Latest news with #CaliforniaEnvironmentalProtectionAgency
San Francisco Chronicle
30-07-2025
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
EPA moves to undo key climate rule; California vows to fight back
The Environmental Protection Agency took a major step toward backing out of the business of fighting climate change on Tuesday, a move that California leaders vowed to push back on. The federal agency, after months of speculation, announced it was seeking to undo the scientific finding that authorizes greenhouse gas regulation. The 'endangerment finding,' which asserts that greenhouse gases are harming humans and must be regulated, has helped spawn several federal policies that limit planet-warming pollution from vehicles, power plants and more. Without the finding, these regulations could be without legal merit and subject to weakening or removal. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, in announcing the agency's plans at an auto dealership in Indiana, called specifically for eliminating emissions standards for cars and trucks. California, as a champion for climate causes, has many state-level carbon pollution programs that wouldn't be directly affected by repeal of the federal endangerment finding. Still, state leaders, alongside environmental groups across the nation, blasted the EPA's announcement as another blow to the warming planet. 'On a global level, this is incredibly impactful and takes us backwards,' Yana Garcia, head of the California Environmental Protection Agency, told the Chronicle. Critics of the EPA point to the many disasters that have been caused or exacerbated by anthropogenic warming, from the recent flooding in Texas to the devastating fires earlier this year in Los Angeles. They insist regulating heat-trapping gases is a national imperative. California and other forward-thinking states, Garcia said, were working together to maintain and strengthen local and regional policies that target greenhouse gas emissions absent the federal government. 'The power that will come from ongoing coalitions will be critically important,' Garcia said. Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to Tuesday's EPA announcement by issuing a statement for the U.S. Climate Alliance, a collaboration of governors pushing for climate action. 'Americans deserve the truth from their federal government about the climate crisis,' the statement said. 'No amount of burying research or firing scientists will change the facts: Greenhouse gas pollution causes climate change and endangers our health and welfare — period.' The Trump administration, just seven months into office, has questioned the reality of climate change and pursued an agenda of broadly undoing regulations that raise costs for businesses and consumers. On Tuesday, Zeldin singled out the auto industry and car buyers as unfairly bearing the brunt. In the EPA's proposal to rescind the endangerment finding, published in the Federal Register, the agency argues that it never had the power to declare that greenhouse gases were harmful. The EPA has begun accepting public comment on its proposal, after which time it's expected to officially revoke the finding. Legal challenges are certain to follow. The endangerment finding was published in 2009, two years after the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the power to regulate carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Meanwhile, California, at the state-level, has regulated carbon pollution through such programs as cap and trade, which limits greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources, and vehicle emissions standards, covering cars and trucks. Congress recently revoked the state's authority to move forward with an ambitious auto emissions policy that would have phased out gasoline-fueled vehicles by 2035 — the state is fighting to save the policy in court. California's earlier vehicle emission standards remain in effect. While environmental groups were overwhelmingly critical of the EPA's announcement Tuesday, some who work on climate issues say there may be a silver lining. Should the federal government stop regulating greenhouse gases, California and other states could choose to do it themselves, and perhaps do it more effectively, something they haven't been allowed to do because of existing federal regulation. Of course, not all states would participate. 'One of my colleagues said they should be careful of what they wish for,' said Mary Nichols, distinguished counsel for UCLA's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and Environment and former chair of the California Air Resources Board. 'This leaves California much less subject to challenge if we say we want to regulate carbon emissions. They can't preempt us from doing that.'
