In April, CSAC along with RCRC and a number of other local
governments and energy advocates filed a joint motion requesting
the CPUC to issue emergency PSPS de-energization protocols for
electric investor-owned utilities (IOUs) that specifically take
the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration. The CPUC has taken no
action on this request to date. In the face of shelter in place
orders and a global pandemic, PSPS events could be even more
impactful than in previous years.
On June 11th, the CPUC released a
proposed decision that would require wireless providers to
develop comprehensive resiliency strategies to prepare for
catastrophic disasters and power outages. This decision would
promulgate resiliency requirements for wireless provider’s
facilities in Tier 2 and Tier 3 High Fire Threat Districts.
Specifically, the decision would:
CSAC is requesting feedback regarding how the following bills
might impact counties. Policy areas for these bills include
wildfire, PSPS, resource recovery, and flood control. Please
email Legislative Analyst, Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org
with any thoughts or feedback.
The California Fire Foundation is accepting application for its
Fire Prevention Grant Program through July 15. Applications
will be considered on a rolling basis for awards of up to $15,000
per grantee and early application is recommended.
Next Friday, May 29 from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, CSAC will host a
roundtable Zoom call with PG&E staff and representatives from
counties in PG&E territory. CSAC staff sent out invitations
to this meeting to CSAC’s Board members with PG&E as a
service provider in their county on May 19. CSAC is respectfully
requesting that counties choose one representative to join the
call. Please RSVP your county’s selection to Nick
Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counites.org by
May 27.
On April 15, the California Fish & Game Commission adopted a
temporary emergency regulation that would allow the Executive
Director to work with local county officials to temporarily
delay, restrict or suspend fisheries where needed. This order
does not end fishing season statewide. This regulation is
intended to help counties with concerns about large aggregations
of fishers, areas where new aggregations are occurring, areas
with significant numbers of nonresident fishers, and areas
with limited emergency and health services available.
This morning’s emergency Fish and Game Commission meeting is
postponed until next week due to overwhelming call and webinar
volume. The Commission is considering whether or not to allow to
provide temporary authority to the Director of the Department of
Fish & Wildlife (DFW) to delay, suspend, or restrict sport or
recreational fishing due to COVID-19 based on state, federal,
local, and tribal public health guidance and public safety needs.
CSAC is monitoring for updated meeting information and will
distribute it when it becomes available.
Pacific Gas & Electric recently released a number of billing and
service modifications to help customers experiencing financial
challenges related to COVID-19. PG&E encourages customers
experiencing COVID-19 related financial issues to call
1-800-743-5000. PG&E’s options include:
CalRecycle recently announced that it will make clarifying
changes to its proposed SB 1383 Organic Waste Diversion
Regulations in response to a review by the Office of
Administrative Law (OAL). CalRecycle will make these clarifying
changes available for a 15 day public review and will also allow
for modifications to the rulemaking package unrelated to the
clarifying changes. CSAC will monitor CalRecycle for a start date
of this 15 day comment period.
CSAC staff provided public comments during the second meeting of
the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board. CSAC’s comments suggested
keeping the focus of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) on
mitigation efforts and to consider the use of public safety power
shutoffs (PSPS) as a tool of last resort.
CSAC is requesting comments from counties on recently submitted
investor owned utility (IOU) wildfire mitigation plans. These
plans are available for public comment and can be found
here. Links to the major IOU plans can be found below:
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO
Biz) announced that grant solicitations for the Cannabis Equity
Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions are available. The
Grant Solicitation, link to the Online Application Portal, an
Application User Guide, and required documents can be found at
www.business.ca.gov/CEG.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted $20
million to the State of California for its Earthquake Brace +
Bolt (EBB) program. The grant will subsidize the work of the
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and
the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) for earthquake
retrofits on more than 6,300 at-risk structures likely to shake
from their foundations in the event of an earthquake.
The CPUC has announced upcoming workshops for evaluations of 2020
Wildfire Mitigation Plans (WMPs). 2020 WMPs are due to the
Department by February 7th. The CPUC has announced the
following tentative dates and will provide more details soon.
Workshop #1: February 18th and possibly February
19th: Informational Workshop, Utility
Presentations of 2020 WMPs
Workshop #2: February 24th and February
25th Technical Workshop to Discuss Specific Aspects of
WMPs across Utilities
The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently released a reported
titled Preparing for Rising Seas: How the State Can Help Support
Local Coastal Adaptation Efforts. The report predicts that by
2100 California could experience as much as 7 feet of sea level
rise and also suggests that local governments will be the key
leader in preparation and mitigation of sea level rise.
