Digital Commons Network^™

Does Ceqa Need A Rewrite Or Just A Better Public Relations Manager?, Brian Gillis

GGU Law Review Blog

I’ve recently been tempted to blame my existential climate-change-induced dread on a 50-year-old environmental law that may be exacerbating California’s contributions to the climate crisis. The impacts of climate change are here and will only grow more severe. I’m angry, and I am scared for the future because we aren’t doing nearly enough to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. The climate action pledges taken by many countries are insufficient, and we aren’t even on track to meet these pledges. The calls-to-action are all about urgency: “we need to act yesterday to avoid a climate catastrophe.” So, an environmental …

Climate Change And Social Vulnerability In The United States A Focus On Six Impacts, Us Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Documents

Climate change affects all Americans—regardless of socioeconomic status—and many impacts are projected to worsen as temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, snow and rainfall patterns shift, and some extreme weather events become more common. A growing body of literature focuses on the disproportionate and unequal risks that climate change is projected to have on communities that are least able to anticipate, cope with, and recover from adverse impacts. Many studies have discussed climate change impacts on socially vulnerable populations, but few have quantified disproportionate risks to socially vulnerable groups across multiple impacts and levels of global warming.

This report …

Comments Re: Concrete Production, Materials Handling, And Concrete Crushing Operations At Piers 92 And 94, San Francisco, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

The Environmental Law and Justice Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law (the “Clinic”) submits these comments on behalf of the African American Community Health Equity Council, All Positives Possible, Bayview Hill Neighborhood Association, Bayview Hunters Point Mothers and Fathers Committee, Communities for a Better Environment, First Generation Environmental Health & Economic Developments, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, the National Lawyers Guild - SF Bay Area Chapter Environmental Justice Committee, and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.

Comments On South Fresno Road Widening Project, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

We are writing this letter on behalf of South Fresno Community Alliance, Katy Taylor, Rosa DePew, and Panfilo Cerrillo to urge you to deny approval of the actions before you today for the Central Avenue Improvements Project (Bid File 3796) (“Project”), including the finding of Categorical Exemptions pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines, the Inter-fund Loan Agreement for $1,880,097, and the award of a construction contract.

Comments Re: Baaqmd Permitting Rules, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

Comments regarding the Bay Area Air Quality Management District permitting rules. The comments are submitted by the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law on behalf of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Communities for a Better Environment.

Water Contamination Ruining The Nation: How The Lead Water Crisis Disproportionately Affects Children Of Color, Annissa Allen-Gore

Environmental Law Journal blog

Lead contamination of drinking water continues to impact children in communities of color. This article provides an overview of the key laws and regulations designed to prevent toxic lead exposure, identifies important factors that have limited the effectiveness of these laws, and makes recommendations concerning possible solutions. Additionally, this article explores the progress being made by efforts to protect children in hot spots like Flint, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey, and identifies resources for people in other communities that may be facing similar issues due to aging infrastructure.

Making It Usable Again: Reviving The Nation’S Domestic Recycling Industry, Megan Manning, Stephanie Deskins

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Article describes the major shortcomings of existing US federal, state, and local laws related to the recycling of solid waste; explains why these deficiencies are more costly to the US today than ever before; and identifies a set of specific policy strategies capable of supporting the development of a modernized, efficient, and profitable domestic recycling system. The Article ultimately recommends a multi-faceted approach to improving the nation’s domestic recycling programs that could ultimately usher in a new era of sustainable and cost-justifiable US recycling.

Section I of this Article describes the history and development of US recycling programs, outlining …

Assembly Local Government Committee, 2020 Legislative Summary, Assembly Local Government Committee

California Assembly

No abstract provided.

