Focus

EPA moves to toughen standards for fine particulate matter

Associated Press – January 6

The U.S .Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing tougher standards for fine particle pollution, sometimes known as soot. The proposed regulations announced on Friday would set maximum levels of 9 to 10 micrograms of fine particle pollution per cubic meter of air, down from 12 micrograms set a decade ago under the Obama administration. Environmental and public health groups that have been pushing for a stronger standard were disappointed, saying the proposal does not go far enough to limit emissions from tailpipes, wildfires, factory and power plant smokestacks, and other sources. The proposal would require states, counties, and tribal governments to meet a stricter air quality standard for fine particulate matter up to 2.5 microns in diameter — far smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The standard would not force facilities to shut down, but EPA and state regulators could use the standard as the basis for other rules that target pollution from specific sources such as diesel-fueled trucks, refineries, and power plants.

News

Deadly results as dramatic climate whiplash causes California’s aging levees to fail

Los Angeles Times – January 5

Following the pounding rains of New Year’s Eve, nearly a dozen earthen embankments along the Cosumnes River in Wilton near Sacramento were breached and three people were found dead inside or next to submerged vehicles. Experts say such failures are all but inevitable as California’s aging levee system whipsaws between desiccating drought and intense downpours. Storm water has a nasty way of finding errors in infrastructure planning and design, said Jeffrey Mount, a geomorphologist and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. At the same time, Department of Water Resources director Karla Nemeth warned that rural levees would be the “most vulnerable places in California,” largely because they are not required to meet the same standards as levees that protect more urban communities.

Concord City Council set to vote on Naval Weapons project future

The Mercury News – December 30

The Concord Naval Weapons Station project is reaching a critical point after a long and bumpy road toward becoming one of the Bay Area’s largest developments in generations. The Concord City Council is set to vote on January 7 on initial contract terms with a development group that includes the family-run Seeno company and Oakland developer Phil Tagami. If the City Council approves the initial contract terms it will set the stage to begin more in-depth environmental review, develop site specific plans, and begin negotiations with Concord First Properties, the consortium that includes Seeno, Tagami’s company, and Lewis Management. The proposed project, even with contract terms agreed upon now, will take decades to complete.

Biden signs bill to study salt lakes in drought-hit U.S. West

Associated Press – December 27

Legislation signed by President Joe Biden on December 27 provides scientists with $25 million to study salt lake ecosystems in the drought-stricken U.S. West, to address the unprecedented existential threats caused by the lack of water. The funding allows the United States Geological Survey to study the hydrology of the ecosystems in and around Utah’s Great Salt Lake, California’s Mono Lake, Oregon’s Lake Albert, and other saline lakes. Although the legislation’s sponsors — congressional members from throughout the West — lauded the effort and said they hoped the studies would inform solutions, the program does not mandate any conservation measures or institute new water management guidelines.

California Resources Corp. proposes first project under carbon sequestration initiative

Los Angeles Business Journal – January 2

In December, California Resources Corp. announced its first project under its new carbon sequestration initiative: a partnership with Lone Cypress Energy Services to develop a hydrogen fuel plant that uses natural gas as its feedstock. Because water is added to the process to make the hydrogen fuel, the technology is known as “blue hydrogen.” The plant would be located above California Resource’s main oil and natural gas producing field in Kern County. The plant, which will take the carbon dioxide byproduct that is captured and sequester it in an underground vault, is expected to be operational by the end of 2025 and will be the first plant of its kind in the state.

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