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EPA exempts data center power plants from pollution limits
The Hill – July 27
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this Monday that it is exempting power plants that only serve data centers and that do not connect to the broader grid from pollution limits. The administration’s new guidance clarifies that these “islanded” power plants do not have to be part of the Clean Air Act’s Acid Rain Program, which requires power plants to reduce emissions of acid rain precursors sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. EPA said it was taking the action to try to help data centers flourish while mitigating their impacts on consumer electric bills.
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Proposed ban of forever chemicals for California farms nixed by state lawmakers
Los Angeles Times – July 30
California lawmakers have rejected legislation that would have banned pesticides with so-called “forever” chemicals from use on California’s farms. Assembly Bill 1603 would have phased out the use of pesticides that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS chemicals, a family of compounds that can be lasting and harmful to humans. Representatives for agricultural groups argued that the ban would result in an increase in imports of food from other states and stifle innovation in developing new pesticides.
EPA refers California’s harbor air pollution rules to Congress for review
The Maritime Executive – July 27
EPA has forwarded two of California's harbor-focused Clean Air Act rules to Congress for legislative review: the Ocean-Going Vessels at Berth standard, which requires ports and ships to arrange for cold-ironing during port calls, and the Commercial Harbor Craft rule, which limits particulate matter emissions from harbor tugs. Both of these rules were enacted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) under California’s long-standing waiver provision within the Clean Air Act, and both are more stringent than the standards found elsewhere in the United States. Prior administrations have allowed these “waiver rules” to continue; the Trump administration is subjecting them to the Congressional Review Act, which provides a mechanism for Congress to repeal agency regulations.
Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to require cleanup of commercial runoff
MyNewsLA – July 28
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board announced on Tuesday that it has adopted the nation’s first permit requiring large commercial properties to reduce stormwater pollution flowing into some of the region’s most contaminated waterways. The permit applies to privately owned commercial, industrial, and institutional properties with at least five acres of impervious surfaces, including shopping centers, warehouses, distribution centers, and office parks, in the Dominguez Channel/Greater Los Angeles and Long Beach Inner Harbor watersheds and the Los Cerritos Channel/Alamitos Bay watershed.
Environmentalists, tribes sue feds over renewed approval of Mojave Desert pipeline
Courthouse News Service – July 28
Two environmental groups and two Native American tribes this Tuesday filed separate lawsuits to vacate the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the use of a decommissioned oil and gas pipeline across protected federal public land in the Mojave Desert. Cadiz Inc. acquired the pipeline from El Paso Natural Gas in 2011 and intends the use it for its Mojave Groundwater Bank, a project to pump water from an underground aquifer in the Mojave Desert to the company’s customers west of the desert along the California coast. Both lawsuits accuse the bureau of violating the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, among other claims.
Why California is rebuilding Santa Clara County’s largest dam
SFGate – July 30
Santa Clara County’s largest dam, the Anderson Dam, is finally set to be rebuilt after water officials approved a $3.2 billion project to bring the aging 240-foot-tall structure up to modern earthquake standards. The Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project is slated to begin construction at the Morgan Hill site in early 2027, according to the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the agency in charge of the project. The Anderson Reservoir, which is held back by the Anderson Dam, will be at full operating capacity after the project is complete, according to the District’s news release. Currently, the reservoir is only at 3% capacity because of the earthquake concerns.
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