Environmental and Policy Focus
Sacramento Bee - Jun 7 The California Third District Court of Appeal on Tuesday granted a temporary stay blocking Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s (Metropolitan) $175 million purchase of five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Environmental groups, local water districts, and San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties sued Metropolitan in April, aiming to halt the sale pending an environmental review. Last month, a San Joaquin County trial court judge refused to grant their request for a preliminary injunction and the parties appealed that decision. Metropolitan officials have said it makes no sense to do an environmental review before the agency has a firm proposal for how it wants to use the islands, which Metropolitan says could include storage of equipment or “fill” dirt or wetlands restoration for Governor Jerry Brown’s controversial Delta tunnels project. Certain environmental groups and elected officials in the Delta region contend the purchase ultimately will harm the Delta’s ecosystem and water supply, thus necessitating an environmental review.
Daily Breeze - Jun 3 Southern California air pollution regulators last Friday joined 10 other state and local agencies in demanding that the federal government impose tough national rules to reduce emissions from big rig trucks. The petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks a national “near-zero” or “ultra-low” emissions standard for heavy-duty truck engines that would be 90 percent cleaner than the current federal standard. An EPA spokeswoman in Washington, D.C. declined to comment beyond saying that the agency would review the petition and respond to it appropriately. California plans to adopt an ultra-low nitrogen oxide emission standard for truck engines sold in the state, but the rules won’t stop higher polluting trucks purchased elsewhere from rolling into California.
San Jose Mercury News - Jun 8 Measure AA, a landmark $12 annual parcel tax in all nine Bay Area counties to fund wetlands restoration and flood control projects around San Francisco Bay's shoreline, appears to have won approval from voters. The measure, which would raise roughly $500 million over the next 20 years, needed two-thirds to pass, and had 69.3 percent in favor on Wednesday morning with all 4,643 precincts counted. Measure AA ranks as the largest environmental measure ever approved in the Bay Area. The measure was backed by environmental groups such as Save the Bay, the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy, along with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Bay Area Council, PG&E, Google, and Facebook. Opponents were mostly local taxpayer groups who said it was unfair to charge inland homeowners the same rate as bayfront property owners and large corporations.
San Bernardino Sun - Jun 4 The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has launched an investigation into Nestlé’s water rights in the San Bernardino National Forest, adding a new layer of scrutiny to the growing public outcry against the water bottler’s operations during a drought. Last year, Nestlé withdrew 36 million gallons from remote Strawberry Canyon, on U.S. Forest Service land north of San Bernardino, under a permit that expired 28 years ago. Forest Service officials say permits remain in effect until they are renewed or denied. Tim Moran, a spokesman for the SWRCB, could not say when the investigation began, but noted that Nestlé provided the documents requested and they are being evaluated. A meeting between the SWRCB and Nestlé officials in Sacramento to discuss the documents is planned for June 16. The SWRCB inquiry follows the launch earlier this year of the Forest Service’s first-ever environmental study of Nestle’s operations in Strawberry Creek, which could take anywhere from six months to two years to complete.
