The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), the Rural
County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the League
of California Cities (Cal Cities) hosted the Local
Government Renewable Energy Permitting Process webinar
on Wednesday, August 30th. The webinar provided
local government officials, planners, and energy generation and
storage developers with valuable insights into the permitting
processes for renewable energy projects, including battery
storage.
On Friday, September 1, CSAC visited Merced and Stanislaus
Counties for a tour hosted by Supervisors Daron McDaniels, Scott
Silveira, and Vito Chiesa to learn about regional projects making
an impact in their community. The tour was attended by CSAC
leadership and staff as well as Agriculture, Environment,
and Natural Resources Chair Chris Howard and Vice Chair Heidi
Hall, CSAC First Vice President Bruce Gibson and CSAC Second Vice
President Jeff Griffiths.
California’s recycling landscape is about to undergo another
seismic shift. Local governments played a key role in ushering in
this change, but there’s still plenty of work left.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES)
is currently conducting a public review and comment period of the
2023 California State Emergency Plan (SEP) Coordinating Draft.
The 2023 SEP Coordinating Draft is a strategic level document
that describes California’s overall emergency management system.
The plan is written to support emergency managers and responders
at all levels of government and is updated on a five-year cycle.
During this cycle, significant updates to the 2023 SEP include:
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), the Rural
County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the League
of California Cities (Cal Cities) are pleased to announce
a FREE upcoming webinar on renewable energy permitting.
From coastal flooding to dramatic snowmelt, this year’s floods
brought unprecedented damage throughout California’s counties.
Damage to levees and flood infrastructure, including debris in
rivers and tributaries, need expedited repairs to protect
communities from the next rainy season. On August 4, the Governor
issued
Executive Order N-10-23 to mitigate the risks of additional
flooding. The order applies to emergency levee repair and debris
clearing including main stem and tributaries of the San Joaquin
River, Tulare Lake Basin, Salinas River, Pajaro River, and
coastal streams in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and
Monterey counties.
The State Water Board is accepting applications for the Safe and
Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) Advisory
Group. The SAFER drinking water program is designed to ensure
Californians who lack safe and affordable drinking water receive
it as quickly as possible. Members of the advisory group serve as
a consultative body that advises the Board on the SAFER Fund
Expenditure Plan, and other key analyses and policies as needed.
The Coastal Commission’s Local Government Working Group is
working to identify new options for phased and regional
approaches to sea level rise adaptation planning.
The Working Group will share its ideas and initiatives and invite
all perspectives, examples and questions from California
agencies, cities, counties, planners and regional planning
organizations.
Counties are invited to a California Water Commission workshop to
explore ways that the State can adapt to changing hydrology and
ongoing weather extremes. Following three years of severe
drought, California experienced a winter of extreme wet weather
this year. Being able to endure the next severe drought is
dependent upon making smart, preemptive water management
decisions during non-drought years.
CSAC, in collaboration with RCRC, has been meeting with PG&E
on a regular basis to receive updates on their strategies to
mitigate service disruptions to customers. These meetings bring
together key PG&E staff to hear what counties are
experiencing locally, and discuss plans to address issues.
The California Energy Commission recently released a report on
the different permitting options for offshore wind energy
facilities off the California coast currently being considered as
part of the state’s offshore wind strategic plan.
Of California’s 58 counties, 19 border the Pacific Ocean.
Depending on the location of proposed offshore wind development
areas, several counties could be involved in permitting some
portion of an offshore wind development project.
Temperatures are climbing and the inevitable snowmelt is underway
across the state. Yosemite is closing due to flood threat,
reservoirs are moving water out to make room for more snowmelt,
and rivers are rising across the state. Floodwaters are covering
historic lakebeds and floodplains are activating throughout the
valley communities. There are estimates of upward to $1 trillion
in damages in the likelihood of a statewide flood.
The Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources (AENR) Policy
Committee oversees a wide range of issues including energy
policy. CSAC continues to support efforts to ensure that
California has an adequate supply of safe and reliable energy
through a combination of conservation, renewables, new generation
and new transmission efforts. CSAC also supports funding
mechanisms, including grants, loans and incentives to help
implement programs.
Supervisors and county staff throughout the state convened in
Sacramento County for the 2023 CSAC Legislative Conference to
engage, empower and
elevate our collective county voice.
CSAC’s five policy committees – AOJ, AENR, GFA, HHS and HLT
– held important discussions to help steer the Association’s
policy and direction. Below is a recap from each policy
committees’ meeting.
