December 2009 California Today, PLanning and Conservation League Newsletter
Content
PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE
PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOUNDATION
CALIFORNIA TODAY
Newsletter of the Planning & Conservation League
December 2009
Volume 39, Number 4
The Building
Legislative Wrap-up: What Started With Hope Ends With a Whimper
By: Tina Andolina
This year started with great hope since our golden state finally had a partner in Washington committed to championing environmental protections and advancing public health. However, in 2009, it was California lagging far behind other states and missing important opportunities to advance clean energy and tackle pollution and toxics. While the State Legislature was lackluster in the bills they sent to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk this year, he was aggressive with his veto pen -- rejecting most of the top environmental bills on his desk, including measures aimed at improving the quality of life for all Californians and boosting our economy through the creation of local and sustainable green jobs. Left on the cutting room floor was a landmark package of bills designed to establish the first-in-the-nation 33% renewal energy standard. The major pieces of the package, SB 14 (Simitian) and AB 64 (Krekorian) were the result of countless hours of negotiations between a vast array of organizations and businesses interested in California’s energy policy. By not signing these landmark bills the Governor has cost California an opportunity to send a strong message to Washington, D.C. at a time when the nation is debating energy and climate policy. State Parks also saw no mercy from the Governor and his menacing pen. After threatening to close parks throughout California before backing away and simply slashing the State Park’s budget to the bone, the Governor added salt to the wound by vetoing two critical bills aimed at protecting our
state’s parks. SB 372 (Kehoe) and SB 679 (Wolk) would have increased protections for state parks at a critical time when efforts to dismantle our state’s natural heritage seem relentless. The Governor also vetoed Assembly Member Ruskin’s Human Right to Water measure, AB 1242. This common sense legislation enjoyed bipartisan support and would have finally directed the state to prioritize funding to ensure all Californians have clean drinking water. And despite the dire need for new jobs in California, and the promise the new green economy holds in helping us out of this recession, the Governor vetoed a critical green jobs bill, AB 1404 (DeLeon). This would have ensured global warming emissions reductions and its generation of green jobs in California. While the Governor deserves no praise for his actions this year, we are pleased with two bills that were signed. AB 1364 (Evans), a bill sponsored by the Planning and Conservation League, California Council of Land Trusts and the California State Parks Foundation, will ensure conservation projects affected by the freezing of state payments earlier this year will remain viable. Also, AB 920 (Huffman) allows customers who generate extra solar power to finally get paid to send that excess power back to the grid. Overall this year, the Governor’s green batting average is unimpressive. We hope that in his final year at the helm, the Governor will strive to up that average and leave California a better, greener state than he found it.
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
Dear Friends,
CALIFORNIA TODAY (ISBN 0739-8042) is the quarterly newsletter of the PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE AND THE PCL FOUNDATION
1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814 PHONE: 916-444-8726 FAX: 916-448-1789
E-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] WEB ADDRESS: http://www.pcl.org Membership to PCL is $35 a year and includes a subscription to CALIFORNIA TODAY. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, CA. Published at other additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes for CALIFORNIA TODAY to the PCL Office: 1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814
PCLF BOARD OF TRUSTEES
DAVID HIRSCH, Chairman RALPH B. PERRY III, Vice Chairman DANIEL S. FROST, Secretary-Treasurer COKE HALLOWELL, Trustee GERALD H. MERAL, Trustee
PCL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
BILL CENTER, President KEVIN JOHNSON, Senior Vice President LYNN SADLER, Senior Vice President SAGE SWEETWOOD, President Emeritus JOHN VAN DE KAMP, President Emeritus
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
ELISABETH BROWN JAN CHATTEN-BROWN PHYLLIS FABER RICK HAWLEY FRAN LAYTON DOUG LINNEY DAVID MOGAVERO STEPHANIE PINCETL TERESA VILLEGAS TERRY WATT BILL YEATES
ORGANIZATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS
Big Sur Land Trust Breathe California, Sacramento-Emigrant Trails California Association of Local Conservation Corps California Oak Foundation California Trout Greenspace - The Cambria Land Trust Golden Gate Audubon Society The Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. Mono Lake Committee Mountain Lion Foundation Sierra Nevada Alliance Southern California Agricultural Land Foundation Train Riders Association of California The Trust for Public Land
PCL/PCL FOUNDATION STAFF
TRACI SHEEHAN, Executive Director TINA ANDOLINA, Legislative Director EVON CHAMBERS, Water Policy Assistant CHARLOTTE HODDE, Water Policy Specialist DR. MONICA HUNTER, Central Coast Water Project Manager JONAS MINTON, Senior Water Policy Advisor JONATHAN BERNSTEIN, Administrative Manager PAUL GILLIGAN, Sierra Nevada Americorp Member MIGUEL LUNA, Water Policy Consultant DAVID MAURIER, Water Policy Analyst AMBER SCHMAELING, Membership & Development Coordinator MATT VANDER SLUIS, Global Warming Project Manager MELANIE SCHLOTTERBECK, Grants & Outreach Consultant
California is known for our green and gold policies -- our successful policies in promoting both the environment and our economy. Despite this balanced and successful approach, deep in a recession, we saw the Governor and some members of the California Legislature take short-sighted and misguided actions that will have a negative impact on the economy and environment. At the end of the Legislative session this year, the Legislature took unprecedented actions that not only undermined California’s landmark environmental laws, but also meddled in the courts jurisdiction for the first time ever. These decisions will have repercussions for the next decade. Here’s what they did: 1. Allowed two highly contentious local decisions to stand, despite the fact that both were challenged in the courts for violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). How did they do this? They simply exempted both projects from CEQA. Nearly 40 years old, CEQA, is considered California’s premier environmental law, allowing local residents to be involved in the decisions that impact their community. When projects get a CEQA exemption it means no review, no analysis, no local input. And these were not small projects with minimal impacts. The projects that will move forward include a massive NFL Stadium in the San Gabriel Valley (east of L.A.) and new power plants in Southern California. Now, with this precedent, we should expect more project proponents, big and small, to rush to the The stadium is proposed at the juncture of two Legislature next year asking for an already overcrowded freeways -- the 57 and 60. exemption for their project. 