CalRecycle will present a new revised draft of the SB 1383
Short-Lived Climate Pollutants regulations at a public workshop
on June 18, 2019 in Diamond Bar, California. This workshop will
also be webcast. A 15-day formal public comment period will begin
the following day and run from June 19 – July 3. CSAC will
prepare and submit comments during the comment period with input
from our member counties. Please find information about how to
submit comments and how to participate in the Public Workshop
below.
CSAC recently submitted comments to the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) regarding De-Energization
proceeding R.18-12-005. On April 26, the CPUC issued a
Proposed Decision for these Public Safety Power Shutoff
(PSPS) de-energization procedures, which incorporated feedback
from CSAC and other interested parties.
FEMA announced the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post
Fire program as part of the agency’s implementation of the
Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) of 2018. Section 1204 of the
DRRA allows FEMA to provide HMGP Post Fire assistance to any area
that received a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)
declaration on or after October 5, 2018. In previous fiscal
years, funding for this program has been provided through
appropriations. Now, it is a permanent, eligible HMGP program of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act.
The CSAC AENR Policy Committee recently met at the Legislative
Conference in Sacramento on April 25. The meeting covered a
variety of topics including wildfire liability, cannabis, and
California’s looming recycling crisis.
The Commission on
Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery met in Ventura County
this week to continue their efforts in developing recommendations
to the Legislature on how best to socialize the costs associated
with catastrophic wildfire. The Commission heard expert testimony
on a number of topics, and CSAC testified on several panels
addressing issues related to utility liability, the creation of a
wildfire fund and community wildfire mitigation.
The Department of Conservation has $950,000 for
local and regional planning grants to support the
integration of natural and working lands, specifically
agricultural lands, into local and regional planning documents.
This funding was made available through Proposition 68 – The
California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate Coastal Protection, and
Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.
The California Office of Emergency Services is working on
statewide outreach plan regarding public safety power shutoff
events. They are holding several listening sessions to
gather input from local government officials to help shape
planned outreach and education efforts. The next listening
session will take place on April 19 at 10 a.m.
The agenda for the meeting can be found
here.
On April 2, the California State Water Resources Control Board
adopted an updated version Waters of the State regulation. These
regulations define the scope of protected waters of the state and
how to interact with these protected water bodies and wetlands.
The Federal Government deadline for taking comments to its
proposed update to the Waters of the United States
Regulations is April 15th. The proposed rule would
redefine the scope of waters that are to be federally regulated
under the Clean Water Act. This new proposal could impact a
variety of county public works operations including flood
control, solid waste and transportation.
CSAC recently sent an advocacy letter to the CPUC regarding the
development of
Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) regulations. These
regulations will govern how investor owned utilities (IOUs) will
work with local governments in the event of a public safety power
shut.
CSAC’s Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources
team requests feedback on the following bills. Please
send any comments to Legislative Analyst Nick Cronenwett at
ncronenwett@counties.org.
The California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
will hold a regulation of cannabis cultivation workshop on May
30 in Murphys, California to provide objective information
about the environmental and safety issues associated with
regulated and unregulated/black market cultivation of cannabis.
CSAC recently submitted comments to the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) regarding its development of rules
for Investor Owned Utility (IOU) Public Safety Power Shutoff
(PSPS) procedures.
This rule will provide clarity in the event that an IOU decides
to shut off power to its customers and includes potential
procedures of how to notify local governments and communities of
shut offs.
On Friday, Governor Newsom visited Lake County to announce a
state of emergency ahead of the upcoming fire
season. This declaration waives certain environmental
regulations allowing for the immediate implementation of 35
priority fuel reduction projects around the state that will help
protect high fire risk communities in socio-economically
disadvantaged areas.
The California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
will hold a regulation of cannabis cultivation workshop on May
30 in Murphys, California to provide objective information
about the environmental and safety issues associated with
regulated and unregulated/black market cultivation of cannabis.
CSAC and our wildfire coalition partners sent a letter
to the Governor and Legislature regarding the California’s
increasingly devastating wildfires. The letter reaffirms
the coalition’s commitment to working with the Legislature and
Administration to address both the root causes of the growing
threat of catastrophic wildfire and on critical safety measures
that will help to prevent future events. The letter also
reiterates our opposition to any changes in utility liability
law, specifically to the constitutionally protected property
rights doctrine of inverse condemnation.
CSAC has been tracking and analyzing hundreds of bills that have
been introduced this session. This week, the CSAC AENR team
provides you with bills of interest in the area of wildfire and
disaster. We are actively soliciting feedback on the following
measures.
