In response to critics who said that proposed new statewide water conservation rules — aimed at cutting urban water use even in years when California is not in a drought — were too complicated and costly, the State Water Resources Control Board on March 12 unveiled new, more relaxed standards. Many of the largest Bay Area water agencies, which have been leaders in water efficiency for years, will not be required to make further cuts through 2035, and will face cuts of less than 5% by 2040. Other agencies in the Central Valley and Southern California, which have not used water as efficiently, would be required by 2040 to make cuts of 30% or more from their overall use. The rules are expected to be finalized in July and go into effect next year.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is imposing new restrictions on the emissions of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas that is widely used to sterilize medical devices. The regulation would force sterilizing plants and other facilities that use ethylene oxide to install pollution controls to reduce emissions of the gas by about 90%. It would mark the first time in 20 years that the government has tightened limits on the amount of ethylene oxide permitted to escape from a facility. Ethylene oxide is used in a number of products but is applied to about half the medical equipment made in the United States to reduce the risk of infection.
State Senator Steve Padilla on Monday announced Senate Bills 1178 and 1208 in an effort to address the worsening pollution of the Tijuana River. The bills seek to address contamination from raw sewage and also assess the role industrial waste plays in cross-border pollution. SB 1178 would require multinational companies of 2,500 employees or more that are licensed to do business in California to publicly disclose their wastewater discharges. The State Water Resources Control Board would then have to quantify the costs of reducing that contamination and businesses would have to take steps to reduce the contamination or pay the state to do so on their behalf. In addition, to prevent the development of a proposed landfill in East Otay Mesa, Padilla proposed SB 1208 to prohibit the development of landfills within the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve or within an area that is a tributary to the Tijuana River.
The state of Texas last Friday sued the Biden administration over an EPA rule restricting methane emissions finalized earlier that day following a request by the Texas Railroad Commission, the state’s primary oil and gas regulator, while the rule was still being finalized. Methane is a significant greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. While methane dissipates from the atmosphere faster than carbon dioxide, it is far more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere. EPA estimates the rule, first announced in 2023, could cut up to 58 million tons of methane emissions by 2038. It adds more stringent requirements for practices such as flaring and plugging leaks.
The California Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously on March 7 that Kern County relied on a flawed environmental review and violated California’s Environmental Quality Act to approve its local oil and gas ordinance, designed to fast-track permitting of oil and gas projects. County officials are prohibited from issuing local permits for oil and gas projects, including for a contested project that would affect much of San Joaquin Valley. The panel found that the county’s study of cancer risks for those living near multiple wells was deficient, as was its analysis of the impacts of drilling near houses and schools.
EPA has ordered a scrap metal recycler in Watts to take action to prevent chemicals from washing into local storm drains and drifting onto the campus of a neighboring high school. Federal regulators are requiring S&W Atlas Metal & Iron, one of the city’s oldest metal recyclers, to upgrade its stormwater treatment system and limit metallic debris from migrating off its property. The facility is next to Jordan High School, where students and staff have long complained that school grounds have been coated in metallic dust and pelted with metal shrapnel.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board on March 1, 2024, denied a January 4, 2022 application the Chiquita Canyon Landfill sought to expand operations with the “East Canyon Project.” The decision is the latest regulatory blow for the landfill, which also received notices of violation from the state Department of Toxic Substances Control on February 21 over its handling of leachate. Later that week, EPA stated the landfill presents an “imminent and substantial endangerment” in connection with regulatory violations related to air and water pollution.
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