2. On November 11th, when most folks were sleeping, the Legislature pushed through a package of bills and a bond that rewarded bad actors instead of solving the water needs of real people and the environment. The corner piece of the new deal is an $11.1 billion taxpayer-funded scheme that will appear on the November 2010 ballot. Instead of making progress on our state’s water issues, the Legislature capitulated to pressure from big corporate water interests and passed a package full of outdated ideas and the same policies that have lead to the current water crisis that we face. In the end of session, the Governor vetoed most of the environmental bills that came to his desk. What does it all mean for 2010? A lot. We need to change this tide before it sweeps away the important gains we’ve made to clean our air and water, protect our natural resources, and improve the quality of life for Californians. Look out for what you can do at our yearly Legislative Symposium in January and stay in touch with our upcoming blog and Insider updates by visiting www.PCL.org. Sincerely,
California Affiliate National Wildlife Federation
Traci Sheehan Executive Director
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CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
Melanie Schlotterbeck
California and Off-Shore Oil Drilling
By: Assembly Member Pedro Nava
Texas-based Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP) is continuing its well financed PR effort to drill in state waters for the first time in decades. PXP claims to offset its risky and destructive plan with purported environmental benefits, but Californians should not be fooled and this misguided drilling proposal must be defeated. Over 100 environmental groups including Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, the Planning and Conservation League, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Audubon, and Environment California oppose PXP’s plan to drill in California Sanctuary Act waters, just three miles off the coastline in Northern Santa Barbara County. PXP is attempting to reassure the public with terms like “the best technology” and the “most advanced science.” Never mind that the 1997 spill from the same platform spewed 7,000 gallons of oil, killing at least 1,450 birds and leaving a 17-mile coastal stain that took 10 years to clean up. This “advanced science” has resulted in a continuing spill in Australia which began on August 21 averaging 16,800 gallons a day. The state-of-the-art rig, built in 2007, has been pouring oil into the sea for more than two months producing an oil slick that has grown to nearly 4,000 square miles. The rig is now on fire. PXP’s plan calls for up to 28 new wells and we should expect more and larger spills. How long do you think it would take for a PXP spill to reach our beaches? Who can guarantee it won’t happen? PXP promises environmental benefits, but, as the Los Angeles Times put it, “The problem with these promises is that they were written in the sand at low tide.” The State Lands Commission (SLC) and the Attorney General’s Office concluded that the environmental benefits of the project “could not be reliably enforced.” Don’t count on the 4,000 acres of “donated” land PXP promised for this deal any time soon. PXP acknowledged to the SLC when talking about the property that there are “insurmountable title issues.” The SLC concluded that “title problems could prevent some of the donations from occurring at all.” PXP also dangles oil drilling “end date.” They don’t tell you that only Congress can impose an end date on federal leases. There is no reason to believe this will happen. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS)
has stated that it would “refuse to approve a Development and Production Plan for use of Platform Irene for [the PXP project] if it included an end date.” Fortunately, in January 2009, the SLC saw these flaws and rejected the first new lease in California Sanctuary Act waters in 40 years. After its loss at the SLC, PXP tried to shove its deal into the state budget through last-minute, dark-of-night legislative skullduggery. Again, the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The state’s financial crisis should not be used as an excuse to force a dubious deal on offshore oil drilling.” Assembly Democrats agreed and decisively defeated this ill-conceived bill. This oil company spent millions to defeat a ballot initiative revenue plan (Proposition 87, 2006) that would have turned California away from fossil fuels and placed us on the road to renewable energy. I am confident PXP will spend millions again to avoid paying its “fair share,” as mandated by my bill Assembly Bill X6 1 that institutes an oil extraction tax, which will move us to a greener, stronger California. PXP will never agree to the same sort of revenue Alaska, Texas, and every other major oil-producing state -- except California -- receives from oil companies. A reasonable contribution from oil companies that drill here could generate $1.5 billion annually for funding critical public safety, health, and social programs that have suffered drastic cuts over the last two years. This is 15 times more than PXP says it will pay for its sweetheart deal to drill and pollute off our coast. California deserves better than what PXP has to trade. Both the State Lands Commission, the California State Assembly and every leading environmental group has told PXP that its deal is not for us. ................................................. Pedro Nava, a former prosecutor, currently represents the 35th Assembly District (Ventura and Santa Barbara), is the Assembly representative on the California Ocean Protection Council and is a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
From the Office of Pedro Nava
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
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2010 Symposium: Greening California’s Landscapes
By: Melanie Schlotterbeck
We invite you to attend the Symposium on Saturday, January 30, 2010 to bring new solutions to the table and green California’s many landscapes. Every year, through the Symposium, we educate decision makers, business leaders, community members, non-profit leaders, attorneys and planners about environmental issues. By combining our individual and collective experiences and perspectives we can envision a greener landscape, and unleash innovative remedies for some of our most critical problems. We need experts and stakeholders from all walks of life and on all sides of the issue to contribute to this discussion. Bring your skills, your ideas and your energy to this solutions-oriented event as we contemplate and create new ideas to move California in a greener direction. More information is available online at: www.PCL.org
