California’s pollution regulators go toe-to-toe with Trump. Watchdog says they come up short

A California environmental advocacy group urged the state’s air pollution regulator and agriculture department to do more for minority communities in an annual report card it published last week.

That report card, compiled by the California Environmental Justice Alliance, issued environmental justice grades to eight agencies, with a statewide C average.

Six agencies received what could be considered a passing grade, A- to C-. Three of those six — the Geologic Energy Management Division and Departments of Pesticide Regulation and Toxic Substances Control — went from failing grades in 2018 to passing grades last year.

The agencies the advocacy group evaluated have national reputations as environmental policy leaders. The Air Resources Board, for instance, is locked in court battles with the Trump administration over its authority to enforce state environmental standards.

The watchdog group advocates for low-income and minority communities that sometimes bear the brunt of air and water pollution, such as near ports, refineries or agricultural facilities.

According to the advocacy group, California regulators’ environmental justice track record — albeit improved under Gov. Gavin Newsom — is “mediocre.”

“While there have been many improvements to process ... the outcomes in our communities are still far from equitable, so we continue to push the Newsom Administration to do more to address environmental injustices in California,” alliance Policy and Political Director Katie Valenzuela told The Sacramento Bee.

The alliance criticized the Air Resources Board’s implementation of a 2017 law that requires the state to improve data collection and monitoring, and to adopt emissions reduction strategies for pollution-burdened communities.

But according to the advocacy group, the agency has “refused to proactively assert regulatory authority” in local air districts by failing to require tangible emissions reductions or assessments of health risks.

In response to the report, Air Resources Board spokesman officer Alberto Larios said that the regulator is “disappointed” in its grade given its work to implement the law and its adoption of other environmentally just policies.

“CARB is proud of its early successes in … [developing] first-in-the-world measures directly benefiting communities,” Larios said. “The program will continue to build on its early successes, resulting in significant emissions reductions that improve the health of communities that so badly need it.”

One other agency received a failing grade from the advocacy group: the Department of Food and Agriculture, which got a D- for its 2019 performance and was not evaluated in 2018.

The advocacy group is critical of the department’s support for methane digesters, a technology that uses livestock manure to produce methane for renewable energy.

The department and the Air Resources Board have allocated tens of millions of dollars in grants to help dairies purchase the equipment, which the agriculture department says will prevent 12.9 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere. The Air Resources Board considers them to be an efficient technology in reducing methane emissions.

The advocacy group counters that the digesters effectively sustain dairy operations in poor communities, where the industry “threatens water and air quality in some of the most vulnerable regions of the state.”

The watchdog wants the department to defund dairy digesters altogether and reallocate that money towards “less harmful and expensive approaches to reducing methane production.”

The agriculture department said it is mindful of feedback from the communities where it has supported methane digesters.

“Community based organizations, social justice and environmental advocates were included in ... work groups that have helped shape the successful program we have today,” the department said in a statement. “CDFA values their input and is committed to continuing engagement to address concerns and improve our programs to achieve the highest possible environmental outcomes.”

Other agencies that received a grade include:

• Coastal Commission, B
• Department of Pesticide Regulation, C
• Department of Toxic Substances Control, C-
• Geologic Energy Management Division, C
• State Water Resources Control Board, B+
• Strategic Growth Council, A-

CEJA also put these four agencies on its watch list:

• California Department of Water Resources
• California Energy Commission
• California Public Utilities Commission
• California Natural Resources Agency

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 8:55 AM.