Focus
Trump targets California climate laws in new executive order
CalMatters – April 9
President Trump issued an executive order this Tuesday taking aim at state and local climate change laws and policies, including California’s landmark market program for reducing greenhouse gases. The order directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify state and local acts that may be unconstitutional or preempted by federal law. The Attorney General has 60 days to report back to the President with findings and recommendations for action. Trump’s order singles out California’s cap and trade program, a market-based system created in 2012 that is considered one of the state’s key policies for combating climate change. Twelve other states have similar programs for reducing greenhouse gases.
News
California court clarifies CEQA tribal consultation duties in first published AB 52 decision
Allen Matkins - April 10
The first published opinion interpreting Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52), the law governing tribal consultation procedures under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was issued on March 14 by the California Court of Appeal for the First District. In Koi Nation of Northern California v. City of Clearlake, the court held that a city’s failure to engage in “meaningful” consultation with a California Native American tribe violated AB 52, resulting in the invalidation of project approvals for a hotel and roadway development. The ruling significantly elevates the expectations placed on lead agencies and developers with respect to documenting and conducting tribal consultation under CEQA.
Trump orders agencies to ‘sunset’ environmental protections
The Hill – April 10
President Trump issued an executive order this Wednesday directing certain agencies that regulate energy and the environment, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and Fish and Wildlife Service, to amend certain regulations so that they expire by October 2026. The order applies to various regulations related to energy production, mining, and appliance standards, and includes regulations issued under the Endangered Species Act. It is not yet clear whether the order also will apply to regulations at the EPA under other laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or Safe Drinking Water Act. The order directs EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to provide the President with a list of statutes that should be subject to the order.
Trump administration issues emergency order to increase logging in California forests
San Francisco Chronicle – April 4
In a move that could substantially reshape California’s natural landscape, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an emergency order last Friday to accelerate timber harvesting across nearly 113 million acres of national forests. The directive, announced by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, mandates a 25% increase in timber quotas nationwide, with particular focus on areas of California, including the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Los Padres, and Cleveland national forests.
California lawmakers urge Trump to spare state’s hydrogen energy project
Los Angeles Times – April 8
A bipartisan group of California lawmakers is calling on the Trump administration to preserve $1.2 billion in federal funds for a hydrogen energy project they say can play “a critical role in securing American energy dominance.” The action follows reports from the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations that the administration is poised to defund nearly 300 Department of Energy projects across the country, including California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES). In addition to the $1.2 billion awarded to ARCHES by the Biden administration as part of a nationwide effort to develop hydrogen energy, ARCHES has plans to bring in an additional $11.2 billion from private investors.
California’s effort to hold oil companies liable for natural disaster damage stalls
Santa Maria Times – April 9
California’s Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday blocked a bill seeking to make oil and gas companies liable for damage to homes from natural disasters caused by climate change, warning it could raise gas prices. The bill would have allowed victims of natural disasters, including fires, floods, and hurricanes, to sue fossil fuel companies over harm to themselves or their property for damage totaling at least $10,000. Home insurers would also have been able to seek damages under the legislation.
Oil company fined record $18 million for defying California orders to stop work on pipeline
The Press Democrat – April 11
The California Coastal Commission on Thursday fined an oil company a record $18 million for repeatedly defying orders to stop work on a corroded pipeline in Santa Barbara County that caused a major oil spill nearly a decade ago. The vote sets the stage for a test of the state’s power to police oil development along the coast. Sable Offshore Corp. purchased the pipeline from the previous owners, Exxon Mobil, last year, and is seeking to restart the Santa Ynez offshore oil operation. The Coastal Commission said Sable has done something no alleged violator has ever done before: ignoring the agency’s multiple cease-and-desist orders and continuing its work. The company argued it can proceed using the pipeline’s original county permit issued in the 1980s.
*This article may require a subscription to read.
[View source.]
