Focus

Ninth Circuit upholds federal waiver of state environmental laws in California border wall construction

■San Francisco Chronicle - February 11

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected environmental objections by the State of California and advocacy groups to various border construction projects in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had legal authority to waive dozens of environmental laws in 2017 when it authorized the construction of model concrete barriers and the replacement of 31 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The court relied on an immigration law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 that allowed DHS to “install additional physical barriers and roads” near the border and override any laws that would interfere with “expeditious construction.”

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News

EPA will study limits on cancer-linked chemicals. Critics say the plan delays action.

■New York Times - February 14

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday said it will start work by the end of the year on a long-awaited plan to set national drinking water standards for two chemicals known as poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are used in the manufacture of a wide variety of industrial and consumer and other products ranging from fire-fighting foams to pizza box coatings. PFAS have been linked to cancer, low infant birth weight, and other health issues. Critics called on EPA to move more quickly, citing evidence of dangerous levels of PFAS in community water supplies around the United States, particularly near military bases and fire stations. In 2016, under the Obama administration, EPA proposed establishment of a national drinking water standard for two of the most prevalent varieties of PFAS chemicals, and issued a health advisory recommending that water utilities and public health officials notify the public if the combined levels of those chemicals reached 70 parts per trillion. A draft report released last year by the Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the “minimal risk level” for exposure to those two chemicals should be less than half that amount.

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Governor Newsom scales back controversial Delta twin tunnels plan, appoints new Water Resources Board chair

■The Mercury News - February 12

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced that he does not support former Governor Jerry Brown’s $19 billion plan to build two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to make it easier to move water from the north to the south. Newsom, in his first state-of-the-state speech since taking office last month, said he instead will pursue a smaller, one-tunnel plan for the project. In another major announcement, Newsom also disclosed Tuesday that he is not re-appointing Felicia Marcus as chair of the State Water Resources Control Board. Marcus recently raised the ire of some farm groups and the City of San Francisco over plans to reduce diversions of water from the San Joaquin River and its tributaries. Newsom appointed Joaquin Esquivel, a board member since 2017, as the new chair.

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Los Angeles abandons plan to invest billions in fossil fuels

■Los Angeles Times - February 11

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Monday that, in order to improve air quality and move Los Angeles closer to its goal of 100 percent renewable energy, the city is abandoning a plan to spend billions of dollars rebuilding the Scattergood, Harbor, and Haynes natural gas power plants along the coast. The city is under state orders to shutter 10 gas-fired generating units at the facilities in coming years because they use ocean water for cooling, which can harm marine life. The Scattergood and Harbor plants are located in El Segundo and Wilmington, communities with some of the worst local air quality in California, according to state data.

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U.S. Senate passes decade’s largest public lands package with strong bipartisan support

■Washington Post - February 12

The Senate on Tuesday passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the country, and establishing four new national monuments. The bill has broad support in the House, which is poised to take it up after the mid-February recess. The measure protects 1.3 million acres as wilderness, the most protective possible designation. It also permanently withdraws more than 370,000 acres of land from mining around two national parks, and authorizes a program to spend offshore-drilling revenue on conservation efforts.

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Judge refuses to approve deal that would limit public access to Hollister Ranch beaches

■Los Angeles Times - February 11

A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge refused to approve a settlement agreement that would have allowed access to Hollister Ranch’s coastline only to landowners, their guests, visitors with guides, and those who could boat or paddle in from two miles away. The court did not reject the settlement outright, but instead established a legal path forward for advocates to make the case that the deal should be thrown out completely, including suing the state for failing to follow required public processes before reaching an agreement with Hollister landowners.

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Banned pesticides and industrial chemicals found flowing from Tijuana into San Diego

■San Diego Union-Tribune - February 13

According to a draft report released Wednesday by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to officials in the San Diego region, the sewage-tainted water that regularly spills over the California border from Tijuana also contains potentially dangerous industrial and agricultural chemicals, including the banned pesticide DDT and industrial compounds like hexavalent chromium. The agency has been conducting water-quality testing since early 2018 in the canyons that empty into the Tijuana River Valley. The U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission started its own testing regime in December. The agency now plans to perform an additional six months of water testing and start taking soil samples. The state of California sued the Trump administration in September for a violation of the Clean Water Act over the spills in the canyons. A similar lawsuit had already been filed last March by the cities of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista, as well as the Port of San Diego.

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