In an ongoing effort to promote reconstruction after a devastating fire storm in Los Angeles, Gov. Gavin Newsom this week suspended the California Environmental Act, a utility provider working to reinstall key infrastructure.
His latest executive order eliminates the requirements for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act, commonly known as CEQA, which is working to rebuild the “electric, gas, water, sewer and communications infrastructure” of the Pallisard and Eton Burn Zone.
Newsom also continued to encourage “underground” of utility equipment when feasible. He said it will help minimize future fire risks in these communities.
“We are determined to build stronger and more resilient resilience in Altadena, Malibu and the Pacific Ocean than before,” Newsmu said in a statement. “Speeding the pace at which we rebuild our utility systems will help us return survivors faster and prevent future fires.”
The move is based not only on wildfire prevention efforts from two environmental laws, but also on Newsom’s previous executive order that exempts labor to rebuild homes and businesses that have been destroyed or destroyed by fires.
CEQA requires local and state agencies to identify and mitigate the environmental impact of work. The California Coastal Act, which made the California Coastal Commission permanent, provides regulations on coastal development and protection.
The law has been announced by environmentalists, but their process has long been considered tedious by developers, urging residents and officials to be abandoned to reduce their requirements or promote fire recovery. The Trump administration also has problems with the California Coastal Commission, which normally regulates coastal development, listed by state coastal laws, and also suggests that federal aid may have provisions targeting the commission’s work.
“The key now is not only the traditional utilities of electricity, but also the water and sewer lines at the same time, moving quickly to address their underground needs,” Newsom said in a video posted on social media this week.
Coastal Commission spokesman Joshua Smith declined to comment on the latest executive order.
Previously, the committee’s executive director had made it clear that coastal development permits are usually exempted after a disaster like LA Fires, unless the new construction is 10% larger than the destroyed structure being replaced. However, the statement was subsequently removed from the committee’s website.
In a letter sent last month, Newsom urged Edison, Southern California, the region’s largest power provider, to do everything possible to rebuild the underlines in these areas.
“SCE has the opportunity to build a more modern, reliable, and resilient distribution system that can meet the immediate and future needs of the community,” Newsom wrote, adding that it welcomed information and suggestions that would ease such efforts and reduce costs.
Installing Underground utilities is much more expensive than typical ground construction and is limited in practice.
Edison spokesman David Eisenhauer said it would abandon CEQA and support the utilities’ continued efforts to rebuild and move the lines underground.
“We are grateful for Gov. Newsom’s actions to promote permission,” Eisenhauer said. “This will help us continue this underground process and rebuild the community more strongly.”
Eisenhauer said Socal Edison is already in the process of reestablishing and moving some of the electrical wires in areas affected by the fire. Some of this work was planned in advance, including moving the 40-mile line underground in Altadena and 80 miles in the Parisades area. However, this executive order will help ease the process of allowing future work.
It was not immediately clear how other utilities would benefit from the executive order. Southern California Gas Co. and the LA Department of Water and Power Representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Newsom has previously said that his executive order waives these environmental laws will not show any change in support of California’s such efforts, but many environmental activists worry that such a widespread exemption could have serious consequences.
Bruce Reznik, executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper, a nonprofit defending Clean Waterways, understands the urgency of rebuilding, but said these efforts need a balance to consider important environmental protections, not blanket exemptions or exceptions.
“We all want to see reconstruction happen as soon as possible, but we have to be smart about that as well,” Reznik said. “We must recognize and construct the reality of today’s climate change.”
He said the natural spaces in Altadena and Palisades in the Pacific are a big part of why people love to live there, and it’s important to protect those areas, like the CEQA and the California Coastal Act.
“These laws play a very important role in reconstructing their eyes and restructuring on climate resilience and ensuring they are protecting against further natural disasters… [and] The health of our waterways and ecosystems is, unfortunately, not the way the governor runs, and we need to worry about what that means. ”
Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network, said Newsom’s continued exemption will be the basis for environmental practices seen in the aftermath of the fire, including the decision not to test soil in the affected area.
“I hope that one day the Governor will recognize that the Coastal Commission will be happy to be a partner and one of the best tools he has in his toolbox and ensure a prompt, informed and coordinated response to establish future long-term resilience along the coast,” Jordan said in a statement.
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