Top Stories
BP Barred from Cleanup Fund and Pays Millions over Double-Billing Claims
British Petroleum North America agreed to pay $7.9 million and agreed that 90 of the 243 cleanup sites that had qualified for reimbursements would now be barred from the fund. BP, its insurers and whoever it can sue will now be responsible. That pencils out to savings of between $45 million and $135 million for the state. read more
Shhh! Blue Shield of California Lost Its Tax-Exempt Status 7 Months Ago
After mulling over Blue Shield of California’s $4.2-billion financial reserve and its business practices, the state Franchise Tax Board revoked the tax-exempt status of the not-for-profit health insurance behemoth. But the board decided last August, when it made the ruling, that there was no compelling reason to tell the public about it, and Blue Shield, which contests the decision, was in no hurry to disclose it—just months before the beginning of open enrollment. read more
San Diego Sues Monsanto over 50 Years of PCB Contamination in the Bay
The city and the port paid fines of $949,634 and coughed up $6.45 million to clean up the Shipyards Sediment Site, laden with Monsanto-manufactured PCBs, after the San Diego Regional Water Control Board held them responsible for dumping in the bay. They hope to recoup some of their costs in the lawsuit. read more
Obama Administration Dodges Congress, Doubles Marine Sanctuaries off Northern Coast
The plan, which extends wildlife protections and puts the area off-limits for energy and mineral extraction, was two-years in the making. The area is home to more than a quarter million breeding seabirds, 25 endangered or threatened species, 36 marine mammal species and a large population of great white sharks. read more
NASA Scientist Says California Has One Year of Water Reserves Left
We have one year to show some recognition of the problem and do something real about it. “California has no contingency plan for a persistent drought like this one (let alone a 20-plus-year mega-drought), except, apparently, staying in emergency mode and praying for rain,” Jay Famiglietti, senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech, wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed last week. read more
90 Years Is Enough: State Inks Deal to Close Exide’s Toxic Battery Plant near Downtown L.A.
Exide will pay $38.6 million to close and clean up the plant. Another $9 million will go into a trust fund to clean up the mess they made of the neighborhood, including 216 homes. But the federal government will not pursue prosecution for criminal conduct, although the company admitted to, “including the illegal storage, illegal disposal, illegal shipment and illegal transportation of hazardous waste. read more
A “Shocking” Find: Culture of “Lawlessness” at Public Utilities Commission
What was shocking Wednesday as experts testified before the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communication Committee about a culture of “lawlessness” at the PUC is that anyone could even feign surprise. It’s how we roll in California. Although there is language abounding in rules about the impropriety of regulators becoming overly cozy with regulatees, commissioners aren’t required to report every contact and there is no penalty for violation of the rules. read more
ACLU Sues 2 Cop Shops over Stingray Surveillance Secrecy
The lawsuits seek documents that are generally considered public records, including contracts or other agreements with the manufacturer. Law enforcement agencies claim that "trade secrets" trump the California Public Records Act. The devices are broadly used by police without any oversight by the public, government agencies or courts. read more
It's Never Too Late to Test the Air Around Toxic Superfund Sites
A number of large-scale industrial companies left a toxic footprint that is still being cleaned up. The Los Angeles Times said they produced two of the worst chemical dumps in the nation. But it wasn’t until this year that the EPA stuck air samplers in homes of the community surrounding the Del Amo Superfund and Montrose Chemical Superfund sites to see what residents were breathing. read more
Even Drought Forever Can’t Get Californians to Conserve Water
It is safe to say that Californians celebrated the beginning of the fourth year of drought by trying to save their lawns and the last vestiges of civilization, like water in restaurants. But a new study from Stanford University reinforces other recent scientific reports that rising heat, not lower precipitation, is what’s slow-cooking the state’s goose. read more
12 More Wells Closed for Pumping Wastewater into Aquifers
Eight other wells were shut down last year after media reports highlighted the broader problem of unregulated drilling, and heightened oversight mandated by the state’s first fracking legislation, Senate Bill 4, began to kick in. Poisoning aquifers also became a concern after three years of drought exacerbated California’s chronic water shortage problems. Drilling wastewater can contain arsenic, benzene, heavy metals and radioactive material. read more
California Three-Strikers Rush to Prison Exits and Don’t Come Back
A third of the 9,000 prisoners serving three-strikes sentences were eligible for release and, as of a month ago, about 2,100 got out. If you didn’t read about the rampage they went on, it’s because they didn’t. Some of them did, indeed, commit crimes anew and 4.7% were returned to lockup within 18 months, according to the New York Times, compared to a 45% rate for all other prisoners released during that period. read more
L.A. Fire Dept. Hazardous-Site Inspections Are Failing in a “Very Gross Way”
Last week, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) cited the department for 19 “deficiencies” that included failing to properly inspect hundreds of facilities. The department checks gas stations, chemical factories, laboratories and other facilities that have hazardous materials around.“ Their program has fallen apart,” CalEPA’s Jim Bohon told the Los Angeles Times. read more
Hundreds of Unlined Oil Wastewater Pits in Kern County Have No Permits
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board compared notes with the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) last year and made an unhappy discovery. The state had records on a lot more unlined pits than the board had issued permits for. They have been around for decades and became more popular after the practice of dumping wastewater in drainage canals servicing agricultural fields fell out of favor in the 1980s. read more
EPA Says State's 25-Year Renewable Energy Plan Is Deficient and Already Out of Date
The EPA noted that at the core of the report was a calculation from July 2012 that the state would need 20,000 megawatts of power generated by large-scale wind, solar and geothermal projects in the desert and inland valleys. However, “the sharp decline in the cost of rooftop solar-powered electricity; the growing demand for, and deployment of, energy storage; and Governor Brown’s recent proposal to raise State’s renewable portfolio standard” changed that. read more
L.A. County Gives Early Snapshot of Prop. 47’s “Profound Impacts”
A draft report found that narcotics arrests in L.A. County dropped 38% during the two-month period after the law passed, compared to the same time frame a year earlier. The jail population dropped 15%, and would have dropped more if the Sheriff hadn’t taken advantage of the situation to hang on to the worst offenders longer. read more