Federal environmental regulators are taking action that eventually could transform the way motor vehicle tires are manufactured to reduce toxic runoff from 6PPD, a substance used in tire production that kills or harms some fish, including federally protected coho salmon and steelhead trout. A landmark study published in 2020 and associated research since then shows that 6PPD reacts with ozone to create 6PPD-quinone, which leaches out of tire dust and particles deposited on roadways. The chemical then washes into streams and other waterways when it rains, especially during a season’s “first flush,” or even in snowmelt. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granting a petition submitted by three West Coast tribes, including the Yurok in Northern California, seeking action under the nation’s toxic substances law to address the threat posed by 6PPD. Scientists at the San Francisco Estuary Institute, who partnered in the research, also found fatal levels of 6PPD-quinone in four Bay Area streams, raising concerns about watersheds where diminished coho populations still exist, like the Eel and Klamath rivers. It could take a decade for EPA to fully evaluate the impacts.
California on Wednesday won federal approval from EPA to enact a first-in-the-nation rule requiring railroads in the state to reduce, and eventually eliminate, harmful air pollution from their locomotives. EPA allowed the state to adopt regulations, approved by the California Air Resources Board in April, which will require railroads entering the state to replace their most polluting diesel locomotives with cleaner models. Under the regulations, zero-emissions locomotives will be required for all passenger and industrial engines built after 2030 and for all freight-line locomotives after 2035. The rule would also allow locomotives to run their engines on idle for no more than 30 minutes at a time. The railroad industry is already challenging the proposed rule in court.
A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld an injunction barring California from requiring businesses to warn consumers that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller, causes cancer. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was unconstitutional for California to require Bayer AG's Monsanto unit, which makes Roundup, and some agricultural producers to provide the warning under Proposition 65. The court said the warning conveyed the "at best, disputed" message that glyphosate is unsafe, and that requiring objectors to convey a "controversial, fiercely contested message that they fundamentally disagree with" violated their First Amendment rights.
Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday exercised his new power under state law to help get a giant reservoir planned for Northern California on the fast track for approval. The proposed $4.5 billion Sites Reservoir, envisioned 70 miles north of Sacramento, would be the first major reservoir built in California in nearly half a century. The move marks the first project Newsom has certified under legislation signed this year designed to remove regulatory hurdles for vital water, energy, and transportation infrastructure. Under Senate Bill 149, courts must resolve legal challenges under the California Environmental Quality Act within 270 days, among other requirements. The Sites Project Authority, the agency leading the project, had requested accelerated judicial review under SB 149 last month, saying it would save time and money. Critics of the proposed reservoir petitioned the state to deny the expedited review.
California Forever sent a letter on Monday to Solano County, the City of Fairfield, and the Solano County Water Agency proposing a land exchange of thousands of acres near Travis Air Force Base. The letter says that California Forever is offering the exchange because it learned the parcels it purchased on the Jepson Prairie are included under the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program, and that its ownership of them could pose a threat to the goals of the Solano County Habitat Conservation Plan. California Forever says as part of the exchange it also would provide $1 million to fund the completion of the Solano County Habitat Conservation plan. The developer’s proposal would only be effective if the development plans are ultimately approved by the various agencies.
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