of an industry-backed alternative, which directs staff to develop agreements with refineries that would allow them to keep using the acid, but with enhanced safety measures. Valero’s Wilmington refinery and Torrance Refining Co., owned by PBF Energy, are the only two refineries in California that use hydroflouric acid.
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