Environmental laws that could be a hindrance to rebuilding structures destroyed by Southern California wildfires will be temporarily suspended amid concerns that environmental protection efforts will slow recovery of coastal communities. It happened.
Homes along California’s scenic Pacific Coast Highway have been gutted in a devastating fire that began on January 7 and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and structures.
“I’m worried they won’t let me rebuild,” said Teddy Leonard, owner of Reel Inn, a seafood restaurant on the Malibu coast that burned down in January and had been open since the 1980s. “It’s very scary.”
California law currently requires potential builders to undergo a lengthy environmental review process before receiving approval, but state officials say the process is no longer necessary for recent calls to rebuild lost buildings. It says it does not apply to fire victims.
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The Palisades Fire is seen burning homes along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, Sunday, January 12, 2025. (Mark J. Terrill)
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a review to consider potential environmental impacts before a building permit is approved. Another state law, the California Coastal Act, focuses on developments related to “the conservation of sensitive coastal and marine habitats and biodiversity.”
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Both laws were suspended on Sunday for those who have tragically lost their homes after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order suspending the environmental review process.
“Once the fire is extinguished, victims who lost their homes and businesses must be able to rebuild quickly and without obstacles,” Newsom said in a statement.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (right) tours the downtown Pacific Palisades business district as the Palisades Fire continues to burn in Los Angeles on January 8, 2025. (Eric Thayer)
“The executive order I signed today will help reduce permitting delays, which is an important first step in helping our communities rebuild faster and stronger. “We have ordered them to identify additional ways to streamline the rebuilding and recovery process,” it added. .
CEQA has long faced backlash from critics, including environmentalists, who say it is restrictive and expensive.
In 2022, Eric Buescher, an attorney with San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental nonprofit that works to hold polluters accountable, said of the state law, “No one really believes that CEQA is working the way it’s supposed to.” I think so,” he said. Head to local outlet Bay Nature.
Aerial photo of fires in California. (X/Charles V. Payne)
“Developers say the restrictions are too strict. Cities say they’re expensive and impossible to comply with,” Buescher said. “Environmental groups say they can’t even get projects built with sea level rise in mind reviewed in time for sea level rise.”
Many of the Malibu homes destroyed in the fires were located on the coast along the Pacific Coast Highway, and their reconstruction could be subject to local land regulations aimed at protecting the natural coastline. be.
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President Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will pay the full cost of debris removal and fire management in California for 180 days.
Aubrey Spady is a writer for Fox News Digital.
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