San Francisco Chronicle
15-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Northern California county warns of ‘thick, poisonous smoke,' declares emergency
Siskiyou County officials are asking for state and federal help in addressing the illegal use of toxic pesticides at unlawful cannabis grow operations in the region. In recent years, cannabis cultivators in the county have increasingly used such pesticides often saturated with insecticides, fungicides and herbicides that pose severe health damages to humans upon contact, according to a Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office news release on Monday. These pesticides pose several environmental harms by contaminating local ecosystems through the soil, water and air, according to the sheriff's office. And their uncontrolled use poses a significant risk to law enforcement and fire personnel, many of whom lack appropriate safety protocols to deal with these situations. 'We are battling something far bigger than just an illegally grown plant. This is about environmental destruction, human trafficking, banned chemical fumigants, and transnational organized crime networks operating with impunity across rural America,' said Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue in the press release. 'If we don't act boldly and get support from the State and Federal partners, the long-term consequences to public health and California's ecosystems will be irreversible.' Environmental officials have previously flagged Siskiyou County as a hot spot for the use of the Chinese-labeled pesticide fumigant — that are routinely discovered at cannabis grow operations there — compared to other Californian counties, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. On July 1, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to declare a state of emergency to address the illegal use of toxic pesticides in the county. County officials warned that if burned, the pesticides 'create thick, poisonous smoke that presents serious risks to public health, the environment, waterways, and first responder safety.' The proclamation directed the county to form a multi-agency emergency response task force and pursue state and federal assistance to address the pesticide issue. It also urged the launch of public education campaigns working with agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration, CalEPA and United States Environmental Protection Agency. The resolution finally called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to proclaim the county to be in a state of emergency.
San Francisco Chronicle
31-05-2025
- Climate
- San Francisco Chronicle
How severe will California's heat wave get near you? Here's a ranking for every neighborhood
This week, state officials launched a new tool that ranks heat wave severity and predicts impacts from sweltering temperatures at the neighborhood scale. The unveiling comes as intense heat is gripping Northern California, with parts of the Bay Area that could face triple-digit temperatures. Temperatures Friday, according to the new tool — dubbed the California Communities Extreme Heat Scoring System — are classified as 'severe' in places like San Jose, Walnut Creek and Concord. This is the highest heat severity category, on a scale of 0 ('low') to 4 ('severe'). At this level, communities face high risk of heat-related illnesses. Cooler temperatures are expected in San Francisco. But parts of the city, including the Bayview and South of Market neighborhoods, have a score of 3, corresponding with 'high' heat risk. Heat risk scores are calculated for individual ZIP codes through analysis of historical climate data, weather forecasts and potential health impacts. The model is based on emergency department visit data during the summer months. Temperature thresholds used for calculating scores differ between ZIP codes. The California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment led the development of the tool. The National Weather Service provides a HeatRisk tool with similar heat-risk scores for the entire country. But that tool uses county-level data, while CalHeatScore relies on ZIP-code level emergency department data, said Walker Wieland, the program manager for CalHeatScore, during a media briefing Friday. 'We're able to use finer scale health data that really allows us to pinpoint more where those health vulnerabilities are,' Wieland said. The tool also provides socioeconomic and demographic data that highlights populations that may be vulnerable to extreme heat. 'This tool prioritizes those most at risk and helps ensure that no community is left behind,' said Yana Garcia, California's Secretary for Environmental Protection, during the Friday briefing. Garcia highlighted the correlation between heat and a range of negative health impacts, including increased emergency room visits and hospitalizations for medical issues. 'Not everyone experiences heat in the same way,' Garcia said. 'For example, many Californians don't have access to air conditioning. Some work long hours outdoors. Others are isolated or may face barriers to receiving critical health information.' A hotter future due to global warming brings additional challenges. 'As climate change drives rising temperatures, and as more frequent and intense heat waves hit communities across California, children in particular, older adults, outdoor workers and those with underlying health issues face the greatest risks,' Garcia said.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
State launches new, interactive tool that ranks heat in every ZIP code
