Environmental and Policy Focus
Wall Street Journal - Aug 2 BNSF Railway Co. and the Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday appealed a court ruling against the freight railroad’s plan to build a rail yard near the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barry Goode ruled in March that an environmental review of BNSF's Southern California International Gateway project did not fully comply with the California Environmental Quality Act,dealing a blow to BNSF's efforts to expand its operations serving the largest import gateway in the U.S. Unless the ruling is reversed, the railroad may walk away from the $500 million investment altogether, BNSF said. Opponents of the project, which included nearby businesses, neighbors, air-quality regulators and the City of Long Beach, claimed victory after the ruling, saying the expected increase in truck traffic, pollution and noise would hurt their communities.
Reuters - Aug 2 The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a directive this week requiring federal agencies, such as the Interior Department and the Army Corps of Engineers, to quantify greenhouse gas emissions in project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Pursuant to the directive, federal agencies must describe the potential climate change impacts of projects under their review, and consider project alternatives or propose mitigation measures to reduce such emissions. "This increased predictability and certainty will allow decision makers and the public to more fully understand the potential climate impacts of all proposed federal actions," the CEQ said in a statement.
ABC News - Aug 3 The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sued state agencies Wednesday in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court to halt oil well injections into a federally-protected aquifer near California's Central Coast. CBD alleges that the state, acting through the Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), failed last February to assess environmental consequences before approving an “aquifer exemption” authorizing Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas to inject steam and oil production wastewater into an aquifer near Pismo Beach. The exemption is the first the state has supported since regulators acknowledged lax oversight had allowed oilfield fluids to be pumped into protected aquifers through thousands of wells. Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, exemptions may only be granted if an aquifer is not used for drinking water or could not be so used in the future.
San Bernardino Sun - Jul 30 Riverside County announced a settlement last Friday with Highland Fairview, the developer of the World Logistics Center—a 40.6 million square foot warehouse complex project in Moreno Valley—in a deal that officials say will provide funding for needed road improvement projects. With the county and Riverside County Transportation Commission withdrawing their objections, the agreement eliminates two of the main opponents to the planned project, which had expressed concerns that the massive project would overwhelm local roads and highways while providing no funding to accommodate projected increases in traffic. As part of the settlement, the county, Moreno Valley, developer Highland Fairview and the transportation commission each would pay $250,000 to conduct a regional transportation study that would create a regional fee on distribution centers and warehouses. The settlement resolves only three of a dozen lawsuits that were filed against the project. The South Coast Air Quality Management District and a coalition of environmental groups say they are continuing to pursue their legal challenges.