Greening California’s Landscapes:
Smart Solutions for a New Era
The Symposium Details Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010 Symposium: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Cocktail Hour: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Location: Sacramento Convention Center Ballroom Level 1400 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Session Highlights
THE PROS AND CONS OF DESALINATION
With recent decreases in costs of reverse osmosis membrane technologies, the prospect of relatively large scale seawater desalination plants is now on the minds of water district managers throughout California. But, the process is fraught with legal and technical hurdles. Desalination plant proponents essentially have three arenas within which regulatory and environmental concerns must be addressed: Local Government, Coastal Commission, and Regional/State Water Boards. Participants will hear the legal, economic and agency viewpoints of desalination and discover possible solutions to adequately mitigating concerns over desalination plant environmental impacts. • Marco Gonzalez, Coast Law Group • Steven Kasower, Strategic Economic Applications Company • Kevin Wattier, Long Beach Water Department CM I 1.25 I Law CLE
FROM SEEDLING TO SPRUCE: GROWING GREEN JOBS
In addition to climate change and other environmental crises, the Golden State currently suffers from some of the worst unemployment in the state’s history. Many of our low paying jobs are part of the “grey economy,” damaging the environment while exposing workers to unsafe conditions. Growing California’s green jobs is not a luxury; it’s an imperative. How do we convert grey jobs into green jobs? How do we pull people out of poverty and into the green economy? Are we missing opportunities to create green jobs in the formulation of environmental policy and vice versa? Three green economy experts will discuss mechanisms for promoting social equity and environmental protection through expanding California’s green job supply. • Rafael Aguilera, Verde Consulting Group • Joshua Bar-Lev, Brightsource Energy • Tim Rainey, California Labor Federation CM I 1.25
HOW TO... CREATE A TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
Since World War II, California cities, have been given their form -- suburban sprawl -- by the highway system. Now we have a huge challenge: the greener cities of the next generation must be shaped by transit. The next generation of planners and builders must rediscover the lost arts of shaping regions, cities, neighborhoods, streets, blocks and buildings around transit. In this session, you’ll hear the story of how one Bay Area city seized the initiative to re-shape itself around transit. Learn how form-based zoning codes, structured public participation and redevelopment finance can transform how Californians build their next habitat. You’ll also hear how neighbors and future residents are getting involved in dozens of planning processes for neighborhoods near transit across the Bay Area. • Jeff Hobson, TransForm • Steve Lawton, City of Hercules
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CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
CLE & AICP CM Credit This year AICP members can earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits for many activities at this event. PCL and PCLF certify that this activity has also been approved for 4.5 hours of CLE credit by the State Bar of California. Award Winners PCL and PCLF will celebrate and pay tribute to the work of the environmental heroes of 2009 during an Awards Luncheon: Assembly Member Pedro Nava Legislator of the Year Bill Yeates Carla Bard Award for Individual Achievement Mother Lode Chapter, Sierra Club David Gaines Award for Non-Profit Work Debbie Davis Environmental Justice Advocate of the Year Martha Davis Dorothy Green Water Policy Advocate of the Year Small Business California Environmental Business of the Year
Registration Fees
Conference fee covers a continental breakfast, lunch, refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and all Symposium materials. Fees are as follows: Before Dec. 31 After Dec. 31 PCL Member (discount code required) $90 $115 Non-Member $125 $150 CLE $250 $275 Student $40 $50
REGISTRATION FORM
Name Organization Address City, State Zip Phone Email Meal Selection: Italian Stuffed Chicken Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Vegan Dish CLE AICP
Registration Option: Payment Options:
Event Sponsors (to date)
Member Code: ______________
(printed above the mailing label)
Amount: $________
Kenyon Yeates • Chatten-Brown & Carstens • AFSCME Local 1. Credit Card: register online at: www.PCL.org or fill out this 2428 • California Association of Conservation Corps • Camp form and fax it to: 916-448-1789, ATTN: Amber Schmaeling Lotus • DMB Associates • East Bay Municipal Utility District • Mogavero Notestine & Associates • Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. • Linda & Byron Sher • Phyllis Faber • Rossman and Moore LLP Credit Card # (Visa/MC) Exp. Date • Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger • Terry Watt • Carole & Peter Clum • Community Conservancy International • Inland Empire 2. Check - make payable to “PCL” and mail with form to: Utilities Agency • Marin Conservation League • M.R. Wolfe & Planning and Conservation League Associates P.C. • National Wildlife Federation • Tejon Ranch Attention: Amber Schmaeling Company • Breathe California • California Interfaith Power & 1107 9th Street, Suite 360 Sacramento CA 95814 Light • California Oaks Foundation • California Transit Association • Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch • FANS • Friends of Harbors, Beaches & Parks • Friends of Swainson’s Hawk • E-Newsletters As part of registering for the Symposium you will be subscribed to our free, weekly Green LA Coalition • Greenspace-Cambria Land Trust • San e-newsletter, the PCL Insider. Know that you may remove your name from our list Diego River Park Foundation • Valley Land Alliance • California at any time by following the unsubscribe link provided in the newsletter. Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar • Clover Photographs & Videos: Please be aware that PCL and PCLF will be taking photographs of the event, which will be used in our publications and on the web. We Valley Foundation • Sierra Office Supply & Printing • may possibly record videos of the event as well. Conservation Clarity • Focal Point Images CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation 5
National Climate Change Legislation
By: Matt Little, National Wildlife Federation
