Focus
Senate confirms Biden’s pick to lead EPA
The New York Times – March 10
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Michael S. Regan, the former top environmental regulator for North Carolina, to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Regan began his career at the EPA and worked in environmental and renewable energy advocacy before becoming secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality. As administrator, Regan will be tasked to rebuild an agency that lost thousands of employees under the Trump administration. Central to Regan’s mission will be putting forward aggressive new regulations to meet President Biden’s pledge of eliminating fossil fuel emissions from the electric power sector by 2035, significantly reducing emissions from automobiles and preparing the United States to emit no net carbon pollution by the middle of the century.
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News
Kern County approves plan for thousands of new oil and gas wells over environmental objections
Los Angeles Times – March 9
The Kern County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved a revised ordinance that authorizes as many as 2,700 new oil and gas wells annually over the next 15 years under the authority of a single environmental impact report, over the objections of environmental groups and others. The revision was necessary after a state appeals court ruled last year that a 2015 county ordinance that would have allowed up to 72,000 wells by 2036, but with a lower cap on annual approvals, violated the California Environmental Quality Act by not fully evaluating or disclosing environmental impacts from the new wells.
First commercial scale U.S. offshore wind farm project clears key hurdle
Reuters – March 8
The Interior Department announced on Monday that it had completed its final environmental review of what would become the first commercial scale U.S. offshore wind farm, an 800-megawatt wind energy project. The review clears a key hurdle needed to permit the project in the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts shore. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s final environmental impact statement for the Vineyard Wind project was published in the Federal Register today, kicking off a final 30-day comment period before the agency issues its record of decision on the project.
San Diego’s Pure Water sewage recycling system ready for construction with all hurdles cleared
The San Diego Union-Tribune – March 6
San Diego is ready to start building the long-awaited Pure Water sewage recycling system, now that city officials have resolved litigation that delayed the project by 18 months, city officials say. Pure Water will boost San Diego’s water independence by recycling 83 million gallons of treated sewage into potable drinking water by 2035. All regulatory permits have been secured and construction bids are being opened and analyzed for the 10 projects that will comprise the first phase of the Pure Water system, a large treatment facility slated to open in 2025 near Miramar. City officials also are making key decisions for Pure Water phase two, a separate recycling facility near San Diego International Airport that is slated to start operating in 2035.
Senators introduce bill seeking to reduce water pollution at U.S.-Mexico border
KPBS – March 3
California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla introduced a bill aimed at addressing pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border and improving water quality in the Tijuana and New rivers last Wednesday. The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would, in part, put the EPA in charge of coordinating federal, state, and local agencies to build and maintain infrastructure projects aimed at reducing pollution along the border. Companion legislation from San Diego-area representatives are also in the works, according to a joint statement from Feinstein's and Padilla's offices.
Federal judge approves $1.5B settlement with Daimler in emissions-cheating case
Courthouse News Service – March 9
German automaker Daimler, parent company of American Mercedes-Benz, will pay $1.5 billion to resolve charges over its connection to the global diesel emissions-cheating scandal. The payment follows approval of the settlement Tuesday by Judge Emmet J. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The parties to the settlement include, in addition to Daimler, the U.S. Department of Justice, the EPA, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Attorney General. Not counting the 174,000 vehicles it imported, Daimler was charged with outfitting some 250,000 U.S.-built vehicles between 2009 and 2016 with software that could cheat emissions testing of diesel engines that otherwise did not meet state and federal standards.
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