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CEC SEES 6%-10% GASOLINE SHORTFALL BY 2003; ETHANOL MAIN CULPRIT

Energy commission staff is warning that because of limited and expensive ethanol supplies and other factors, the state faces a 6%-10% gasoline shortfall by 2003, which likely would result in huge price spikes. Limited refining flexibility to produce reformulated gasoline (RFG) with ethanol, potential shortfalls in ethanol production and expensive transportation of ethanol to California from the Midwest are expected to result in RFG shortages and skyrocketing prices, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC). Gordon Schremp, CEC fuels specialist,...

EPA BEGINS ALLOWING 'PEAKER' PLANTS TO EXCEED EMISSION CAPS

U.S. EPA Region IX has begun signing special orders that give "peaker" power plants in the state federal approval to exceed pollution limits. The "administrative orders on consent" will protect violators from federal enforcement under the Clean Air Act, and some lawyers argue from third-party lawsuits, according to sources. Power company Mirant LLC earlier this month received the first EPA Region IX administrative order. The agreement between EPA, Mirant and the Bay Area air district spells out the terms for...

NRDC CLAIMS STATE DATA SHOW WIDESPREAD GROUNDWATER PROBLEMS

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report this week calling on the water board to lead Cal/EPA departments and other state agencies in launching an effort to gather new data about groundwater quality in order to trigger new plans to clean up the resources. The report is being used to push an Assembly bill that would create a task force to compel regulators to address the matter, according to sources. The report, released April 26, finds: there is...

GROUPS CHARGE EPA BACKING OFF TIGHTER FQPA ENFORCEMENT

Environmental groups charge U.S. EPA may be backing away from a preliminary legal settlement reached early this year aimed at ensuring prompt implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), after chemical and pesticide manufacturers stepped up pressure on the agency to drop the agreement. State environmental groups are lobbying to protect the pact, which they believe is the only way to ensure a reassessment of organophosphate pesticides over the next few years. Industry representatives have threatened to file their...

LAWMAKERS OK BILL EXPANDING CEQA REVIEW TO 'ADJACENT' AREAS

An Assembly panel this week approved a measure to expand California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) project review provisions to jurisdictions adjacent to the town overseeing developments, which aims to lessen negative impacts on neighboring communities. The bill April 23 passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee by a 7-3 vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans against. The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1532 (Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills) requires a lead agency considering a development project...

REPORT: NO PAYMENT, CONTRACTS LIMIT BIOMASS-TO-ENERGY INDUSTRY

A draft waste board report on the state's biomass-to-energy industry finds that operators are not getting paid for their power generation and that a lack of long-term contracts with utilities is stifling investment in the declining market. The waste board is preparing the report for Cal/EPA, which will send it to Gov. Gray Davis as a piece of a multi-part plan to potentially boost energy supplies. A copy of the report is available on our website, InsideEPA.com. Industry representatives are...

PANEL QUESTIONS ARB PLANS FOR POWER-PLANT NOx CREDIT, ZEV SUBSIDY

Members of an Assembly budget-oversight subcommittee are questioning requests by the air board for $100 million in the 2001-2002 fiscal year to help power plants obtain emission offset credits and $50 million to subsidize the purchase of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Legislative sources said that the subcommittee members will revisit the matters after the governor releases revisions to his proposed budget in May, but indicated that both programs could see significant cuts. Of particular concern to the Assembly Budget Committee subcommittee...

TOSCO RECEIVES FIRST ARB OK TO PRODUCE PHASE III ETHANOL FUEL

Tosco Corp.'s Rodeo refinery is the first facility to receive approval from the air board to produce and sell gasoline containing ethanol that meets the state's new Phase III reformulated gasoline (RFG) regulation, according to sources. Early compliance with the regulation may provide Tosco with emission reduction credits based on meeting a lower sulfur content standard contained in the fuel regulation. The refinery has been producing ethanol-containing fuel for two years as part of a pilot project delivering gasoline to...

AGENCIES WARN REGION'S 2010 MONORAIL PLAN THREATENS CRUCIAL FUNDING

State and federal regulators are pushing a southern California planning agency to lower their expectations for a zero-emissions monorail or jeopardize $2 billion in transportation funds for the region if air quality goals are not met. The air board and U.S. EPA are asking the region to specify alternative emission reductions if the monorail does not perform as expected. Other state and federal agencies are even more skeptical and want the region to reassess its plan. The Southern California Association...

ACTIVISTS CLAIM DTSC UNDERESTIMATES ARMY DEPOT POLLUTION THREAT

Environmentalists are concerned the toxics department may be overlooking environmental impacts from the Sierra Army Depot (SIAD) after the department found no significant impacts from incineration activities despite U.S. EPA data that suggest the depot is one of the state's biggest polluters. The Department of Toxic Substances Control released air sampling data this week that show emissions for the base are not producing human health impacts, according to a department source. Environmentalists say they want regulators to explain how the...

'SUSTAINABLE' BUILDINGS PORTEND NEW ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT STANDARDS

A special task force created under a Gov. Gray Davis executive order recommends in a draft report that the state adopt sweeping "sustainable" building construction standards, focusing on improvement in energy efficiency and indoor air quality. The move may lead to substantial new regulations to reduce mold, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) inside buildings. Reaction from the construction and building materials industries is unclear, but several sources said that the building industry may raise objections because of increased costs...

HOUSE PANEL URGES STATE CAP EMISSION CREDIT PRICES TO EASE CRISIS

A subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee is recommending state lawmakers cap the price of emission credits for new power plants and exempt new projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The subcommittee on energy policy and regulatory affairs, which recently held three field hearings in California, is also recommending that federal lawmakers pass laws to increase natural gas production to California in an "environmentally acceptable" manner, and offer tax credits for energy efficient buildings. In an April...

WAXMAN PRESSES WHITMAN TO EXPLAIN ARSENIC 'CONTRADICTIONS'

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), the top ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, is suggesting that U.S. EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman has issued numerous contradictory statements on her role in revoking the Clinton Administration's standard for arsenic in drinking water, and is urging Whitman to explain herself. Waxman has written Whitman and asked her to explain contradictions and inconsistencies in her recent statements and testimony on how she and other Bush Administration officials reached a decision to...

HIGH COURT RULING DEALS BLOW TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CASES

In a major blow to the environmental justice movement, the U.S. Supreme Court April 24 ruled that private citizens cannot use Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to sue state agencies over unintentional discrimination. The ruling restricts the law's applicability to only those cases alleging intentional discrimination by states, and will seriously limit the use of federal lawsuits by environmental justice groups, attorneys say. The 5-4 ruling effectively eviscerates a recent federal district court ruling, South Camden Citizens...

ACTIVISTS FEAR WHOLESALE ATTACK ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RULES

Environmentalists and academics say the wording of the Supreme Court's April 24 ruling stripping citizens of judicial recourse under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act appears to be an invitation to industry and states to bring a larger, and potentially more devastating attack on federal rules aimed at eliminating unintentional discrimination. Such an attack, if upheld by the high court, would cripple the environmental justice movement, since most cases of environmental discrimination cannot be based on clear evidence...

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