( — California has launched a new online tool that helps people understand the severity of heat waves in their area and provides them with resources to hopefully prevent heat-related illness. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced CalHeatScore on Thursday, saying it's the first heat-ranking tool in the nation and one of the only in the world. Defense Intelligence Agency IT Specialist arrested for allegedly sharing classified information It works by updating a daily heat score based on forecasting for every ZIP code in the state. The area gets a score of 0-4, zero being the lowest heat threat and four being the highest. Each ZIP code is also given information about its most vulnerable populations based on demographics, like the elderly and children. There are also resources for people, like tips for spotting the signs of heat-related illness and a list of the cooling centers closest to where you're at. CalHeatScore was developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Newsom said the tool comes at a critical time, after the Trump Administration cut some funding for the National Weather Service at the beginning of the year. The tool also comes following a 2021 recommendation from the California Department of Insurance's Climate Insurance Workgroup that the state create a platform like this. In addition to CalHeatScore, Newsom also announced more than $32 million in funding for 47 communities across the state to help with extreme heat mitigation efforts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California Revising Plastic Packaging EPR Regulations
California's government is retooling its extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulatory bill surrounding the recycling of plastic packaging. SB 54, also known as the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, is now being revamped by California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. An arm of the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CalRecycle, as it's informally known, released a revised draft of the regulations last week. Now, stakeholders have until June 3 to submit feedback on the proposal. More from Sourcing Journal California Law Enforcement and DAs Take On Retail, Cargo Thieves Will Trump Tariffs Help or Hurt U.S. Garment Workers? Teamsters Ask CA Legislators to Back Bill Requiring Human Operators for Autonomous Delivery Vehicles The EPR bill, which establishes a program to manage packaging and single-use plastic food containers across numerous sectors of California's economy, bestows primary responsibility for the packaging products' end-of-life on their producers. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in 2022, mandating that by 2032, all single-use plastics in the state must be recyclable or compostable, and the overall use of these materials be reduced by 25 percent. By the end of that period, 65 percent of single-use plastic packaging should be recycled, the law states. But the law's facilitators—CalRecycle—failed to meet a March 8 deadline for delivering the regulations tied to the law. Newsom requested that the regulations process for SB 54 be restarted, which is where the process stands today. California officials have said that that the timeline for implementing the law will not be impacted by the delay. SB 54 is not California's first EPR bill—the state has implemented such programs for batteries and mattresses—and its provisions informed much of the text of SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, which mandates that producers of apparel, accessories and home textiles deal with the end-of-life impacts of the products they produce through recycling, reuse and repair. SB 707 was signed into law by the governor last year, and faces a similar regulatory process in the months and years ahead. But many in the business community are skeptical about what the EPR bills will mean for California's businesses, many of which are not accustomed to the burden of these responsibilities or equipped to comply with the new laws. The halting progress in the regulation and rollout of SB 54 could be a harbinger of what's to come for the textile-focused EPR, as both programs focus on sectors with broad impacts and seek to regulate a wide range of products made from different materials. California Retailers Association (CRA) president Rachel Michelin said the trade group is still reviewing the updated draft regulations, but reiterated its 'support and appreciation for Governor Gavin Newsom's consideration of the impact on affordability that these regulations will have on everyday consumers, especially given the ongoing uncertainty with the Trump Administration's tariffs.' She also thanked CalRecycle for its collaboration with retail stakeholders, which will continue through upcoming public hearings. An informal rulemaking workshop will take place on May 27 at California EPA headquarters in Sacramento, followed by a May 30 advisory board meeting and a June 23 workshop on covered materials and reporting guidance. Michelin said the CRA is 'committed to ensure California's landmark Packaging EPR program regulations are successfully implemented, achieving California's ambitious recycling objectives while avoiding undue financial burdens on consumers.' 'CRA members are committed to the environmental goals of SB 54 and appreciate the time taken to craft a collaborative and effective regulatory framework,' she added. 'This demonstrates California's leadership in addressing plastic pollution and advancing sustainable recycling practices.' While several states are seeking to tackle plastic and textile waste, especially in the wake of California's landmark legislative progress, tariffs and economic uncertainty are on the minds of many decision-makers. Some sustainability commitments are falling by the wayside as fiscal pressures mount; last week, PepsiCo last week abandoned its commitment to shareholders for 20 percent of all beverage servings to be delivered in reusable or refillable packaging. It also pulled back on commitments to reduce its use of virgin plastic.