The Legislature is back in session and has begun taking up
two-year bills. Measures that didn’t clear their house of origin
last year must do so by the end of the month. CSAC recently
submitted a support letter on AB 1525 which is set to be heard in
Assembly Business & Profession Committee on Tuesday January
14th.
The Strategic Growth Council has opened a public comment period
on its draft guidelines for the Sustainable Agricultural Lands
Conservation Program (SALC). The SALC program invests in
agricultural land conservation with revenue from the California
Climate Investments (CCI) Fund, made available for projects
that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing additional
benefits to California communities. Comments are due by
noon on January 27th.
In December, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that
more zip codes are eligible for protection from insurance
non-renewals. The California Department of Insurance (CDI)
released an updated bulletin to insurance companies specifying
additional ZIP codes adjacent to recent wildfires in parts of San
Bernardino and Riverside counties, including the mountain
communities of Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, as well as parts of
Contra Costa, Solano and Ventura counties.
In accordance with the California
Cannabis Equity Act as amended by AB 97 (Stats. 2019,
Ch. 40), the California Bureau of Cannabis Control entered into
an interagency agreement with GO-Biz for fiscal year 2019-2020 to
administer the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local
Jurisdictions to aid local equity program efforts to support
equity applicants and equity licensees.
CSAC has been actively tracking and advocating on the development
of Investor Owned Utility (IOU) Public Safety Power Shutdown
(PSPS) policy for the past year through multiple regulatory
processes, and through advocacy in the Legislature and the state
budget process.
Governor Newsom signed 870 bills into law this year. To keep
counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC is
publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in each
policy area. This week, the Agriculture, Environment, and Natural
Resources and the Government, Finance and Administration policy
areas provide information on new laws affecting cannabis,
defensible space, animal control and (insert highlights and
topics from GFA) Stay tuned for more updates from other policy
areas over the next several weeks.
This is a reminder that CSAC is requesting comments from counties
regarding recent PSPS after action reports. CSAC is compiling
responses from counties to submit to the CPUC. Below is a list of
links to after action reports for several recent PSPS events.
CSAC is requesting comments from counties on these after
action reports by Tuesday, Nov. 26. Please email
comments to Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has opened an
investigation to examine recent Public Safety Power Shut-off
(PSPS) events and ensure utilities are held accountable for their
actions during these events. The formal investigation will assess
whether the state’s investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs)
properly balanced the need to provide safe and reliable service
when planning and executing their recent PSPS events. Initiating
this investigation is one of several actions the CPUC is taking
in response to recent PSPS events.
CSAC thanks all the counties that recently responded to our
request for information regarding October Public Safety Power
Shutdown (PSPS) events. CSAC will continue to accept any
information from counties regarding PSPS costs on a rolling
basis. Information that you provide will help CSAC continue to
advocate for resources to help mitigate future impacts of PSPS
events. CSAC will gladly take information related to the
following questions or any other information related to a county
PSPS experience.
CSAC thanks all the counties that recently responded to our
request for information regarding October Public Safety Power
Shutdown (PSPS) events. CSAC will continue to accept any
information from counties regarding PSPS costs, as the
information you provide will help CSAC continue to advocate for
resources to help mitigate future impacts of PSPS events. CSAC
will gladly take information related to the following questions
or any other information related to a county PSPS experience.
CSAC engaged with Cal OES this week to work with counties
impacted by this week’s Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)
events. CSAC worked with state leaders to host a series of
conference calls to facilitate dialogue and answer questions with
the Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), local governments and state
leaders. The PSPS events began on Wednesday and are expected to
last potentially through the weekend, in some areas due to high
wind events, and red flag warnings.
It has been a busy year on regulatory front for counties, with a
number of rule-makings on a variety of different issues moving
forward. In addition to representing counties in front of the
Legislature, part of CSAC’s core mission is to see through the
implementation of laws and actively represent county interests as
regulations impacting local government are developed.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills on Wednesday to
enhance wildfire mitigation, preparedness and response efforts.
CSAC supported many of the signed bills, including Senator
Mike McGuire’s SB 670 and SB 560. The latter bill is of
particular importance as it specifies how utilities must mitigate
the impacts of Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
