| The Planning and Conservation League today announced its opposition to controversial "reforms" of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) approved by the Legislature.
"The Planning & Conservation League, joining with a coalition including Sierra Club California, Coalition for Clean Air, Clean Water Action, and a host of environmental justice and community groups from the Los Angeles area and throughout California, tried valiantly to stave off three bills that will weaken protections of The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)," the group wrote.
"Unfortunately, SB 226 (Simitian), SB 292 (Padilla) and AB 900 (Buchanan), all either introduced or dramatically amended in the last 36 hours of the legislative session, passed the Legislature on its final day of session. SB 226 will, if signed into law by the Governor, exempt from CEQA certain urban projects deemed 'green', with inadequate definitions of for what defines 'urban' and 'green,'" PCL said.
AB 900, while not an exemption, "streamlines" CEQA's judicial review requirements, potentially limiting the public's voice in challenging projects.
These questionable "reforms" take place at a time when over 11 million fish have been killed in the state and federal Delta water pumping facilities since January 1. Undermining CEQA only makes the epic task of restoring our imperiled Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Sacramento splittail and other fish populations even harder. For more information on the Delta fish carnage, go to: http://blogs.alternet.org/danb...
These "reforms" have been passed by the Legislature at a time when our fish populations, fishing rights and environment are under assault by corporate interests. The Brown and Obama administrations are fast-tracking the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) process to build their beloved peripheral canal to export more water to corporate agribusiness and southern California water agencies.
The attempt to exempt so-called "green" projects from CEQA sounds like yet another opportunity for corporate interests to greenwash their legacy by setting up fake "green" projects that are not subject to a thorough environmental review.
This is the problem that grassroots environmentalists, fishermen and Tribes encountered in dealing with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's corrupt Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. MLPA advocates argued that since the MLPA, overseen by oil industry, real estate, marina development, agribusiness and other corporate operatives, was a "green" project, it was not subject to a complete environmental review under CEQA.
The attempt to further limit the public voice by "streamlining" CEQA's judicial requirements under AB 900 also couldn't come at a worse time, a time when the state and federal governments have launched a virtual war on civil liberties, freedom of speech and assembly, democratic process and the U.S and California Constitutions.
SB 226, SB 292 and AB 900 exemplify how the Legislature has become little more than a tool of corporate interests and corrupt political operatives who seek to overthrow what few vestiges of democracy and public process remain in California!
Below is the complete statement from the PCL Insider:
PCL INSIDER: News from the Capitol
CONTROVERSIAL CEQA REFORMS APPROVED BY LEGISLATURE
PCL stands strong with coalition partners in opposing 11th-hour bills that weaken California's landmark environmental and community protection law
The Planning & Conservation League, joining with a coalition including Sierra Club California, Coalition for Clean Air, Clean Water Action, and a host of environmental justice and community groups from the Los Angeles area and throughout California, tried valiantly to stave off three bills that will weaken protections of The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Unfortunately, SB 226 (Simitian), SB 292 (Padilla) and AB 900 (Buchanan), all either introduced or dramatically amended in the last 36 hours of the legislative session, passed the Legislature on its final day of session. SB 226 will, if signed into law by the Governor, exempt from CEQA certain urban projects deemed 'green', with inadequate definitions of for what defines 'urban' and 'green'.
It could, therefore, allow sprawl or other impactful projects without adequate environmental review. AB 900, while not an exemption, "streamlines" CEQA's judicial review requirements, potentially limiting the public's voice in challenging projects. And SB 292 is, most simply, special treatment under the law for an influential developer (AEG) seeking to build a downtown Los Angeles football stadium. By depriving petitioners of the opportunity for superior court jurisdiction, SB 292 and AB 900 may even violate the California Constitution.
PCL certainly wants to see California take necessary and overdue steps to promote green projects in California, while putting people back to work and transforming the State into a leader in sustainable development; but these 11th-hour efforts, while perhaps well-intentioned, were ill-conceived. They attack important protections of CEQA that have given communities a voice in the development process for more than four decades, with a great deal of uncertainty as to whether these measures were needed to, or will in fact, create more jobs in California.
Moreover, the measures themselves were hastily crafted and poorly thought-out. Some legislators, such as Senator Sam Blakeslee (R, 15th District), did complain about the hastily crafted nature of AB 900 before voting against the bill. That legislation's shortcomings were seemingly acknowledged by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, (D, 6th District), who agreed that 'clean-up' legislation will have to be introduced next year to address the problems with AB 900. In addition to depriving legislators with final bill language before they voted, the rushed process also deprived the public from having meaningful input into the process.
PCL would like to thank the many organizations and individuals who stood strong against this process, and the legislators, like Senator Noreen Evans (D, 2nd District) Assembly member Jared Huffman (D, 6th District) who spoke so eloquently for good governance and for environmental and community protection.
While disappointed at the outcome, PCL will continue to work with its environmental partners, the Legislature, and local communities to ensure that projects developed pursuant these streamlined processes will still protect our environment and public welfare, while we continue to advocate for CEQA to remain a strong environmental bill of rights for all Californians.
For more information, contact the Planning and Conservation League (PCL)
1107 9th Street, Suite 901, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone (916) 822-5631 • Fax (916) 822-5650
pclmail [at] pcl.org • http://www.PCL.org • http://www.PCLFoundation.org |