Greetings PCL members and supporters! Hopefully by the time you read this, the U.S. Senate will have passed significant climate change legislation. My fear is that they haven’t and there is very little time to act. Here’s where we stand. This summer, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would reduce carbon dioxide from all major U.S. emitters 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 (compared to 2005 emissions). This fall, the Senate Environment Committee passed a similar bill at 20% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 – levels that scientists agree are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global climate change. However, the Senate bill has to go through three or four more committees before it can come to a
full vote. As of press time, Senator Kerry had been pushing for a Thanksgiving deadline for all committees to pass their provisions so that, at the very least, President Obama can go to Copenhagen in December and show the international community that the U.S. is ready to take action. In order to pass the Senate bill, we need to secure 60 difficult votes to avoid a filibuster. Getting this done before Copenhagen would be ideal; getting this done before we get into the heat of an election year is necessary. We must act soon! Luckily, California has two senators leading the charge. However, if you have friends and relatives outside of California, please tell them to contact their senators to
pass this bill as soon as possible. Regardless of what you think of cap and trade, this bill represents the only chance that Congress has to cap emissions in the near term. Because of NWF’s work, both bills also include unprecedented state and federal funding for wildlife habitats to cope with climate change. If we don’t pass the bill soon, the latest IPCC report warns that in the lifetime of a child born today, 20 to 30 percent of the world’s plant and animal species will be on the brink of extinction. That is not an acceptable compromise for inaction. Thank you for your assistance on what may be the most significant legislation of this century.
Every year we need to publish our Statement of Circulation, as required by the United States Post Office.
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CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
In Memoriam:Michael Jacobs
(June 2, 1916 to October 21, 2009)
From the family of Mike Jacobs
It’s hard to pinpoint when Mike became interested in protecting the environment or dedicating his life to it, but it seems his story began when he literally ran away from home at 16 years old and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan. There he planted trees in the wilderness. It was a life altering experience that sowed a seed which would come to fruition later in Mike’s life. Years later, Mike spent a few months in a foxhole in Northern France during World War II, where he pledged that he would never camp out again. But as a father Mike lead his son Larry and his Boy Scout troop backpacking in Sequoia National Park where he spent many nights sleeping under the stars and fell in love with the High Sierras. Many of us enjoy our outdoor experiences, but not all of us take action. Mike took action. Mike Jacobs was a long-time Board Member of the Planning and Conservation League. He and his wife Grace attended and were active at League board meetings for over 20 years. His commitment and actions lead to the League hiring the first environmental lobbyist in the “building,” something he was very proud of. Even his business was about the environment—he owned an organic farm in the Santa Cruz area. But that was just a small piece—his heart and life were dedicated to making the environment better. Mike cared about people and how they live. He cared about community and the quality of the living environment. He saw what
mattered, and did the right thing, not caring for returns or attention, but teaching his family and all of us what it is to live an extraordinary life. His son Robbie remembers growing up and helping his Dad on different efforts, most notably AB 1471, a landmark bill to protect California’s coast. Mike and his son took to the beach in Santa Monica to collect signatures building support for the legislation. Mike was also a leader in working to stop a proposed freeway through Malibu Canyon—a proposal that would have destroyed what is now a state park. While his efforts were not always successful, Mike was blessed with a vision of what was possible and, in his quiet way, always knew how to go about making it happen. Mike’s wife Grace perhaps put it best. “He would do everything and anything for the environment. He was an organization.” That’s a legacy that we would all like to leave.
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
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PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOUNDATION
1107 9TH STREET, SUITE 360 • SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
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VISIT US ON THE WEB: www.PCL.org or www.PCLFoundation.org
Shasta Dam
Statewide Rejection of Water Bond
By: David Maurier
Newspapers up and down California are advising voters to reject the $11.14 billion water bond that the Legislature will put on the ballot next November. The package sets aside $3 billion for new dams and does not address the over-allocation of water that threatens California’s fragile ecosystems. The Orange County Register wrote, “The Legislature and [G]overnor seem oblivious to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s warning that the annual repayments of up to $800 million for the water bond will add to the state’s annual debt service, now at $6 billion and growing. Without the new obligation, debt service payments are projected to escalate from the current 6.7 percent to 10 percent of the state’s general fund budget by 2015.” In “Our View: The bond is full of waste,” the Merced Sun-Star highlighted that, “[t]he state will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in interest each year that could go to education.”
And the Stockton Record wrote that they are infuriated by the Governor’s “staggering display of insensitivity” and his “presumption that this region is such an afterthought that it really doesn’t matter whether its residents swallow the transparent greenwashing and legislative charade…” The tally is in and it is not good. After the legislative all-nighter that forced the water package through, the costly projects added to garner last minute votes are receiving greater attention. At its peak the bond would cost the state over $800 million a year in debt service for up to 30 years, taking funding away from California’s schools, health care, firefighters, police officers, state parks, prisons and other social services. California already carries $130 billion in debt and the lowest credit rating in the 50 states. Next November, it will be up to voters to say no to the taxpayer rip-off and unnecessary projects that serve special interests, rather than the public.
PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOUNDATION
CALIFORNIA TODAY
Newsletter of the Planning & Conservation League
December 2009
Volume 39, Number 4
The Building
Legislative Wrap-up: What Started With Hope Ends With a Whimper
By: Tina Andolina
This year started with great hope since our golden state finally had a partner in Washington committed to championing environmental protections and advancing public health. However, in 2009, it was California lagging far behind other states and missing important opportunities to advance clean energy and tackle pollution and toxics. While the State Legislature was lackluster in the bills they sent to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk this year, he was aggressive with his veto pen -- rejecting most of the top environmental bills on his desk, including measures aimed at improving the quality of life for all Californians and boosting our economy through the creation of local and sustainable green jobs. Left on the cutting room floor was a landmark package of bills designed to establish the first-in-the-nation 33% renewal energy standard. The major pieces of the package, SB 14 (Simitian) and AB 64 (Krekorian) were the result of countless hours of negotiations between a vast array of organizations and businesses interested in California’s energy policy. By not signing these landmark bills the Governor has cost California an opportunity to send a strong message to Washington, D.C. at a time when the nation is debating energy and climate policy. State Parks also saw no mercy from the Governor and his menacing pen. After threatening to close parks throughout California before backing away and simply slashing the State Park’s budget to the bone, the Governor added salt to the wound by vetoing two critical bills aimed at protecting our
state’s parks. SB 372 (Kehoe) and SB 679 (Wolk) would have increased protections for state parks at a critical time when efforts to dismantle our state’s natural heritage seem relentless. The Governor also vetoed Assembly Member Ruskin’s Human Right to Water measure, AB 1242. This common sense legislation enjoyed bipartisan support and would have finally directed the state to prioritize funding to ensure all Californians have clean drinking water. And despite the dire need for new jobs in California, and the promise the new green economy holds in helping us out of this recession, the Governor vetoed a critical green jobs bill, AB 1404 (DeLeon). This would have ensured global warming emissions reductions and its generation of green jobs in California. While the Governor deserves no praise for his actions this year, we are pleased with two bills that were signed. AB 1364 (Evans), a bill sponsored by the Planning and Conservation League, California Council of Land Trusts and the California State Parks Foundation, will ensure conservation projects affected by the freezing of state payments earlier this year will remain viable. Also, AB 920 (Huffman) allows customers who generate extra solar power to finally get paid to send that excess power back to the grid. Overall this year, the Governor’s green batting average is unimpressive. We hope that in his final year at the helm, the Governor will strive to up that average and leave California a better, greener state than he found it.
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
Dear Friends,
CALIFORNIA TODAY (ISBN 0739-8042) is the quarterly newsletter of the PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE AND THE PCL FOUNDATION
1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814 PHONE: 916-444-8726 FAX: 916-448-1789
E-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] WEB ADDRESS: http://www.pcl.org Membership to PCL is $35 a year and includes a subscription to CALIFORNIA TODAY. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, CA. Published at other additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes for CALIFORNIA TODAY to the PCL Office: 1107 Ninth Street, Suite 360, Sacramento, CA 95814
PCLF BOARD OF TRUSTEES
DAVID HIRSCH, Chairman RALPH B. PERRY III, Vice Chairman DANIEL S. FROST, Secretary-Treasurer COKE HALLOWELL, Trustee GERALD H. MERAL, Trustee
PCL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
BILL CENTER, President KEVIN JOHNSON, Senior Vice President LYNN SADLER, Senior Vice President SAGE SWEETWOOD, President Emeritus JOHN VAN DE KAMP, President Emeritus
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
ELISABETH BROWN JAN CHATTEN-BROWN PHYLLIS FABER RICK HAWLEY FRAN LAYTON DOUG LINNEY DAVID MOGAVERO STEPHANIE PINCETL TERESA VILLEGAS TERRY WATT BILL YEATES
ORGANIZATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS
Big Sur Land Trust Breathe California, Sacramento-Emigrant Trails California Association of Local Conservation Corps California Oak Foundation California Trout Greenspace - The Cambria Land Trust Golden Gate Audubon Society The Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. Mono Lake Committee Mountain Lion Foundation Sierra Nevada Alliance Southern California Agricultural Land Foundation Train Riders Association of California The Trust for Public Land
PCL/PCL FOUNDATION STAFF
TRACI SHEEHAN, Executive Director TINA ANDOLINA, Legislative Director EVON CHAMBERS, Water Policy Assistant CHARLOTTE HODDE, Water Policy Specialist DR. MONICA HUNTER, Central Coast Water Project Manager JONAS MINTON, Senior Water Policy Advisor JONATHAN BERNSTEIN, Administrative Manager PAUL GILLIGAN, Sierra Nevada Americorp Member MIGUEL LUNA, Water Policy Consultant DAVID MAURIER, Water Policy Analyst AMBER SCHMAELING, Membership & Development Coordinator MATT VANDER SLUIS, Global Warming Project Manager MELANIE SCHLOTTERBECK, Grants & Outreach Consultant
California is known for our green and gold policies -- our successful policies in promoting both the environment and our economy. Despite this balanced and successful approach, deep in a recession, we saw the Governor and some members of the California Legislature take short-sighted and misguided actions that will have a negative impact on the economy and environment. At the end of the Legislative session this year, the Legislature took unprecedented actions that not only undermined California’s landmark environmental laws, but also meddled in the courts jurisdiction for the first time ever. These decisions will have repercussions for the next decade. Here’s what they did: 1. Allowed two highly contentious local decisions to stand, despite the fact that both were challenged in the courts for violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). How did they do this? They simply exempted both projects from CEQA. Nearly 40 years old, CEQA, is considered California’s premier environmental law, allowing local residents to be involved in the decisions that impact their community. When projects get a CEQA exemption it means no review, no analysis, no local input. And these were not small projects with minimal impacts. The projects that will move forward include a massive NFL Stadium in the San Gabriel Valley (east of L.A.) and new power plants in Southern California. Now, with this precedent, we should expect more project proponents, big and small, to rush to the The stadium is proposed at the juncture of two Legislature next year asking for an already overcrowded freeways -- the 57 and 60. exemption for their project. 