Environmental and Policy Focus
San Francisco Business Times - Nov 29 A California appellate court on Tuesday upheld the environmental review of the Golden State Warriors' San Francisco stadium plan, allowing construction to begin on the $1 billion arena and office development unless another round of appellate review is granted. The decision held that the legal challenge by the Mission Bay Alliance, which has been fighting to block the project, did not have merit. The Mission Bay Alliance, which includes University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) staff and donors, alleged in its lawsuit that the city did not properly study the 18,000-seat stadium's impacts on traffic and the environment. The project at 3rd and 16th streets, branded as Chase Center, is slated to open in 2019, but this week’s decision could be challenged through a petition for review by the California Supreme Court. The Mission Bay Alliance stated that it intends to use all avenues to fight the project.
KPBS - Nov 22 Demand for California pollution permits rebounded in the latest carbon auction, with 88 percent of the available credits purchased at the quarterly auction held last week by California and its trading partner, Quebec, Canada. While this is a significant increase from the 35 percent sold in August and 10 percent sold in May, the available permits did not sell out, heightening uncertainty about the future of the state’s cap-and-trade program. This year's dip in demand is blamed on a glut of permits on the market and mounting legal uncertainty about whether the program will survive a number of legal challenges on the horizon. Since 2012, California has required companies emitting greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, to buy pollution permits, which are auctioned quarterly and also sold in secondary markets.
Sacramento Bee - Nov 30 As the drought enters its fifth year, five California state agencies are considering tightening urban water conservation standards. In a series of proposals released Wednesday, state officials said they might require urban water districts seeking to avoid state conservation mandates to prove they have a five-year water supply on hand. Under the current rules, urban districts must only prove a three-year supply to avoid being subject to the state’s previous mandates, which required water savings of 25 percent. Under the new proposals, agricultural irrigation districts also would be required to submit agricultural water management plans detailing how they intend to become more efficient. Some of the agency proposals will require action by the Legislature; others can be implemented by administrative action.
Los Angeles Times - Nov 29 Dozens of water agencies in drought-weary California are forecasted to receive 20% of their allocation from the State Water Project in 2017, the Department of Water Resources said Monday. This initial allocation forecast is double what was announced a year ago. Officials said winter storms in coming months may boost the first 2017 allocation. The State Water Project supplies 29 public water agencies, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Southern California, serving nearly two-thirds of California residents and irrigating nearly 1 million acres of farmland.
ABC News - Nov 30 The Obama administration has decided not to change government fuel economy requirements for cars and light trucks despite protests from automakers. The decision means that automakers, at least for now, will still have to meet strict fuel economy requirements and that companies likely will continue building small cars and electric vehicles even though people are buying more SUVs and trucks. The standards will increase the new-vehicle fleet's average gas mileage requirement from 34.1 miles per gallon (mpg) to 50.8 mpg this year, which will dramatically cut carbon pollution and save U.S. drivers billions in fuel costs, according to the EPA. The EPA will take public comments on the decision until December 30, and then EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will make a final decision. The quick approval means the decision would become final before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January, even though a final decision is not required until April 2018.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Dec 1 O’Reilly Auto Parts has agreed to a $9.86 million settlement in a lawsuit that accused the company of mishandling hazardous waste at locations throughout California. The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, was brought by more than 50 district attorneys’ offices from around the state, alleging that O’Reilly stores unlawfully handled, transported, and disposed of used oil, used oil filters, and hazardous waste — such as automotive fluid, batteries and aerosol cans — over a five-year period. Investigators conducted a series of undercover inspections in 2013 and 2014 and found that O’Reilly stores had routinely been sending the items to landfills throughout California. The landfills are not permitted to receive such wastes. The company has since modified its policies and procedures to eliminate improper disposal of hazardous waste products in California.
