Environmental and Policy Focus
Los Angeles Times - Oct 27 Citing concerns about the potential for increased aircraft noise and pollution, Newport Beach officials sued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last Thursday, alleging that the agency’s plan to reroute flights across the region was completed without adequate environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Culver City officials said they expect to file an almost identical suit, and the city of Laguna Beach has already filed a similar lawsuit. These lawsuits, filed in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, dispute the findings of the environmental review for FAA’s Southern California Metroplex project, which intends to replace aging air traffic control systems, redesign busy airspace, and change the arrival and departure procedures for 21 airports, including Los Angeles International and John Wayne in Orange County. The lawsuits are the most recent in a growing number of challenges around the country, including in the San Francisco Bay Area, to the FAA’s Metroplex projects. The cities are seeking court orders to set aside FAA project approvals and findings in the environmental analysis they claim are unsupported and would lead to environmental impacts.
Sacramento Bee - Nov 1 Southern California Gas Co. (SoCal Gas) asked California regulators Tuesday for authorization to resume operations at its Aliso Canyon facility, the largest underground gas storage facility in the West, a year after a well leak released methane for months and drove thousands of residents from their Los Angeles homes. SoCal Gas said about a quarter of its wells at the Aliso Canyon facility had passed rigorous testing ordered by the state in the wake of the leak. The remaining 85 wells are temporarily plugged and will be permanently plugged if they don't pass state-ordered tests within a year. The company’s request to resume natural gas injections comes as the utility needs to store gas for winter heating, cooking, and electricity needs throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Although a company spokesperson said the safety, infrastructure and technology at Aliso Canyon have been improved, many residents, environmentalists and others want to see the facility shut down.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Oct 31 An undersea oil pipeline that for more than 50 years supplied Carlsbad’s Encina power plant with fuel and helped keep the lights on across San Diego County soon will be history. NRG/Cabrillo Power has applied to the California Coastal Commission for permission to remove the pipeline that extends out from beneath the power plant more than half a mile into the ocean at a depth of roughly 60 feet. The application is recommended for approval at the commission’s November 4 meeting in Half Moon Bay. The work is estimated to cost $11.2 million.
Reuters - Nov 1 The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on Tuesday announced that farmers and others who hold water rights in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta and its watersheds will not be required to submit drought-related reports on how much water they used in October. The temporary reprieve from reporting obligations comes as new data show that conservation among urban Californians was up slightly in September over August. In recent weeks the state has lifted similar orders in other areas, easing a requirement that many farmers felt was burdensome and intrusive. A SWRCB spokesperson said that the move affects about 1,000 water users, mostly farmers.
