Top Stories
ExxonMobil Dumps Plan for Quick, Dirty Fix at Torrance Refinery
ExxonMobil met resistance from regulators to its plan to replace the 12-story, state-of-the-art air pollution equipment it blew up while working on other equipment with a piece it had retired in 2009. That would produce “anywhere from two to six times the emissions of the newer unit that was destroyed in the explosion,” Southern California Air Quality Management District (AQMD) spokesman Sam Atwood said. read more
Feds Said Tribes Can Grow Pot, but Mendocino County Sheriff Busts One Anyway
Deputies seized around 400 plants from an indoor location on tribal land north of Ukiah and dismantled a laboratory where highly concentrated honey oil, used in marijuana edibles, was manufactured. Tribal leaders made no secret of their plans to grow lots of marijuana after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said last October that they would allow tribes to cultivate crops on their land. read more
VW Gamed Emissions Tests to Dodge U.S. and California Air Quality Safeguards
Volkswagen used a computer algorithm to fool emissions testing equipment on hundreds of thousands of cars since 2009, according to the California Air Resources Control Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The cars emit as much as 40 times the level of pollutants allowed under clean air rules when they are on the road. read more
Hayward Police Sued for Charging Public Big Bucks to See Body Cam Video
“Such a hefty price tag will put these public records beyond the reach of most Californians, including journalists investigating possible instances of excessive force by police,” ACLU senior counsel Alan Schlosser said in a statement. The department charged $1 for the DVD disc and $2,937.58 for staff time, numbers to keep in mind when posting videos to Facebook and YouTube. Time is big money. read more
Feds Reach “Sweetheart Deal” over Contaminated Farmland Water
The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of the Interior and Westlands Water District announced settlement of a decade-long fight over managing drainage and already-tainted farmland to meet environmental standards. Details were not immediately available, but it was said to closely follow a preliminary agreement in 2013 that had, and still has, environmentalists howling. read more
Feds Wag Finger but Don’t Fine Oil Company for Santa Barbara Pipeline Spill
The badly-corroded Plains pipeline that burst four months ago spilled more than 140,000 gallons of oil, much of it ending up in coastal waters. Plains was issued warnings to keep better records and told to do something about documenting its emergency response training program. Plains did not notify the feds until three and a half hours after discovering the spill, although the law requires them to do it right away. read more
Two Decades after Legalization, California Agrees to Regulate Medical Marijuana
Lawmakers scrambled on Friday to sign off on incarnations of legislation that have been kicking around for years, incorporating the governor’s version of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act proffered two weeks ago into the three bills. They seemed to have come up with something the governor approves of, but according to the East Bay Express, marijuana advocates “howled that they were being cut out” of the final deal. read more
Governor Brown Vetoes Drone Trespass Legislation
Senate Bill 142 would have made it an illegal trespass to fly a drone over private property at less than 350 feet. It also would have made drone operators liable for damage and injury caused by their machines. “Before we go down that path, let’s look at this more carefully,” Governor Brown wrote in his veto message. That is kinda the same argument that proponents of drone legislation are making. They want rules and regulations for governing drone use before they are everywhere. read more
Oil Industry “Million-Dollar Smokescreen” Dooms Gasoline Cuts in Climate Bill
Governor Jerry Brown and Senate Democrats agreed on Wednesday to drop a mandate for reducing the use of gasoline in the state 50% by 2030 from Senate Bill 350. The measure was considered by supporters a key element in the state reaching its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2030. The bill retains two less contentious requirements. The state would still have to achieve a 50% increase in energy efficiency in buildings, and get half of its utility power from renewable energy. read more
U.S. Ninth Circuit Won’t Make L.A. Superior Court Reopen Closed Courthouses
The much-lauded neighborhood court system was reduced from 26 locations to five hubs in downtown L.A., Long Beach, Pasadena, Palmdale and Santa Monica. The judges agreed the cuts fell disproportionately on the poor and disabled and denied them equal justice under the law, but ruled that the federal government was powerless to intervene. The court said it had discretion to act in extreme cases but this was not one of them. read more
Fired Oil Regulator Says Governor Ordered that He Ignore U.S. Water Law
Brown energy adviser Cliff Rechtschaffen was said to have told Chernow and Elena Miller, the state’s oil and gas supervisor, that Brown wanted the permits fast-tracked. When Miller said that would violate the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, Rechtschaffen allegedly responded, “This was an order from Governor Brown, and must be obeyed.” They were fired the next day. read more
What the Frack! Oil and Gas Companies Aren’t Reporting Water Use
The California Department of Conservation announced on Thursday that it was cracking down on 30 oil and gas operators who failed to file any reports, even half-assed ones, and was fining each of them the maximum amount allowed under law—$4,500. In the end, 329 quarterly reports out of 433 were received. But 87 of them were missing data, in the wrong format or otherwise screwed up. read more
Giant Utilities Want to Promote Solar by Making It More Expensive
The San Francisco Chronicle said PG&E clarified some its cost estimates and they look even worse for solar users. Most solar users would pay $29 more a month than they do now while the more aggressive solar users, who install batteries to reduce their power usage, would pay just $13 more. PG&E calculated that the average cost to solar users would be an additional $20 a month. read more
California “Crushes” the Governor’s Water Conservation Goal. So What?
So why all the self-congratulatory back slapping over the state exceeding Governor Jerry Brown's arbitrary conservation goal and cutting back on water usage by 31.3% in July? Topping the state’s goal of 25% is better than falling short, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we are winning or even gaining ground against the threat of extended drought. read more
Oakland Cops Resisted Limits on License Plate Scans until Hard Drive Filled
The Oakland Police Department said it ran out of room on its computer’s puny 80GB hard drive and had to scale back the length of time it will retain records from forever to six months. The department told Ars Technica that the elaborate procurement process prevented them from just buying an extra terabyte of memory. They cost around $50. “We don't just buy stuff from Amazon as you suggested,” Sergeant Dave Burke told the publication. read more
Report: Stockton Bank Shootout Was “Excessive and Unnecessary” but Excusable
Upon review, perhaps it wasn’t necessary for 33 police to shoot at Stockton bank robbers 600 times at four locations during a chaotic, hour-long high-speed chase in July 2014, killing one hostage with a barrage of fire. read more