2. On November 11th, when most folks were sleeping, the Legislature pushed through a package of bills and a bond that rewarded bad actors instead of solving the water needs of real people and the environment. The corner piece of the new deal is an $11.1 billion taxpayer-funded scheme that will appear on the November 2010 ballot. Instead of making progress on our state’s water issues, the Legislature capitulated to pressure from big corporate water interests and passed a package full of outdated ideas and the same policies that have lead to the current water crisis that we face. In the end of session, the Governor vetoed most of the environmental bills that came to his desk. What does it all mean for 2010? A lot. We need to change this tide before it sweeps away the important gains we’ve made to clean our air and water, protect our natural resources, and improve the quality of life for Californians. Look out for what you can do at our yearly Legislative Symposium in January and stay in touch with our upcoming blog and Insider updates by visiting www.PCL.org. Sincerely,
California Affiliate National Wildlife Federation
Traci Sheehan Executive Director
2
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
Melanie Schlotterbeck
California and Off-Shore Oil Drilling
By: Assembly Member Pedro Nava
Texas-based Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP) is continuing its well financed PR effort to drill in state waters for the first time in decades. PXP claims to offset its risky and destructive plan with purported environmental benefits, but Californians should not be fooled and this misguided drilling proposal must be defeated. Over 100 environmental groups including Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, the Planning and Conservation League, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Audubon, and Environment California oppose PXP’s plan to drill in California Sanctuary Act waters, just three miles off the coastline in Northern Santa Barbara County. PXP is attempting to reassure the public with terms like “the best technology” and the “most advanced science.” Never mind that the 1997 spill from the same platform spewed 7,000 gallons of oil, killing at least 1,450 birds and leaving a 17-mile coastal stain that took 10 years to clean up. This “advanced science” has resulted in a continuing spill in Australia which began on August 21 averaging 16,800 gallons a day. The state-of-the-art rig, built in 2007, has been pouring oil into the sea for more than two months producing an oil slick that has grown to nearly 4,000 square miles. The rig is now on fire. PXP’s plan calls for up to 28 new wells and we should expect more and larger spills. How long do you think it would take for a PXP spill to reach our beaches? Who can guarantee it won’t happen? PXP promises environmental benefits, but, as the Los Angeles Times put it, “The problem with these promises is that they were written in the sand at low tide.” The State Lands Commission (SLC) and the Attorney General’s Office concluded that the environmental benefits of the project “could not be reliably enforced.” Don’t count on the 4,000 acres of “donated” land PXP promised for this deal any time soon. PXP acknowledged to the SLC when talking about the property that there are “insurmountable title issues.” The SLC concluded that “title problems could prevent some of the donations from occurring at all.” PXP also dangles oil drilling “end date.” They don’t tell you that only Congress can impose an end date on federal leases. There is no reason to believe this will happen. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS)
has stated that it would “refuse to approve a Development and Production Plan for use of Platform Irene for [the PXP project] if it included an end date.” Fortunately, in January 2009, the SLC saw these flaws and rejected the first new lease in California Sanctuary Act waters in 40 years. After its loss at the SLC, PXP tried to shove its deal into the state budget through last-minute, dark-of-night legislative skullduggery. Again, the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The state’s financial crisis should not be used as an excuse to force a dubious deal on offshore oil drilling.” Assembly Democrats agreed and decisively defeated this ill-conceived bill. This oil company spent millions to defeat a ballot initiative revenue plan (Proposition 87, 2006) that would have turned California away from fossil fuels and placed us on the road to renewable energy. I am confident PXP will spend millions again to avoid paying its “fair share,” as mandated by my bill Assembly Bill X6 1 that institutes an oil extraction tax, which will move us to a greener, stronger California. PXP will never agree to the same sort of revenue Alaska, Texas, and every other major oil-producing state -- except California -- receives from oil companies. A reasonable contribution from oil companies that drill here could generate $1.5 billion annually for funding critical public safety, health, and social programs that have suffered drastic cuts over the last two years. This is 15 times more than PXP says it will pay for its sweetheart deal to drill and pollute off our coast. California deserves better than what PXP has to trade. Both the State Lands Commission, the California State Assembly and every leading environmental group has told PXP that its deal is not for us. ................................................. Pedro Nava, a former prosecutor, currently represents the 35th Assembly District (Ventura and Santa Barbara), is the Assembly representative on the California Ocean Protection Council and is a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
From the Office of Pedro Nava
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
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2010 Symposium: Greening California’s Landscapes
By: Melanie Schlotterbeck
We invite you to attend the Symposium on Saturday, January 30, 2010 to bring new solutions to the table and green California’s many landscapes. Every year, through the Symposium, we educate decision makers, business leaders, community members, non-profit leaders, attorneys and planners about environmental issues. By combining our individual and collective experiences and perspectives we can envision a greener landscape, and unleash innovative remedies for some of our most critical problems. We need experts and stakeholders from all walks of life and on all sides of the issue to contribute to this discussion. Bring your skills, your ideas and your energy to this solutions-oriented event as we contemplate and create new ideas to move California in a greener direction. More information is available online at: www.PCL.org
