BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1408
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Byron D. Sher, Chairman
1999-2000 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1408
AUTHOR: Senator Alarcon
AMENDED: As introduced
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 24, 2000
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
(OPR) to be the coordinating agency in state government for
environmental justice programs and requires the OPR
director to carry out certain related responsibilities.
2) Under Environmental Justice Law, requires the California
Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA) to meet certain
requirements relating to environmental justice, and to
develop a model environmental justice mission statement for
boards, departments, and offices within the agency.
3) Under the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Act, establishes the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
(CEC) with various energy responsibilities, including
planning and forecasting, assistance, research and
development, and power facility and site certification.
This bill :
1) Creates the Environmental Justice Technical Assistance
Grant Demonstration Program that:
a) Requires OPR to allocate grants, from funds
appropriated for that purpose, in amounts up to $25,000
for community-based nonprofit organizations in
communities with low-income or minority populations to
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obtain technical assistance in connection with the
organization's participation in a decision to issue a
permit by any board, department, or office within
Cal-EPA, or in a decision to issue a permit by the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission.
b) Requires OPR to submit an evaluation of the grant
demonstration program to the Legislature no later than
June 30, 2004.
c) Includes related legislative intent.
d) Is inoperative on June 30, 2004, and sunsets January
1, 2005.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . SB 115 (Solis) Chapter 690, Statutes of
1999, requires OPR to be the coordinating agency in state
government for environmental justice programs and enacted
the Environmental Justice Law (#1, 2 above).
According to the author, many "low-income and minority
communities are subject to disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects. One of the
causes of this historical inequality of environmental
burdens is the lack of financial and other resources
low-income and minority communities have to obtain
technical assistance with complicated state permitting
processes. Without such technical assistance, low-income
and minority communities are at a disadvantage in terms of
effectively voicing their concerns about a project."
The author notes that providing technical assistance grants to
these community-based organizations in these communities
"will facilitate greater participation by such communities
in permitting decisions and reduce the risk that already
overburdened communities will be subject to additional
environmental degradations."
The author has also requested a Budget augmentation of
$300,000 for OPR to fund ten grants and administrative
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costs.
2) Background. Environmental justice refers to the fair
treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income with
respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and
policies. On February 11, 1994, President Clinton signed
Executive Order 12898 regarding "federal actions to address
environmental justice in minority populations and
low-income populations." The executive order directs
federal agencies to address human health and environmental
issues in low-income communities and minority communities,
and followed a 1992 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
report indicating that "communities of color and low-income
populations experience higher than average exposures to
selected air pollutants, hazardous waste facilities, and
other forms of environmental pollution."
The President also directed each federal agency to address
effects of actions on these communities when analysis is
required under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has
oversight of federal government compliance with the
executive order and NEPA, and the CEQ has developed
guidance to assist federal agencies with their NEPA
procedures ( NOTE : Enacted in 1970, CEQA was modeled after
NEPA which was enacted by Congress in 1969).
The EPA has the following three environmental justice grant
programs: 1) Environmental Justice, to provide financial
assistance to eligible community groups and tribal
governments for projects to address environmental justice
issues; 2) Environmental Justice Community/University
Partnership, to help community groups address local
environmental justice issues through partnerships with
higher education institutions; and 3) Environmental Justice
through Pollution Prevention, to empower low income,
minority communities through education on environmental
issues and to provide pollution prevention resources for
addressing these issues.
EPA's Office of Civil Rights also processes complaints filed
under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, "alleging
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discriminatory intent or effect based on race, color, or
national origin resulting from the issuance of pollution
control permits by State or local governmental agencies
that receive EPA funding."
SB 115 (Solis), as approved by the committee, tracked
requirements of federal environmental justice provisions by
requiring each state agency to make environmental justice
part of its mission, requiring OPR to develop an agencywide
environmental justice strategy, and requiring changes to
the CEQA guidelines so that environmental justice matters
are considered in the CEQA process. SB 115 required OPR to
identify communities and populations disproportionately
affected by high and adverse environmental effects and to
identify communities and populations where existing data or
information is insufficient or incomplete and propose
strategies for correcting those deficiencies. SB 115 also
required OPR and the secretary to coordinate their efforts
with the CEQ and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Because of concerns by the Governor and certain interest
groups, SB 115 was subsequently amended to strike these
provisions and add certain OPR and Cal-EPA requirements.
3) Examples of environmental justice matters. There are a
number of factors to be considered in identifying an
environmental justice issue. Factors that could be
considered include, for example, a concentration of
environmental hazards in an affected area because of the
lack of public participation, a lack of adequate protection
under health and environmental laws, or unusual
vulnerability of a community to hazards. Examples of
environmental justice problems could include inadequate
stormwater protection in a predominately minority populated
section of a city compared to systems in other parts of the
city, siting a landfill in a community with an
overconcentration of other hazards such as Superfund sites,
placement of a highway through a low-income and minority
community, and unsafe stormwater discharges harming fish
that are part of the subsistence diet of Native Americans.
Environmental justice concerns, therefore, are not limited
to the responsibilities of entities under Cal-EPA.
4) More conditions for grantees? SB 1408 currently requires
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grantees to be community-based nonprofit organizations in
communities with low-income and minority populations to
obtain technical assistance in regarding the organization's
participation in certain permit activities.
Should other conditions or goals be included ( e.g. ,
identifying environmental justice problems; improving
communication and coordination between the community,
agencies, and stakeholders; building and strengthening
capacity to identify and respond to issues; collecting and
interpreting data; training residents in their rights and
responsibilities; helping to resolve environmental
problems; identifying pollution sources; monitoring).
Should possible grantees be organizations that can provide,
rather than only obtain, technical assistance?
5) Increase participation regarding other state agency
permits? SB 1408 involves participation in Cal-EPA and CEC
permit issues, yet other state permit issues involve
environmental justice concerns ( e.g. , Business, Housing,
and Transportation Agency; Resources Agency).
Should this bill include other state agency permit matters?
6) Related legislation. SB 89 (Escutia), currently at the
Assembly Desk, revises the Environmental Justice Law to
require the Cal-EPA Secretary to convene a Working Group
with certain responsibilities, to convene a technical
advisory group to assist the working group, and to prepare
and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature
every three years regarding implementation of the law.
SB 1622 (Alarcon), to be heard by the committee April 24,
2000, revises Environmental Justice Law, to require
Cal-EPA, in consultation with the Resources Agency and CEC,
to also develop a model environmental justice mission
statement for the CEC. Under the Warren-Alquist State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act, SB 1622
requires the CEC on or before January 1, 2002 to adopt
regulations that will ensure the CEC is in conformance with
applicable federal guidance relating to environmental
justice when certifying sites and related facilities.
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7) Support and opposition highlights. Supporters of SB 1408
generally note that the lack of resources to low-income and
minority communities "is one of the reasons for the heavy
human health burdens borne by many [of these communities]"
and that the bill would "facilitate informed and effective
participation . . . " and "resolve conflicts early . . ."
Opponents generally note that state agencies responsible
for permitting projects have staff that can properly
evaluate projects and make decisions, and that the bill is
premature because "legislation enacted last year regarding
environmental justice has not been fully implemented."
SOURCE : Senator Alarcon
SUPPORT : American Federation of State, County and
Municipal
Employees, American Lung Association, California League of
Conservation Voters, California Public Interest
Research Group, Greenlining Institute, Planning
and Conservation League, Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : California Chamber of Commerce, California
Council for Environmental and Economic Balance,
Printing Industries of California, Western
States Petroleum Association