The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a decision on Dec. 12 that opens up more than 1 million acres of public land in California to potential oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. This includes parts of Fresno and Kern counties, as well as all of King, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties. According to a statement the BLM’s Bakersfield office released announcing the decision, the federal agency completed an analysis of this proposal that found, “There are no adverse environmental impacts due to hydraulic fracturing that cannot be alleviated.” This is not a conclusion that environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity share. “We won’t let California’s stunning public lands be fracked and drilled without a fight. … The future of our state and our fight against the climate crisis depend on stopping this vast fracking expansion in its tracks,” Clare Lakewood, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a media statement.
• More than four months after 34 people died in the Conception boat fire, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Oxnard) have introduced the Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 2019, designed to strengthen boat safety standards. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced the same bill in the Senate. According to a news release from Carbajal’s office, the bill requires small boats to have more than two escape routes to different parts of vessels. It also calls for safety standards for storing devices with lithium ion batteries, like the ones in phones and cameras, on small boats. “If we are to save lives and make necessary reforms in the wake of the Conception tragedy, we must no longer allow older vessels to operate under antiquated regulations at the expense of our public safety,” Carbajal said in a statement. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the cause of the fire, which took place on Sept. 2 near the Channel Islands.
• On Dec. 10, the House passed a large environmental legislation package called the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act, which included a bill U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) authored. Carbajal’s bill, the Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act, would open up grants that will help coastal states plan and implement strategies to prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change, according to a news release from Carbajal’s office. “As we work to turn back the clock on pollution, carbon emissions, and environmental harm, we must make sure our homes and families are well equipped to deal with climate disasters in real time—our package of bills that passed today will help us accomplish that goal,” Carbajal said.
• The California Small Business Association named Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) as its legislator of the year. According to a statement from Cunningham’s office on Dec. 10, the Assembly member is the vice chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy. “Educating more legislators about the importance of our state’s business community is critical to ensuring that entrepreneurs have a seat at the table during the policymaking process,” Cunningham said. “I am thankful for all of the work the California Small Business Association is doing to make that a reality, and thank them for their efforts on behalf of the state’s small businesses.” According to the statement, Cunningham authored legislation earlier this year—Assembly Bill 657—that requires state departments to employ small business liaisons.
This article appears in Dec 19-26, 2019.