California Environmental Legislation & Coverage Update – 5.12.23 – # 2 | Allen Matkins

CBS Information – May possibly 11

The Biden administration proposed new regulations this Thursday that, if enacted, would aggressively limit greenhouse gasoline emissions from electric power vegetation. The transfer stands to pressure main alterations in the energy sector and is most likely to set up a lawful struggle with the energy field. The U.S. Environmental Protection Company (EPA) explained the new expectations would permit the sector to stay clear of up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by way of 2042, the equal, according to officers, of having around 50 % the 300 million cars and trucks in the U.S. off the street. The new specifications would require power plants to basically alter operations possibly by setting up carbon capture and storage technology, which usually takes carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels out of the air and spots it again into the earth, or by abandoning fossil fuels in favor of renewable electricity resources.

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Information

E&E News – May possibly 8

EPA is going forward with ideas to clarify how states can consider management of federally administered wetlands allowing in a transfer that opponents get worried will empower deregulation lovers. At the very least three states, Alaska, Nebraska, and Minnesota, are looking for to oversee a allowing application that influences development jobs with implications for federally secured waters. At issue is an authority chain laid out under the Clean up Drinking water Act’s Section 404 that addresses dredge-and-fill things to do, which normally entail transferring sediments in just U.S. waters. That permit program permits states to consider over the course of action if they can verify to EPA that they have the capability to do so, topic to continuing company oversight.

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Associated Push – Might 9

A federal appeals courtroom dominated Tuesday that EPA should control perchlorate, reversing a Trump-period rollback on the consuming drinking water contaminant that has been joined to mind damage in infants. A 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously in an enchantment brought by an environmental team in 2022 just after EPA defended the rollback. Perchlorate has been used in the U.S. for a long time, notably by the armed service and defense industries.

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Ventura County Star – May 5

Ventura County officials say they have achieved a settlement in theory with oil passions suing in excess of new environmental regulations in the county’s 2040 Typical Prepare. In 2020, the county Board of Supervisors adopted a extensive-vary plan that guides land use, useful resource safety, and improvement in unincorporated locations. The plan expanded buffers in between new oil and fuel wells and colleges and properties, curtailed transport of oil by truck somewhat than pipelines, and set new boundaries on the launch of gases. Until eventually the settlement is finalized, the particulars can’t be disclosed, stated Jeff Barnes, chief assistant county counsel.

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The Hill – May 11

An environmental team very last Thursday submitted a lawsuit accusing the California Geologic Power Administration Division (CalGEM) of approving new oil and fuel wells without the need of conducting sufficient environmental overview. The wells in question are positioned in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties, in close proximity to homes, shorelines, and critical habitats, according to the lawsuit. CalGEM’s approvals, the complainants argue, are based on out-of-date environmental assessments that fail to take into consideration “climate improve or the threats to human health that have develop into well comprehended considering that that time.”

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Courthouse News Support – May perhaps 10

The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to analyze how sea amount rise will influence Californians’ beach front obtain as high tides press up against seawalls and other structures crafted to secure inland non-public assets. The Community Belief Guiding Principles & Motion System does not give the fee new regulatory powers, but it outlines how the commission can study the outcomes of soaring tides whilst doing the job with other point out and municipal businesses, non-public firms, and tribal governments in an equitable way. The plan also outlines how the Community Trust Doctrine interacts with the Coastal Act, the 1976 law defining the California Coastal Commission’s duties.