Greening California’s Landscapes:
Smart Solutions for a New Era
The Symposium Details Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010 Symposium: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Cocktail Hour: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Location: Sacramento Convention Center Ballroom Level 1400 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Session Highlights
THE PROS AND CONS OF DESALINATION
With recent decreases in costs of reverse osmosis membrane technologies, the prospect of relatively large scale seawater desalination plants is now on the minds of water district managers throughout California. But, the process is fraught with legal and technical hurdles. Desalination plant proponents essentially have three arenas within which regulatory and environmental concerns must be addressed: Local Government, Coastal Commission, and Regional/State Water Boards. Participants will hear the legal, economic and agency viewpoints of desalination and discover possible solutions to adequately mitigating concerns over desalination plant environmental impacts. • Marco Gonzalez, Coast Law Group • Steven Kasower, Strategic Economic Applications Company • Kevin Wattier, Long Beach Water Department CM I 1.25 I Law CLE
FROM SEEDLING TO SPRUCE: GROWING GREEN JOBS
In addition to climate change and other environmental crises, the Golden State currently suffers from some of the worst unemployment in the state’s history. Many of our low paying jobs are part of the “grey economy,” damaging the environment while exposing workers to unsafe conditions. Growing California’s green jobs is not a luxury; it’s an imperative. How do we convert grey jobs into green jobs? How do we pull people out of poverty and into the green economy? Are we missing opportunities to create green jobs in the formulation of environmental policy and vice versa? Three green economy experts will discuss mechanisms for promoting social equity and environmental protection through expanding California’s green job supply. • Rafael Aguilera, Verde Consulting Group • Joshua Bar-Lev, Brightsource Energy • Tim Rainey, California Labor Federation CM I 1.25
HOW TO... CREATE A TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
Since World War II, California cities, have been given their form -- suburban sprawl -- by the highway system. Now we have a huge challenge: the greener cities of the next generation must be shaped by transit. The next generation of planners and builders must rediscover the lost arts of shaping regions, cities, neighborhoods, streets, blocks and buildings around transit. In this session, you’ll hear the story of how one Bay Area city seized the initiative to re-shape itself around transit. Learn how form-based zoning codes, structured public participation and redevelopment finance can transform how Californians build their next habitat. You’ll also hear how neighbors and future residents are getting involved in dozens of planning processes for neighborhoods near transit across the Bay Area. • Jeff Hobson, TransForm • Steve Lawton, City of Hercules
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CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
CLE & AICP CM Credit This year AICP members can earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits for many activities at this event. PCL and PCLF certify that this activity has also been approved for 4.5 hours of CLE credit by the State Bar of California. Award Winners PCL and PCLF will celebrate and pay tribute to the work of the environmental heroes of 2009 during an Awards Luncheon: Assembly Member Pedro Nava Legislator of the Year Bill Yeates Carla Bard Award for Individual Achievement Mother Lode Chapter, Sierra Club David Gaines Award for Non-Profit Work Debbie Davis Environmental Justice Advocate of the Year Martha Davis Dorothy Green Water Policy Advocate of the Year Small Business California Environmental Business of the Year
Registration Fees
Conference fee covers a continental breakfast, lunch, refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and all Symposium materials. Fees are as follows: Before Dec. 31 After Dec. 31 PCL Member (discount code required) $90 $115 Non-Member $125 $150 CLE $250 $275 Student $40 $50
REGISTRATION FORM
Name Organization Address City, State Zip Phone Email Meal Selection: Italian Stuffed Chicken Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Vegan Dish CLE AICP
Registration Option: Payment Options:
Event Sponsors (to date)
Member Code: ______________
(printed above the mailing label)
Amount: $________
Kenyon Yeates • Chatten-Brown & Carstens • AFSCME Local 1. Credit Card: register online at: www.PCL.org or fill out this 2428 • California Association of Conservation Corps • Camp form and fax it to: 916-448-1789, ATTN: Amber Schmaeling Lotus • DMB Associates • East Bay Municipal Utility District • Mogavero Notestine & Associates • Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. • Linda & Byron Sher • Phyllis Faber • Rossman and Moore LLP Credit Card # (Visa/MC) Exp. Date • Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger • Terry Watt • Carole & Peter Clum • Community Conservancy International • Inland Empire 2. Check - make payable to “PCL” and mail with form to: Utilities Agency • Marin Conservation League • M.R. Wolfe & Planning and Conservation League Associates P.C. • National Wildlife Federation • Tejon Ranch Attention: Amber Schmaeling Company • Breathe California • California Interfaith Power & 1107 9th Street, Suite 360 Sacramento CA 95814 Light • California Oaks Foundation • California Transit Association • Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch • FANS • Friends of Harbors, Beaches & Parks • Friends of Swainson’s Hawk • E-Newsletters As part of registering for the Symposium you will be subscribed to our free, weekly Green LA Coalition • Greenspace-Cambria Land Trust • San e-newsletter, the PCL Insider. Know that you may remove your name from our list Diego River Park Foundation • Valley Land Alliance • California at any time by following the unsubscribe link provided in the newsletter. Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar • Clover Photographs & Videos: Please be aware that PCL and PCLF will be taking photographs of the event, which will be used in our publications and on the web. We Valley Foundation • Sierra Office Supply & Printing • may possibly record videos of the event as well. Conservation Clarity • Focal Point Images CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation 5
National Climate Change Legislation
By: Matt Little, National Wildlife Federation
