Environmental and Policy Focus
San Jose Mercury News - Jun 3
The California Senate on Wednesday approved a sweeping package of climate change bills that, if passed by the Assembly and signed into law, would implement policy announced by Governor Jerry Brown earlier this year. Senate Bill 32, sponsored by Senator Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, would extend California's 2006 landmark climate change law, Assembly Bill 32. AB 32 requires California to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a reduction of about 20 percent from "business as usual." The new bill, which passed the Senate 22-15, would cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The other new bill, Senate Bill 350, sponsored by Senators Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, and Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require the California Air Resources Board to reduce petroleum use in cars and trucks by 50 percent in the next 15 years. The bill would also require California utilities to generate at least 50 percent of their electricity from solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources by 2030 (an increase from current law, which requires one third of generated power to come from renewable sources by 2020) and require state agencies to toughen building energy efficiency standards.
Courthouse News Service - Jun 2
Following a recent appellate ruling setting aside a tiered water rate schedule in San Juan Capistrano, a class action has been filed to challenge Marin Municipal Water District's tiered rate schedule on the same theory. In San Juan Capistrano, where the water authority had charged higher rates to larger water users, the court held that tiered rates are allowable, but only if differences in rates are tied to costs of service; otherwise they violate Proposition 218, a 1996 voter initiative measure that limits service fees imposed by local agencies. In the Marin County case, the plaintiffs allege that Marin County's tiered water rates, intended to enforce conservation, also impose an unconstitutional penalty in violation of Proposition 218.
Los Angeles Times - Jun 2
After lagging during the first part of the year, water conservation in California improved significantly in April following Governor Jerry Brown’s historic order requiring major cuts in water use amid the worsening drought. Water use in April dropped 13.5 percent, compared with the same month in 2013, a sign that residents and urban water suppliers were taking Gov. Brown's dire conservation calls seriously. Despite the improvement, the state has a long way to go to meet the 25 percent cut the Governor demanded on April 1. Over the last 11 months, Californians cut water use cumulatively by only 9 percent.
SFGate - Jun 2
Citing Israel’s strategy of converting salt water to freshwater to solve its chronic water shortages, Senator Barbara Boxer said at a briefing on Tuesday that she will push desalination as a response to California’s drought and introduce legislation to authorize millions of dollars in federal research into desalination. Boxer said she had secured a commitment from Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe to hold a hearing on desalination and other technologies to recycle and store water. In a separate Senate hearing on the drought, Republicans indicated that drought legislation aimed at California, currently being crafted by Senator Dianne Feinstein and House Republicans from the Central Valley, would be considered only as part of broader legislation covering the entire western United States.
U-T San Diego - May 30
A decades-long struggle between the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is nearing a critical milestone. The Authority sued Metropolitan in 2010, alleging that Metropolitan has overcharged it for transporting water that the Authority obtains through a landmark agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District, and that over the agreement's 45-year lifetime, the overcharges will come to some $2 billion. The action was assigned to San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow, who ruled in 2014 that Metropolitan had violated state cost-of-service rules from 2011 through 2014. By the end of this month, Judge Karnow is expected to issue a tentative decision stating how much Metropolitan has overcharged the Authority, and how much it has to return.
Orange County Register - Jun 2
A trio of local environmental groups announced Tuesday they will file suit in Orange County Superior Court today contesting Huntington Beach’s April decision to repeal its plastic bag ban. Huntington Beach became the first city to reverse course after enacting a ban on so-called single-use plastic bags in 2013. According to Californians Against Waste, more than 100 jurisdictions in the state have adopted plastic bag ordinances. The City Council narrowly approved the ban 4-3, but changed its stance after four new members were elected last year. The environmental groups, Surfrider Foundation, Orange County Coastkeeper, and Californians Against Waste, contend the city failed to conduct an adequate review of the potential adverse effects of allowing plastic bags to be distributed once again.
Pasadena Star-News - May 29
A state Court of Appeal rejected a CEQA challenge intended to block the temporary use of the Rose Bowl for NFL games – if Los Angeles were to land an NFL team – while a permanent stadium is built elsewhere in the region. The lawsuit, filed by the Coalition for the Preservation of the Arroyo, a collection of resident associations from the area, accused the City of Pasadena of failing to account properly for the impacts the increased “traffic, air pollution, noise, trash, and neighborhood parking” could have on the Arroyo Seco. The challenge failed in Superior Court, and on Thursday the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's ruling.