CSAC and several county engineers joined a broad coalition of
water agencies and business industry stakeholders at a public
workshop of the State Water Resources Control Board to support
changes to a draft Waters of the State regulation.
Dave Leamon, Chair of the CEAC Flood Control and Water Resources
Policy Committee and Stanislaus County Public Works Director and
Dr. Mark Strudley, Santa Cruz County Flood Control Division
Manager both testified at the hearing, expressing the impacts the
proposed regulations would have on counties.
The State Water Resources Control Board is proposing significant
changes to California’s protected waters of the state rule,
including changes to the definition of wetlands and its’ dredge
and fill procedures. The Board originally proposed to take action
on the proposed rules in early March, but recently pushed back
taking action by a month. The Board will now hold a public
workshop on March 5, 2019 and will consider
taking official action on the proposed changes April 2,
2019.
CSAC Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources staff
would like feedback from counties on the following bill from
Senator Bill Dodd. The bill was introduced on January 30 and is
aimed at improving building standards and defensible space
enforcement to reduce risk of fire. The bill is sponsored by the
California Building Industry Association. Please send any
comments to Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org
CSAC is actively monitoring the complex situation related to
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)’s official filing for Chapter
11 Bankruptcy this week. As a key stake holder in a wildfire
coalition that includes insurance companies, wildfire victims
groups, other local government advocates, and consumer protection
attorneys, CSAC’s top priority is ensuring that our communities
are safe and that people who are trying to recover from a
disaster can be made whole.
CSAC is hosting a Disaster Recovery Summit and Roundtable
Discussion in Sacramento on February 13th from 10
a.m. to Noon at the Capitol Events Center in
Sacramento. California County Supervisors, CAOs, Emergency
Managers, Public Works Directors and more from impacted counties
are invited to attend.
On January 14, the State’s
Forest Management Task Force met for the first time this
year. This was also the first time the group had met under the
new administration. The Task Force heard presentations from the
Board of Forestry, the Governor’s Office, and the CPUC on key
legislation and rulemakings related to forest management.
CSAC is encouraging boards of supervisors statewide to adopt a
local resolution requesting action from Governor Gavin Newsom on
a major recycling issue related to Chinese trade import policies.
Local governments are partners with the state in meeting
California’s recycling and waste diversion goals. California has
been largely successful in achieving and making progress towards
these goals and others over recent years.
The new legislative session is officially underway in Sacramento
and legislators are introducing dozens of bills that will touch
on many different topics. The AENR team will start to highlight
key bills that might have an impact on agriculture, environment,
and natural resources issues.
The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) will
hold a public meeting to consider adoption of proposed final
amendments to both the Water Quality Control Plan for Ocean
Waters of California (Ocean Plan), and the forthcoming Water
Quality Control Plan for Inland Surface Waters, Enclosed Bays,
and Estuaries of California (ISWEBE Plan).
These amendments will include a State Wetland Definition
and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to
Waters of the State.
CARB staff will hold a public workshop about regulatory concepts
to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from new on-road
heavy-duty vehicles with gross vehicle weight rating greater than
10,000 pounds. The workshop will include a discussion about
potential revisions to the heavy-duty emission standards and
certification test procedures, certification and warranty
requirements and the Not-to-Exceed heavy-duty in-use testing
program.
The workshop will be held at the following location and time:
During the latest State’s Forest Management Task Force meeting,
Mariposa County Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe was featured in a
roundtable of local leaders who shared their views on how to
improve alignment of regulatory programs between multiple
environmental agencies and the best ways to create complimentary
sources of revenue for local forest health projects.
Cal Recycle recently released its Standard Regulatory Impact
Assessment (SRIA) estimating the direct costs of implementing
upcoming SB 1383 organic waste diversion regulations. The SRIA
indicates direct costs of approximately $20.9 billion between
2019 and 2030. These costs include expanding organic waste
management infrastructure, collection and processing costs, and
administrative costs of enforcement, contamination monitoring,
and reporting.
CAL FIRE has opened up an application period for
Urban and Community Forestry Grants. Applications are
due by November 29, 2018. The grants offered will
include Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) funded grants and
Prop. 68 funded grants. Types of projects that could be funded by
these grants include:
With Governor Brown signing over 1,000 bills into law this year
CSAC is publishing a series of articles to spotlight new laws
that impact counties from each policy area. This week, the report
from the AENR provides information on new laws affecting fire
hazard planning in high fire areas, fire and forest management
resources, drinking water, cannabis, and solid waste management.
Stay tuned for more updates from other policy areas over the next
several weeks.
