On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an emergency situation ahead of the upcoming fire season “to quickly track important projects protecting our communities from wildfires.”
The declaration reduces bureaucratic deficits, including the suspension of California’s environmental quality law and coastal law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency amid avian flu outbreak
“We have already seen some of the most devastating wildfires in California’s history this year, but we are only in March. Based on unprecedented work, we will cut out red tape and make historic investments. We are taking action to track critical wildfire projects even more quickly in an emergency situation,” Newsom said in a statement.
“These are the forest management projects needed to protect communities most vulnerable to wildfires, and we intend to accomplish them.”
The governor’s declaration includes:
We will suspend environmental regulations, including CEQA and Coastal Act, as necessary to promote fuel reduction projects. The project includes vegetation and tree removal, additional fuel breaks, and prescribed fire. It enables non-state entities to carry out approved fuel reduction operations with rapid, streamlined approval. Instructs state agencies to submit recommendations to increase the defined pace and size of fires. We will increase the efficiency and utilization of the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CALVTP) and continue to promote rapid environmental reviews for large-scale wildfire risk reduction treatments.
Newsom took similar actions in March 2019 to promote forest management projects ahead of the 2019 and 2020 fire seasons.
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