Focus
M Live – March 9
M Live – March 9Tuesday saw the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issue a statement. MemorandumThe agency will direct billions in water infrastructure spending, which will be paid to local communities through various state funds. The agency asked states to ensure that those communities most in need, including those with high levels of pollution and other health risks, receive a fair share of the funds. The EPA asks states to review and possibly revise project ranking systems, criteria, and definitions to ensure they are in line with the requirements of the infrastructure law. This law mandates that nearly half of the money for certain programs to improve drinking and sewage treatment be given to disadvantaged communities as grants or forgivable loans.
News
Associated Press – March 9
ExxonMobil’s Tuesday defeat of its proposal to run thousands upon thousands of truck trips per year in central California to transport crude oil from idle offshore platforms has increased the attention on a larger dispute: the construction of a pipeline through the state to move the crude. The company’s plan was to send up to 24,820 tanker trucks a year on coastal Highway 101 and State Route 166 for up to seven years or until the pipeline is repaired or replaced. On a 3 – 2 vote, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors rejected the plan, denying the company a crucial step in its hopes of resuming production at the decades-old trio of drilling platforms. ExxonMobil stated that trucking was the only way to transport crude oil to markets until a pipeline is built.
Reuters – March 9
Wednesday’s U.S. EPA decision reversed a Trump Administration 2019 decision and restored California’s right to establish its own zero-emission vehicle sales mandate. According to the agency it was finalizing a decision on restoring a Clean Air Act waiver to California that was first granted in 2013. The EPA also rejected a Trump-era decision to prevent other states adopting California’s tailpipe emission standards.
The Bakersfield Californian – March 4
Last Friday, Kern County initiated the environmental review process to approve a California carbon capture-and-sequestration (CCS), project. This is the first time such an application has been reviewed in California. California Resources Corp. is a local oil producer. It plans to gather carbon dioxide in various industrial sources and bury it into depleted oil reservoirs. The injection wells are located 26 miles southwest from Bakersfield in Elk Hills Oil Field. Although CCS is being increasingly adopted by the oil industry to remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, environmental groups remain skeptical. This is partly because the installations require large amounts energy and long distance transport of CO2.
Courthouse News Service – March 7
Los Angeles joined other California cities in suing Monsanto over claims that the chemicals have contaminated city water sources. Although PCBs were banned in the U.S. in 1978, their presence is still present in a number of older products, including electrical equipment, paints and sealants. According to the city, they continue polluting rivers, lakes and streams. A spokesperson for Monsanto said in a written statement that the company believes the suit is “without merit.”
Stockton Record – March 9
A judge ruled Tuesday that a pesticide spraying company in San Joaquin County was negligent when its helicopter pilots allowed toxic chemicals to drift onto residents. Alpine Helicopter Service, Inc. violated the law when it carelessly released the harmful chemicals on at least five occasions between 2014 and 2020, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office. The Food and Agricultural Code prohibits pesticide drift. During the second phase, the defendants will be subject to civil penalties and a permanent injunction.
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