BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1787
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Date of Hearing: March 14, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1787
(Gomez) - As Introduced February 4, 2016
SUBJECT: California Environmental Protection Agency:
cross-media enforcement unit
SUMMARY: Requires the California Environmental Protection
Agency's (CalEPA) cross-media enforcement unit to prioritize the
state's most disadvantaged communities.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Defines "environmental justice" to mean the fair treatment of
people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the
development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of
environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
2)Requires CalEPA to:
a) Conduct its programs, policies, and activities, and
enforce all health and environmental statutes within its
jurisdiction in a manner that ensures the fair treatment of
people of all races, cultures, and income levels, including
minority and low-income populations.
b) Convene a Working Group on Environmental Justice
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comprised of the Secretary for Environmental Protection,
the Chairs of the Air Resources Board (ARB) and the State
Water Resources Control Board, and the Directors of Toxic
Substances Control, Pesticide Regulation, Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment, Resources Recycling and Recovery,
and Planning and Research, which has been tasked with
examining existing data and studies on environmental
justice and recommending policies for implementation by
CalEPA.
c) In consultation with the Attorney General, establish a
cross-media enforcement unit to assist the boards,
departments, and offices within CalEPA to investigate and
prepare matters for enforcement action. The unit is
authorized to inspect and investigate violations within the
jurisdiction of a board, department, office, or other
agency, as specified.
d) No later than July 1, 2002, adopt an agency-wide
strategy for identifying and addressing gaps in existing
programs, policies, or activities of CalEPA's boards,
departments, and offices that may impede the achievement of
environmental justice.
e) No later than January 1, 2004, and every three years
thereafter, prepare and submit a report to the Governor and
the Legislature on the implementation of these
requirements.
3)Establishes the Environmental Justice Small Grant Program,
administered by CalEPA, to award funds to community-based,
grassroots nonprofit organizations serving communities
adversely impacted by environmental justice issues.
4)Names the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) as the
coordinating agency in state government for environmental
justice programs.
5)Requires CalEPA to identify disadvantaged communities based on
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geographic, socioeconomic, public health, and environmental
hazard criteria for investment opportunities using the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (i.e., cap-and-trade auction
revenues).
THIS BILL:
1)Requires the cross-media enforcement unit to prioritize the
state's most disadvantaged communities when exercising its
authority.
2)Defines "state's most disadvantaged communities" as
communities identified by the California Communities
Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen) as the
disadvantaged communities most disproportionately burdened and
vulnerable to multiple sources of pollution.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Background. According to the Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), approximately 8 million
Californians (21%) live in zip codes that are considered
"highly impacted" by environmental, public health, and
socioeconomic stressors. Nearly half of all Californians live
within six miles of a facility that is a significant
greenhouse gas emitter (46%), but they are disproportionately
people of color (62%). Throughout California, people of
color face a 50% higher risk of cancer from ambient
concentrations of air pollutants listed under the Clean Air
Act. Throughout California, ARB estimates that air pollution
exposure accounts for 19,000 premature deaths, 280,000 cases
of asthma, and 1.9 million lost work days every year.
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Additionally, enforcement of environmental laws tends to be
more rigorous in white and more affluent communities; whereas,
lower income communities and communities of color tend to
correlate with fewer inspections and enforcement actions.
In 2000, legislation [SB 89 (Escutia), Chapter 728] required
CalEPA to convene the Environmental Justice Working Group and
develop an agency-wide environmental justice strategy. In
2001, follow up legislation [SB 828 (Alarcon), Chapter 765]
established a timeline for these requirements and required
CalEPA to update its report to the Legislature every three
years. In October of 2004, CalEPA released its Environmental
Justice Action Plan; however, the agency has never completed
the required updates.
In 2012, SB 535 (De Leon), Chapter 830, required CalEPA to
identify disadvantaged communities for investment
opportunities using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Pursuant to this requirement, OEHHA has developed
CalEnviroScreen that uses existing environmental, health, and
socioeconomic data to determine the extent to which
communities across the state are burdened by and vulnerable to
pollution. OEHHA states that the results generated by
CalEnviroScreen are not intended to assign responsibility for
any issues identified. The intent is to provide information
that enables the state to focus time, resources, and programs
on areas that are in the greatest need of assistance.
In 2013, CalEPA established an Environmental Justice
Compliance and Enforcement Working Group (working group) to
improve multi-media enforcement and environmental justice
efforts. The working group includes representatives from the
CalEPA boards, departments, and offices, as well as local
agencies that have enforcement authority. According to
CalEPA, the primary objective of the working group is to
coordinate compliance assistance and enforcement activities in
the state's most disadvantaged communities, where multiple
sources of pollution exist and residents are
disproportionately vulnerable. The working group's first
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initiative was conducted in 2013 and 2014 in Fresno. It
included community consultation, compliance assistance for
regulated entities, and coordinated, multi-agency compliance
sweeps. The initiative overall resulted in 46 citations for
violations of air pollution regulations and 3 enforcement
actions relating to improper management of hazardous waste.
The working group is in the process of selecting the next
community for an initiative.
2)This bill. This bill directs CalEPA's cross-media enforcement
unit to focus its activities on the communities that are most
in need of assistance. According to the author:
[The] discrepancy in the exposure to environmental hazards
and response by authorities persists to this day. The
natural gas leak in affluent, predominantly white Porter
Ranch, received immediate attention from the media, state
and federal elected officials, and regulators. Numerous
residents have access to attorneys to defend themselves.
Conversely, the Exide Technologies battery recycling plant
has been polluting the air and soil of working class,
predominantly Latino residents in East Los Angeles with
lead and other toxic chemicals for decades - and was
allowed to continue operating for years on a temporary
permit. This is a poignant example of environmental
discrimination and unequal treatment of communities.
It is critically important that state regulators make a
concerted effort to enforce the law against polluters who
have been building their facilities and operating with some
level of impunity in disadvantaged, low-income, and
minority communities lacking resources, support, and
capacity to demand swift action.
3)Previous legislation.
SB 535 (De León) Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012, requires CalEPA
to identify disadvantaged communities for investment
opportunities using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
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SB 828 (Alarcon), Chapter 765, Statutes of 2001, establishes a
timeline for the requirements of SB 89 and requires CalEPA to
update its report to the Legislature every three years.
SB 89 (Escutia), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2000, requires
CalEPA to convene the Environmental Justice Working Group and
develop an agency-wide environmental justice strategy.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Environmental Justice Alliance
Coalition for Clean Air
Sierra Club California
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092