Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 22, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People -
Editorial: Reject both Proposition 98 and Proposition 99
Both would load up the state constitution to attack a problem that just doesn't exist
Sacramento
Air quality board to fine Bay Area polluters
San Francisco Chronicle
Solvent-busting rule means flat paints will be greener
Flat paints made, sold and used in portions of
Los Angeles
Boxer gets symbolic victory on California
Sacramento
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Editorial: Reject both Proposition 98 and Proposition 99
Both would load up the state constitution to attack a problem that just doesn't exist
It's back. Yet another initiative – Proposition 98 – is on the ballot masquerading as "eminent domain" reform and trying to scare people with the prospect that their homes might be "taken" by the government.
Yet Proposition 98 is really about a sweeping agenda to lard up the California Constitution to end forever the ability of local governments to enact rent control or affordable housing ordinances, to set rules that set liquor store hours or to require developers to pay fees to build schools.
In
The worst part of Proposition 98 is a vague line prohibiting any regulation that would "transfer an economic benefit to one or more private persons at the expense of the private owner." What? Any regulation that has a broad public purpose – such as limiting the number of liquor licenses – might incidentally benefit some private individuals over others. All these could be wiped out.
This initiative also would ban government from using eminent domain for "consumption of natural resources." Be ready to say goodbye to future water storage facilities and energy projects if Proposition 98 passes.
Voters should reject Proposition 98 as they rejected a similarly sweeping initiative in 2006. Proposition 98 advocates are trying to capitalize on public sentiment against the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v.
Here's the evidence. After the Kelo decision, the federal Government Accountability Office studied the use of eminent domain. For that study the California Redevelopment Association commissioned researchers from the
The findings: Out of 12.7 million land parcels on the tax rolls in
The researchers found that only three single-family, owner-occupied homes were taken through eminent domain. And two of those were due to clouded title problems in which a court needed to decide who rightfully owned the property.
Since that time,
In an attempt to head off the fear-mongering generated by Proposition 98 advocates, others have put a Proposition 99 on the ballot. It would "prohibit government agencies from using eminent domain to take an owner-occupied home to transfer it to another private owner or developer."
As the UC Davis research showed, this is a nonissue. For the rare abuses, legislators can pass a law. There's no need to add Proposition 99 to
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/957908.html
Air quality board to fine Bay Area polluters
San Francisco Chronicle – 5/22/08
By Kelly Zito, staff writer
(05-21) 19:03 PDT -- Jumping ahead of state and federal regulators, the Bay Area air quality district became the first in the nation on Wednesday to impose fees on businesses that pump some of the highest levels of carbon dioxide into the air each year.
The 15-1 vote by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District sets the stage for 2,500 companies and agencies - from supermarkets to gas stations to power plants - to pay 4.4 cents for every metric ton of carbon dioxide they expel, beginning July 1. The top 10 companies combined would pay more than $820,000. The fee for a large share of businesses would be less than $1.
The district took the historic step as federal and state officials mull how and when to reduce the gases that many scientists blame for pushing up the Earth's temperatures and changing weather patterns. As much as the regulation will create a framework for pursuing the biggest carbon polluters in the region, it also provided a chance for the district to make a statement on the speed with which its counterparts in
"Someone needs to take a first step, and we're running out of time, when you look at the bay rising 3 feet by 2100 and the devastating effects of climate change," said San Mateo County Supervisor Jerry Hill, the air district chairman. "This is a more expensive proposition if we do nothing."
District officials took pains to emphasize the estimated $1.1 million to be collected annually will pay for collecting and tracking data on greenhouse gases. What's more, individual fees will be too small in most cases to penalize polluters or deter the discharge of carbon dioxide.
However, it was clear the agency has broader aspirations.
"If you reduce emissions, you will reduce the fee. And that is the goal," said Pamela Torliatt, who represents
Authority questioned
Representatives of local refineries, among the polluters whose bills would run an additional $200,000 each year, argued that the district has no legal authority to levy such fees and that the anticipated greenhouse gas emission inventory would overlap with similar efforts at the state level.
"It's disconcerting to business and industry, because we don't know who's in charge," said Dennis Bolt, manager of the Bay Area division of the Western States Petroleum Association. "You have too many oars in the water, and in the end a logjam comes down the road. It's not constructive."
The California Air Resources Board is working on measures tied to the landmark California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. But so far, the board has not released any proposals. Industry groups contend the local action is premature and will create an ineffective and confusing patchwork effect.
At the national level, there is also no comprehensive plan. Last month, President Bush urged the
Bolt would not say if his group has ruled out the possibility of suing the air district.
