Focus

U.S. to resume enforcement of unlawful bird deaths by industry

Associated Press – September 29

The Biden administration said Wednesday that it will draft rules under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act over the next year to govern the killing of wild birds by industry and resume enforcement actions, which the Trump administration had declined to pursue, against companies responsible for deaths that could have been prevented. The move came as North American bird numbers have plummeted in recent decades; the famed ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 other species of flora and fauna have gone extinct. According to the Fish & Wildlife Service, enforcement will be reserved for cases where companies could have foreseen bird deaths but did not take steps to avoid them.

News

SoCalGas agrees to pay up to $1.8 billion in settlement for 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak

Los Angeles Times – September 27

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and its parent company, Sempra Energy, announced agreements on Monday to pay up to $1.8 billion to settle years of litigation over a 2015 methane leak at the company’s Aliso Canyon facility in the San Fernando Valley. For 112 days, about 100,000 tons of methane, ethane, and other chemicals poured into the air in the largest methane leak in U.S. history. SoCalGas said the agreements were expected to resolve “substantially all material civil litigation” against the company relating to the release.

Refinery settles with Bay Area Air Quality Management District for $2.2 million over emissions violations

KPIX5 – September 29

Operators of a now-idle oil refinery in Martinez have agreed to pay $2.227 million to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to settle claims that it violated air quality regulations, the air district announced on Wednesday. The refinery, previously named the Golden Eagle Refinery under the Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company, received 58 notices of violation between 2014 and 2018 from the air district. In 2018, Tesoro became a subsidiary of the Marathon Petroleum Company.

Lawsuit seeks to block Poseidon desalination plant in Huntington Beach

The Orange County Register – September 28

Two environmental groups have sued the Regional Water Quality Control Board over its decision to grant a permit for Poseidon Water’s desalination plant proposed for Huntington Beach. In the complaint, the environmental groups challenge the adequacy of the regional board’s environmental review of the project. Poseidon has been working on the controversial, $1.4 billion project for 22 years. The regional board’s approval on April 29 left the company needing one more permit, from the California Coastal Commission, before it can negotiate a final contract with the Orange County Water District and begin construction.

San Diego raises fees on industrial wastewater dischargers for first time since 1984

The San Diego Union-Tribune – September 28

Businesses that San Diego classifies as industrial wastewater dischargers should expect to see sharp increases next summer in the fees they pay for treatment of industrial wastewater. The increases are part of a package of sewer and water rate changes the City Council unanimously approved September 21. City officials have been criticized for not recalculating the fees charged to industrial dischargers since 1984. According to city audits, the result has been that residential customers have had to pay tens of millions of dollars in fees that should have been paid by industry.

Bay Area water district plans to build new water purification facility by 2028

SFGate – September 23

Santa Clara Valley Water District officials announced a plan on Thursday to open a water purification facility by 2028 in an effort to fortify the region's water supply during drought conditions. The facility, to be built as either an expansion of the existing purification center in San Jose, or at the former Los Altos Sewage Treatment Plant in Palo Alto will enable the district to purify more than 10 million gallons of water per day. According to the Valley Water CEO, the region's reservoirs currently are collectively at just 12 percent of their total capacity.