Capitol Voice August 2022

The final weeks of the 2022 legislative session are underway. This year, the legislature must pass all remaining bills and budget items by the end of August. 

Sierra Club California is actively working on a number of key climate and environmental priorities. Since January, we have been actively working to pass a large number of bills that will protect the environment, clean the air, and advance environmental justice. We have also been working to stop legislation that stands in opposition to these goals. There are still a handful of bills remaining and you can see which ones we have identified as priorities here. 

We will be sending out alerts asking for your help on these bills and others throughout the next two weeks so keep your eyes on your inboxes!

In addition to the bills have been advocating for all year, Governor Newsom shared his climate proposals with the legislature. These proposals followed a letter that Sierra Club California and its environmental and environmental justice allies sent the Governor last week. 

Both our letter and Newsom’s proposals encourage the legislature to codify and accelerate key greenhouse gas reduction goals, add specificity to renewable energy targets, and establish a health protective setback from oil wells. 

These two documents are certain to generate some last minute legislation that we will be actively working to ensure that any laws that come out of this process help to slow the climate crisis without compromising public health, environmental protection, or impacted communities. 

Unfortunately, Newsom’s largely agreeable proposals are not the only policies he is looking to advance before the 31st. The Governor is also hoping the legislature will help him in his expensive, last-minute bid to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. We will be vigorously opposing this attempt.

We will check back next month to let you know what bills ultimately pass the legislature and ask for your help convincing the Governor to sign and/or veto some bills!

Draft Environmental Impact Report for Delta Tunnel Project Available Now

 By Molly Culton

 

On July 27th, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released its draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the costly and environmentally destructive Delta tunnel project. There will be a 90 day public comment period from July 27- October 27 as well as three public comment workshops hosted by DWR in September. You can read our press release here.

Sierra Club CA will be hosting two workshops to help educate members of the public on how to engage in the EIR process and how to give an effective public comment on the EIR. Register for our workshops below and take action on our petition.

• Wednesday, September 7, 6pm-7pm

• Saturday, September 10, 11am-12pm

For years the Bay-Delta ecosystem has been severely affected by a lack of freshwater flows that has harmed the livelihood for Delta communities and led to loss of natural habitat for local species. If the tunnel is built, water quality and quantity in the Bay-Delta will deteriorate and the ecosystem will collapse. Sierra Club has long been opposed to any and all types of conveyance projects in the Delta - instead advocating for a focus on local and regional water resiliency through recycling, conservation, water efficiency, and storm-water capture projects to meet California’s water needs.

The draft EIR examines the environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Delta tunnel. 

The Department of Water Resources will host three public comment hearings workshops to collect input from the public. The dates of the virtual public hearings are below:

• Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 

• Thursday, September 22, 2022, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

• Wednesday, September 28, 2022, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For more information about the Delta tunnel, go to our webpage here. For timely updates and ways you can take action, join our Stop the Delta Tunnel Facebook group.