Attorney General (AG) Kamala Harris Jan. 23 announced she has filed a motion to join a lawsuit filed by environmentalists that challenges the adequacy of a San Diego regional transportation plan, including its strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The AG last year criticized the San Diego officials' plan, arguing that it fails to reduce GHG emissions over the long term and violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).345 words

A federal district court judge Jan. 23 denied a Jan. 20 request by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to stay a preliminary injunction of the state's low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) that the judge had issued last month, ruling that the court does not have the authority to issue a stay because ARB has already appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.847 words

Environmentalists are gearing up for a tough election fight over the Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), arguably the Legislature's premiere environmentalist, as redistricting has increased the number of registered Republicans in the district, sources said. The new district lines could open the door for Republican challenger Cameron Smyth (Santa Clarita), a current assemblyman, to defeat Pavley, sources said.491 words

The attorney general's (AG) office plans to closely track a new regulation adopted last week by the San Joaquin Valley air district allowing businesses to bank and sell greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction credits to ensure the credits are valid and the rule is being legally implemented, according to sources.487 words

Arysta LifeScience, the manufacturer of the controversial pesticide methyl iodide, is backing the pesticides department in a legal fight with environmentalists over whether the department should have conducted an extensive environmental review when it registered the chemical for use in the state. The company argues that if the department loses the case, it could force a burdensome and unnecessary registration process for all pesticides.583 words

State water board officials this week indicated they favor taking another look at a draft plan to further regulate cities and counties for wastewater spills, following arguments by local governments and other stakeholders that the proposal is unfair and inefficient. Board members indicated they may favor a delay to allow staff to improve enforcement of the existing program instead of advancing a plan to tighten the rules, sources said.490 words

Brian Leahy, assistant director for the division of land resource protection with the Department of Conservation (DOC) since 2006, is a leading candidate to be appointed new pesticides department director, according to sources.252 words

State water board officials this week denied a request by water districts and some public utilities to delay development of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta "flow" standards until after other state agencies have finished work on a Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The districts and groups say the board's draft delta flow criteria would greatly reduce the amount of water that exporters can divert from the delta, thus harming agricultural operations and other activities. The groups say if the board advances the delta flow criteria before the BDCP is finalized, it would conflict with the intent of recently enacted delta-reform legislation.854 words

Activist organizations -- including environmental groups and a Stanford Law School clinic -- are challenging a draft greenhouse gas (GHG)-offset protocol for forests in Mexico put forward by a major GHG-offset registry. The protocol could set an important international precedent and provide a significant pool of GHG offsets for compliance under California's climate regulations.1130 words

A California lawmaker, in a bid to relax utility obligations and thus reduce costs under the state's stringent renewable portfolio standard (RPS), has introduced legislation that would significantly modify the program by providing a credit for large hydropower.630 words

One of California's three major investor-owned electric utilities is charging that a recent decision by energy regulators on implementing the state's closely watched renewable portfolio standard (RPS) creates an unfair advantage for non-utility electric service providers (ESPs) and community choice aggregators (CCAs) and is calling for a rehearing on the decision.692 words

Environmental groups and ratepayer advocates are sharply divided over how California regulators should plan to achieve significant energy efficiency levels in the years to come, with ratepayer groups charging the environmentalists and utilities essentially want the status quo to remain in place for too long.975 words

An appellate ruling rejecting a San Joaquin Valley plan for attaining U.S. EPA's air quality standards throws into question the validity of other state implementation plans (SIPs) that may also rely on years-old air quality data and computer modeling because it rejects an agency policy that requires officials to weigh SIPs based only on the data contained in it.1152 words

California investor-owned utilities this week detailed questions and concerns they have with a tentative proposal by state energy regulators to set up a controversial model program that would offer residential customers bank loans to make their homes more energy efficient, with loan repayments included in their monthly utility bills. Energy efficiency measures are deemed critical for advancing California's aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals.895 words