Greetings PCL members and supporters! Hopefully by the time you read this, the U.S. Senate will have passed significant climate change legislation. My fear is that they haven’t and there is very little time to act. Here’s where we stand. This summer, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would reduce carbon dioxide from all major U.S. emitters 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 (compared to 2005 emissions). This fall, the Senate Environment Committee passed a similar bill at 20% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 – levels that scientists agree are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global climate change. However, the Senate bill has to go through three or four more committees before it can come to a
full vote. As of press time, Senator Kerry had been pushing for a Thanksgiving deadline for all committees to pass their provisions so that, at the very least, President Obama can go to Copenhagen in December and show the international community that the U.S. is ready to take action. In order to pass the Senate bill, we need to secure 60 difficult votes to avoid a filibuster. Getting this done before Copenhagen would be ideal; getting this done before we get into the heat of an election year is necessary. We must act soon! Luckily, California has two senators leading the charge. However, if you have friends and relatives outside of California, please tell them to contact their senators to
pass this bill as soon as possible. Regardless of what you think of cap and trade, this bill represents the only chance that Congress has to cap emissions in the near term. Because of NWF’s work, both bills also include unprecedented state and federal funding for wildlife habitats to cope with climate change. If we don’t pass the bill soon, the latest IPCC report warns that in the lifetime of a child born today, 20 to 30 percent of the world’s plant and animal species will be on the brink of extinction. That is not an acceptable compromise for inaction. Thank you for your assistance on what may be the most significant legislation of this century.
Every year we need to publish our Statement of Circulation, as required by the United States Post Office.
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CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
In Memoriam:Michael Jacobs
(June 2, 1916 to October 21, 2009)
From the family of Mike Jacobs
It’s hard to pinpoint when Mike became interested in protecting the environment or dedicating his life to it, but it seems his story began when he literally ran away from home at 16 years old and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan. There he planted trees in the wilderness. It was a life altering experience that sowed a seed which would come to fruition later in Mike’s life. Years later, Mike spent a few months in a foxhole in Northern France during World War II, where he pledged that he would never camp out again. But as a father Mike lead his son Larry and his Boy Scout troop backpacking in Sequoia National Park where he spent many nights sleeping under the stars and fell in love with the High Sierras. Many of us enjoy our outdoor experiences, but not all of us take action. Mike took action. Mike Jacobs was a long-time Board Member of the Planning and Conservation League. He and his wife Grace attended and were active at League board meetings for over 20 years. His commitment and actions lead to the League hiring the first environmental lobbyist in the “building,” something he was very proud of. Even his business was about the environment—he owned an organic farm in the Santa Cruz area. But that was just a small piece—his heart and life were dedicated to making the environment better. Mike cared about people and how they live. He cared about community and the quality of the living environment. He saw what
mattered, and did the right thing, not caring for returns or attention, but teaching his family and all of us what it is to live an extraordinary life. His son Robbie remembers growing up and helping his Dad on different efforts, most notably AB 1471, a landmark bill to protect California’s coast. Mike and his son took to the beach in Santa Monica to collect signatures building support for the legislation. Mike was also a leader in working to stop a proposed freeway through Malibu Canyon—a proposal that would have destroyed what is now a state park. While his efforts were not always successful, Mike was blessed with a vision of what was possible and, in his quiet way, always knew how to go about making it happen. Mike’s wife Grace perhaps put it best. “He would do everything and anything for the environment. He was an organization.” That’s a legacy that we would all like to leave.
CALIFORNIA TODAY • Planning and Conservation League & PCL Foundation
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VISIT US ON THE WEB: www.PCL.org or www.PCLFoundation.org
Shasta Dam
Statewide Rejection of Water Bond
By: David Maurier
Newspapers up and down California are advising voters to reject the $11.14 billion water bond that the Legislature will put on the ballot next November. The package sets aside $3 billion for new dams and does not address the over-allocation of water that threatens California’s fragile ecosystems. The Orange County Register wrote, “The Legislature and [G]overnor seem oblivious to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer’s warning that the annual repayments of up to $800 million for the water bond will add to the state’s annual debt service, now at $6 billion and growing. Without the new obligation, debt service payments are projected to escalate from the current 6.7 percent to 10 percent of the state’s general fund budget by 2015.” In “Our View: The bond is full of waste,” the Merced Sun-Star highlighted that, “[t]he state will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in interest each year that could go to education.”
And the Stockton Record wrote that they are infuriated by the Governor’s “staggering display of insensitivity” and his “presumption that this region is such an afterthought that it really doesn’t matter whether its residents swallow the transparent greenwashing and legislative charade…” The tally is in and it is not good. After the legislative all-nighter that forced the water package through, the costly projects added to garner last minute votes are receiving greater attention. At its peak the bond would cost the state over $800 million a year in debt service for up to 30 years, taking funding away from California’s schools, health care, firefighters, police officers, state parks, prisons and other social services. California already carries $130 billion in debt and the lowest credit rating in the 50 states. Next November, it will be up to voters to say no to the taxpayer rip-off and unnecessary projects that serve special interests, rather than the public.
