Environmental and Policy Focus
KPCC - Oct 17
Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging that the agency has not done enough to limit fine particulate matter, known as "PM2.5,” in the L.A. Basin and the San Joaquin Valley. PM2.5, generated from sources such as diesel exhaust, heavy industry, and burning wood, has been linked to lung and heart disease. The complaint says that concentrations of PM2.5 in both regions have not met reduction targets set in 1997 by the Clean Air Act. An attorney for the plaintiffs said the suit seeks court intervention to force the EPA to designate the South Coast Air Basin and the San Joaquin Valley "serious areas," a distinction that would require more aggressive pollution control measures be put in place.
Sacramento Bee - Oct 18
In a victory for city officials and the Sacramento Kings, a judge Friday rejected a pair of environmental lawsuits filed by opponents of the team’s new downtown arena. The ruling by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley clears away much of the lingering uncertainty over the $477 million arena project, which got underway in August. However, an appeal would keep the environmental issues alive at least a while longer. Frawley’s decision is a partial reversal of his tentative ruling a week ago, which handed arena opponents a small victory. In that earlier ruling, he dismissed the lion’s share of the opponents’ claims under the California Environmental Quality Act.
San Francisco Business Times - Oct 15
Developers have another option for meeting their need to mitigate loss of wetlands, under a new option announced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Rather than crafting a mitigation plan for approval, those in need of a wetlands permit can pay an in-lieu fee instead. Under the program created by the nonprofit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the fees would pay for mitigation projects on a greater scale because the fees would be collected from more than one permit holder.
OC Register - Oct 21
A nonprofit organization has filed a lawsuit against Laguna Beach, claiming the city is responsible for pollutants introduced to the local water system because of flaws in the sewer system. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court, contends that Laguna Beach has violated the federal Clean Water Act and continues to do so on an ongoing basis as a result of sewage system overflows. Via the suit, California River Watch, headquartered in the Northern California city of Sebastopol, is seeking major changes to the city’s sewage system, including replacement of all sewer lines within 200 feet of surface water and implementation of water quality oversight measures.
San Francisco Business Times - Oct 16
Forest City Residential Development is making headway on its reimagining of the four-acre South of Market project known as 5M that's now home to the San Francisco Chronicle building. A public hearing is scheduled for November 20, kicking off a political and community process that will help determine the project's fate. The developer submitted a 740-page environmental impact report to the city to outline more specific sketches of the more than 1.5 million square feet of new offices and housing that it wants to add to the area between 5th, Mission, and Howard streets in the SoMa district.
