Electric school buses, pesticides, and oil wells: New environmental laws coming to California

The Mercury News – October 3

Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen significant environmental bills over the weekend, including a first-in-the-nation law requiring corporations doing business in California with more than $1 billion a year in sales to report their annual greenhouse gas emissions to the public. Other notable new bills include Senate Bill 389, clarifying state law to allow the State Water Resources Control Board to investigate and verify water claims and take enforcement action over illegal diversions, and Assembly Bill 1167, requiring people or companies who acquire oil wells in California to post a bond with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of plugging the well and cleaning up the site, usually at least $25,000.

News

Oil companies may face larger fines, increased enforcement under new law

Desert Sun – October 10

Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed a new law designed to strengthen California’s enforcement powers against petroleum companies that cause major oil spills or other hazards. Assembly Bill 631 was authored in response to a Desert Sun and ProPublica probe that found that the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), the state agency charged with regulating fossil fuel companies, had a spotty enforcement record, and had collected zero fines in 2020 despite amped-up authority to assess monetary penalties for violations. In addition to higher civil penalties, AB 631 empowers CalGEM to refer cases to local prosecutors, and to seek injunctive relief from a superior court to compel operators to correct violations that, if persistently neglected, can deteriorate into worsening conditions that threaten public health, safety, and the environment.

California will soon require many cities to significantly cut water use

San Francisco Chronicle – October 5

A second straight wet winter may be in store for California, but regulators with the State Water Resources Control Board are turning their attention to the prospect of long-term water shortages, with plans for permanent statewide restrictions. Under a first-of-its-kind proposal, about 400 cities and suppliers will soon have to meet state-mandated limits on water use, requiring some to cut consumption by 20% or more within two years, regardless of precipitation totals. Fines for violators could run as high as $10,000 per day. Water agencies, under the plan, will be responsible for figuring out how to hit the new targets, with many likely to fall back on familiar drought-time conservation practices.

New monitors confirm what South Bay residents suspected: Concentrations of sewer gases are above state thresholds

The San Diego Union-Tribune – October 8

A new air quality monitoring station operated by the San Diego Air Pollution Control District shows that concentrations of wastewater gases, including hydrogen sulfide, are sometimes exceeding state thresholds. Operational issues with wastewater treatment, compounded by recent rains, have resulted in major flows of untreated sewage from Tijuana, bringing unpleasant odors to the San Diego area, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While round-the-clock detection is just getting started, the district undertook a spot reading after receiving 30 calls and messages from the public regarding sewage odors in the communities closest to the Tijuana River in the past year.

Debate over options for California’s ailing Delta region reflects deep divisions over water

Los Angeles Times – October 3

California water regulators have released a long-awaited analysis of options for managing flows in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where fish populations have been declining and the ecosystem has been deteriorating. The Delta is the central hub of the state’s water system, drawing together rivers from a vast watershed and supplying pumps that send water flowing to cities and farms. The draft report by staff members at the State Water Resources Control Board (Board) lays out alternatives for new water quality standards that will determine how much water may be removed and how much should be allowed to flow through the Delta. The report’s release on September 28 opened a process that will involve hearings, public input and an eventual decision by the Board.

New concerns raised about PFAS compounds and PCBs at Santa Susana site

Los Angeles Daily News – October 6

According to a September report from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), California’s public health agencies have failed to monitor the decades-long use and migration of PFAS compounds and PCBs at the Santa Susana Field lab, site of a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959. Staff with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the state agency that oversees the discharge of water from the site, said the agency has been working on addressing the issues mentioned in the PEER report since its release. Residents and activists have been pressuring elected officials to clean up the site.