The greenhouse gas emissions inventory is of particular concern to both sides, because future rules or fees at the local, state or federal levels will hinge on certain benchmarks. High or low numbers may hurt or help emitters, depending on the program. The Bay Area district's plan calls for local monitoring of emissions; it is unclear whether a state program would rely on local monitoring or on figures provided by the companies.
Before Wednesday's vote, the air district regulated emissions of more than a dozen major pollutants - such as volatile organic compounds, nitrous oxide and particulate matter from fireplaces - by about 10,000 companies. By adding greenhouse gases to the list, the 53-year-old agency singled out 2,500 of those businesses to pay extra fees for releasing carbon dioxide.
More than 50 percent of the Bay Area's carbon emissions come from cars and trucks, which fall outside the agency's purview.
Air board member and Martinez Mayor Mark Ross insists the local board would integrate fees and inventory data with any new state regulations. In fact, the board hopes the Bay Area plan could become a template for similar systems in other regions and the state.
"They wouldn't have to re-create the carbon wheel," Ross said. "It's like we're the pilot project, and we hope the state will eventually adopt it."
District director and Danville Mayor Michael Shimansky opposed the measure. He sees it as a step backward rather than forward. Adding fees to refiners, gas station owners and ultimately drivers could not come at a worse time, he said.
"If you think this fee is going to stay this way for the next 10 years, ... I don't know what to say. It's going to rise and it's going to affect the economy," Shimansky said.
Some of the opponents support a cap-and-trade system. That market-based approach, which appears to have the support of many businesses and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, sets limits on carbon dioxide emissions and allows companies to trade carbon credits based on the amount of production.
Immediate and direct
Health and social services advocates see the fee-based approach as more immediate and direct at a time when weather patterns seem more volatile and detrimental. One air expert pointed to an 18-day stretch in the summer of 2006, when heat-related emergency room visits jumped from a typical 350 to more than 2,500.
"These sort of heat episodes will continue to happen in the context of climate change and global warming," said Shankar Prasad, a fellow with the Coalition for Clean Air. The air quality board's vote "is the first step in the right direction. It's a precedent-setting step, a monumental decision."#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/22/MNDN10QD6O.DTL
Solvent-busting rule means flat paints will be greener
Flat paints made, sold and used in portions of
By Jeff Spurrier, Special to The Times
IF YOU'RE dressing up your house with a fresh coat of color, a new generation of paints will help the environment, though not your pocketbook.
Starting July 1, all flat paints made, sold and used within
"The best paint on the market now is latex because that's where all the money has gone" in research and development, says Peggy McCloud, owner of Jill's Paint in
Retailers and suppliers will have a three-year grace period to phase out their existing stock of flat paints that contain higher levels of the ozone-depleting solvents.
The move away from oil-based paints is part of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's 30-year effort to reduce emissions from paint, stains, finishes, lacquers, colorants, primers and shellacs. Architectural coatings account for 23 tons of smog-causing emissions every day, more than the daily output of local oil refineries. But that number is down from 60 tons of emissions from paint in the late 1990s, according to Sam Atwood, AQMD spokesman.
The reformulated, low-VOC paints dry in 30 minutes and cover twice as much area as oil-based paints. Paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore, one of the leaders in reducing VOCs, has invested more than $150 million in launching its new Aura line of latex coatings, rolling out a new exterior line this month. It's considered premium paint, selling for just under $60 a gallon.
"The colorants we've used have always been glycol-based, developed over 20 years ago to be universal, usable in oil-based or water-based paints," says Mike Branch, manager of field product implementation for Benjamin Moore. "The bad thing about them was they were full of solvents, 300 to 600 grams per liter. The proprietary water-based colorants we developed have less than 10 grams per liter."#
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-hm-paint22-2008may22,0,7188414.story
Boxer gets symbolic victory on California
Sacramento
By David Whitney, staff writer
WASHINGTON – In a purely symbolic move, the Senate committee headed by Sen. Barbara Boxer approved her bill Thursday that would grant the Clean Air Act waiver California
But the 10-9 vote by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is as far as the legislation is likely to get. The vote was largely along party lines, an indication it might not be able to overcome a filibuster blocking it from coming to a vote.
Even if the measure did make it out of Congress, President Bush is all but certain to veto it.
A House committee released documents this week showing that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California's waiver request in December after being told by the White House that it opposed giving the state an exception to the act.
The California Democrat's bill would simply deem the state's waiver application approved.
While the committee vote was mostly along party lines with Democrats backing the measure, one Democrat voted against it and one Republican voted for it, giving Boxer the opportunity to tout bipartisan support.#
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/958271.html
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