READY, OFFSET, GO: A LOOK AT THE FINAL CAP-AND-TRADE REGULATION’S OFFSET PROGRAM

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Climate Change

The time has finally come… California’s cap-and-trade regulation finally went into effect in January of 2012 (not without its litigation drama along the way – see here, here, here, here, and here for the full saga).  The crowning jewel of California’s AB 32, the regulation establishes an overall cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for all covered sources.  There are two “compliance instruments” contemplated as a part of the cap-and-trade regulation.  In other words, there are two different items that a covered facility may obtain to allow them to emit GHGs: (i) allowances, which are a particular facility’s tradable portion of the total GHGs permitted to be emitted under the overall cap, and (ii) offsets, which are projects that will reduce emissions outside of the cap.  This article will focus on the regulation’s offset program which is run by the California Air Resources Board (ARB).

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Jenna Guggenheim | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Climate Change

Greenhouse Gas Data Just a Click Away

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Climate Change

Earlier this month, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for the first time comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) data through EPA’s GHG Reporting Program. The 2010 GHG data includes publicly accessible information from sources in nine industry groups that directly emit large quantities of GHGs or supply certain fossil fuels. 

The GHG Reporting Program came as result of EPA’s October 2009 issuance of the Mandatory Reporting of GHG Rule (74 FR 56260).  The rule requires certain large sources and suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted to report their GHG data and other relevant information starting in 2010.  EPA’s online data publication tool allows the public to review the GHG data in multiple ways including by facility, industry, location or gas. 

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Sedina L. Banks | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Climate Change

Green Building in Practice: A Success Story

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Green Building

Greenberg Glusker client, Structure Home, in partnership with Green Builder Media and others, is well underway in its development of VISION House Los Angeles.  Among the first of its kind in the Los Angeles area, this single family residence is located in the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles.  The goal of this project is to raise awareness, educate and advocate green building within our community.  This project will be featured in an upcoming edition of Green Builder Magazine.

Not only will this project comply with the mandatory requirements of California Green Building Standards Code (as known as CALGreen), which went into effect as of January 1, 2011, this project will also comply with the Tier 1 discretionary measures and is also on track to accomplish LEED Certification, California ENERGY STAR Certification, and California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (CHEERS) Verification, among other certifications and verifications.  For all of the talk in recent memory about the need to go “green” and preserve our natural resources from local citizens all the way to President Obama, Structure Home is actually making it happen.

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Robin Finch | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Green Building

Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Agrees to Air Quality Rules

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Air Quality

In a landmark agreement, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) reached a “government-to-government” agreement with the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians to enforce some of the SCAQMD’s air quality regulations on tribal land. 

The SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, but does not have jurisdiction over tribal lands. Under the agreement announced yesterday, the tribe has voluntarily agreed to allow the SCAQMD inspectors to conduct air sampling, monitoring and inspection activities on the 640-acre Cabazon Resource Recovery Park industrial park near Mecca. It also requires facilities operating within the park, including Western Environmental Inc., to comply with applicable SCAQMD rules. The agreement will also allow the SCAQMD to enforce permits issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to facilities operating within the park.

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Sedina L. Banks | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Air Quality

Sackett v. EPA – Supreme Court to Decide Whether Pre-Enforcement Review of Compliance Orders Allowed

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Environmental Litigation

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (docket no. 10-1062).  At issue is whether a party who was issued a pre-enforcement compliance order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the right to have the order judicially reviewed before EPA initiates an enforcement action. 

The Sacketts own about a half-acre vacant parcel of land in Idaho.  In early 2007, they filled the parcel with dirt and rock in preparation for building a house.  Later that year, EPA issued an administrative compliance order against the Sacketts alleging that the parcel of land is a wetland subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA) and that the Sacketts violated the CWA by filling in the land without obtaining a permit.  EPA ordered the Sacketts to return the land to its former condition or face over $30,000 in penalties per day for failure to comply. 

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Sedina L. Banks | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Environmental Litigation

Environmental Groups Bring Suit Against EPA to Require Air Monitoring Along So-Cal Freeways

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Air Quality

On Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Counsel (NRDC), Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles and Communities for a Better Environment brought a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for EPA’s approval of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) 2011 Annual Air Quality Monitoring Network Plan on November 1, 2011 (the Air Monitoring Plan). 

The SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.  The Air Monitoring Plan describes the network of ambient air quality monitors within the SCAQMD’s jurisdiction (click here for the final plan).  Federal law requires EPA to review the Air Monitoring Plan annually to identify the need to make any changes to the air monitoring requirements. 

Although the environmental groups’ opening brief is not due until the end of March, according to NRDC’s press release, the focus of the suit will be that EPA violated the Clean Air Act by approving the Air Monitoring Plan even though it does not require air quality monitoring along Southern California freeways.  NRDC contends that such monitoring is necessary to “better inform the local air district about the hazardous levels of particulate air pollution, and to arm them with the information necessary to take action to protect the region’s residents.”  The environmental groups are seeking the installation of air monitors along the region’s highways.

Sedina L. Banks | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Air Quality

Life in the Green Lane – Carpool Privileges to be Given to Qualifying Cars

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Clean Technology

At the start of the year, California began offering green clean air vehicle decals to purchasers or lessees of cars meeting California’s Enhanced Advanced Partial Zero Emission Vehicle requirements.  These decals enable a single driver to drive in the carpool lane.

California is limiting the number of stickers to 40,000.  The program will last through January 2015.  Ironically, as reported by the Sacramento Bee, there are currently no commercially available cars that meet the criteria to obtain the decal.  However, the 2012 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid and the 2012 Chevy Volt are expected to qualify.

Sedina L. Banks | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Clean Technology

Quebec Joins California In Adopting a Cap-and-Trade Program

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Climate Change

As our readers know, we have been following the cap-and-trade regulations both domestically and abroad. Quebec recently joined California in adopting a cap-and-trade regulation for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission allowances based on the rules established by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). WCI is a collaboration of independent jurisdictions, including California, working together to “identify, evaluate and implement emissions trading policies to tackle climate change at a regional level.” Quebec joined WCI in April 2008. 

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Sedina L. Banks | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Climate Change, Uncategorized

Taking Birds Under Their Wing: Bird Conservation Group Petitions Government for Regulation of Wind Turbines

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Harnessing the wind – such an attractive notion in these times when awareness of the benefits of clean renewable energy is heightened.  Wildlife conservation groups (and in an ironic and hilarious way, hunting groups) are speaking out about an ugly side-effect of wind energy: bird deaths.  Yes, that’s right.  Hundreds of thousands of birds are killed each year by collisions with wind turbines.  (The number of actual deaths per year is disputed by different sources however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated in 2009 that 440,000 bird deaths per year were attributable to wind turbines.) 

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Jenna Guggenheim | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Don’t Sink That Battle Ship: New Suit Demands Tighter Rules on Navy’s Disposal of Vessels at Sea

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Environmental Litigation

BattleshipEnvironmental groups filed suit last week in California federal court against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging the agency failed to adequately regulate a federal ship sinking program, which the groups assert pollutes the sea with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The federal program, known as SINKEX, allows the Navy to engage in live fire exercises on decommissioned naval warships to practice gunnery, torpedo accuracy, and missile drills, while simultaneously disposing of obsolete ships. Basel Action Network (BAN) and the Sierra Club allege in their complaint that the ship disposal activities of the federal program pose a substantial and unreasonable risk to human health and the environment because PCBs present in electrical cable insulation, fiberglass bulkhead insulation, paints, adhesives or rubber mounts and gaskets aboard the old vessels eventually leach into the marine environment. Once these PCBs enter the marine environment they accumulate in the bodies of fish and other marine organisms that humans consume.

The groups have asked the court to compel EPA to initiate rulemaking under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which authorizes EPA to regulate the disposal of PCBs, to more stringently regulate the Navy’s remediation of vessels designated for sink exercises, or, alternatively, to revisit the program’s ocean dumping permit.

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Natalie Reed | | | Leave a comment

Posted in Environmental Litigation

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Greenberg Blawg contains information of a general nature that is not intended to be legal advice and should not be considered or relied on as legal advice. Any reader of Greenberg Blawg who has legal matters involving information addressed on this website should consult with an experienced environmental law attorney. Greenberg Blawg does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader of this website. The opinions expressed in the posts are the individual opinions of the authors and do not represent the opinions of Greenberg Glusker, its employees, agents, or clients.