Focus
California signals intent to sue over Trump’s coal rollback
San Francisco Chronicle – June 19
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, has signed a replacement rule for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which sought to encourage utilities to rely less on coal-fired power plants and more on electricity from lower carbon or carbon-free alternatives. In a press conference this Wednesday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra called the rollback unlawful on the grounds that it runs “directly contrary” to Congress’ intent that EPA has broad authority to address “monumental sources of energy and air pollution.” He was joined by Attorneys General for Iowa, Oregon, and Colorado, states that, along with New York, plan to file a lawsuit over the replacement rule. The new rule is not expected to have a significant effect on California, because California has only one remaining coal-fired power plant.
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News
Attorney General Becerra announces $11 million settlement with AutoZone
KPBS – June 19
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Tuesday announced an $11 million settlement with AutoZone Inc. over allegations that the retailer violated state laws governing hazardous waste, hazardous materials, and confidential consumer information. Evidence supporting the complaint, filed against the 600-store auto parts chain by the Attorney General's Office, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, and the district attorneys of ten California counties, came from the results of inspections of trash bins at AutoZone facilities between August 2013 and September 2015. AutoZone facilities in 45 counties were found by the prosecuting offices to have “illegally disposed of over five million hazardous waste items in California.”
U.S. air quality is slipping after years of improvement
Associated Press - June 18
Over the last two years, the United States had more polluted air days than just a few years earlier, according to new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data analyzed by The Associated Press. There were 15 percent more days with unhealthy air in America in 2018 and 2017 than there were on average from 2013 through 2016, the four years when America had its fewest number of those days since at least 1980.
Bayer asks trial judge to reverse $2 billion Roundup jury verdict
Reuters – June 18
Bayer AG has asked the Alameda County Superior Court to set aside a $2 billion verdict by jurors who found the company’s Roundup weed killer responsible for a couple’s cancer, arguing the jury decision was not supported by evidence. Bayer faces Roundup-related cancer lawsuits by more than 13,400 plaintiffs across the United States. It denies the allegations, saying the weed killer and its active ingredient glyphosate are safe for human use.
Air Force diverted $66 million from other projects for PFAS cleanups
Colorado Springs Independent – June 17
On June 5, the Department of Defense acknowledged that it had diverted $66.6 million from other projects to pay for PFAS testing at 16 former Air Force installations, along with groundwater and drinking water treatment for communities around several bases, including March Air Reserve Base in California. PFAS is a toxic group of chemicals used in firefighting foam. Many of the projects put on hold involved cleaning up other pollution at former Air Force sites, such as a $8.6 million radiological cleanup at McClellan Air Force Base in California. On June 13, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, introduced an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act that would reimburse water districts for treating and mitigating PFAS in drinking water. A separate amendment filed by a bipartisan group of senators would expand monitoring and testing of PFAS, and set a deadline for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a drinking water standard for PFOA and PFAS, two types of PFAS chemicals once found in firefighting foam.
California’s wildfire season is starting, and officials are bracing for the worst
The Guardian - June 15
California’s fire season is starting to heat up again, and officials are bracing for the worst. So far this year, California has faced 1,746 wildfires, burning through more than 15,500 acres. The fires are fueled by grass and brush that grew during an especially wet winter and mild spring, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). In anticipation of peak wildfire season in the months to come, Cal Fire, under an executive order from California Governor Gavin Newsom, released a report identifying 35 top-priority projects to thin vegetation in and around more than 200 vulnerable communities.
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