Appellants' Opening Brief, Helen H. Kang

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

ELJC Students and Professors File an Appellate Brief Arguing that Claims for Declaratory and Mandate Relief Should Be Actionable for the Water Board’s Abdication of Duty

On August 14, 2020, the Clinic filed a brief with the Third Appellate District in the Court of Appeal in the State of California, arguing that claims alleging that the State water board violated its own regulations in issuing permits governing are actionable under state law. These permits govern more than a million acres of cropland. On behalf of a diverse coalition of clients, the Clinic documents in the brief that polluted runoff from …

Vertical Consistency In The Climate Change Context, Susan M. Bradford

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This paper explores the role of general plan consistency in the context of climate change. As California’s statewide response to global warming continues to evolve, new statutory and regulatory requirements are changing the scope of local land use planning, both directly and indirectly. The San Diego case provides one example of how this changing legal framework has led to new kinds of land use conflicts over competing strategies for climate mitigation. The growing imperative for local governments to rethink land uses in response to climate change could signal a larger role for general plan consistency as a lever for enforcing …

2020 Annual Report For Digital Commons: The Legal Scholarship Repository @ Golden Gate University School Of Law, Janet Fischer

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

California Should Lead The Nation In Controlling Agricultural Pollution, Helen H. Kang, Deborah Sivas

Publications

Agricultural runoff is one of the largest sources of pollution in the nation’s waterways. In recent years, scientific journals and the media have been filled with reports of toxic algae blooms and dead zones near and far: The Everglades, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and San Francisco Bay-Delta. Agricultural pollution also threatens public health in communities that rely on tainted groundwater. In California alone, more than a quarter million residents in largely agricultural areas are served by water systems with degraded groundwater quality.

Concrete Production And The Regulatory Role Of The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

On behalf of several grassroots community groups, the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law issues this report to publicize the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s permitting and enforcement practices that insufficiently protect the public against harmful air pollution, including particulate matter (PM) and toxic air contaminants.

The Clinic’s investigation focused on the Air District’s oversight of three companies operating on Port of San Francisco-owned properties at Piers 92 and 94 in the City of San Francisco: CEMEX Construction Materials Pacific, LLC (CEMEX), Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc. (Central), and Hanson Aggregates Mid-Pacific, Inc. …

Cercla Cleanup 2020.04.09 Response From Epa To Eljc Letter Dated Dec. 2019, United States Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

ELJC’s Dec. 13, 2019 letter commented on EPA’s November 15 letter to the Navy regarding the Navy's draft evaluation of radiological soil remediation goals at HPNS. This is EPA’s response to the four concerns identified in that letter: consideration of the risk posed by homegrown produce; lack of health based support for remediation goal for radium-226; retesting’s use of methods to adequately detect pollution; and, the Navy’s repeated unfounded statements to the public that the remediation goals are protective.

Using Citizen Suits To Remedy Environmental Injustice And Achieve Clean Water In California, Paul Kneitz

Poverty Law Conference & Symposium

Nearly fifty years since the passage of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) in 1972, widespread pollution of California’s surface and groundwater continues across the state. “Over half of California’s lakes, bays, wetlands, and estuaries are too polluted to swim, drink, or fish,” according to the State Water Resources Control Board. Poor and working-class communities suffer disproportionately from the negative externalities and environmental impacts of water pollution, including effects on human health and wellness.

With a focus on the CWA citizen suit provision, this paper examines how the legal and administrative processes for water pollution control have not effectively addressed the …

2019 Environmental Law And Justice Clinic Report, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic

Report on the recent activities of the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic.

2020 Annual Report: Adapting To Change, Bay Area Air Quality Management District

Environment, Energy, and Water

No abstract provided.

Assembly Committee On Environmental Safety And Toxic Materials, 2019 - 2020 Legislative Summary, Assembly Committee On Environmental Safety And Toxic Materials

California Assembly

No abstract provided.

Assembly Committee On Natural Resources, 2019-2020 Legislative Summary, Assembly Committee On Natural Resources

California Assembly

No abstract provided.

Cercla Cleanup 2019.12.13 Letter To Epa On Its November Comments To The Draft Fyr Addendum For Soil, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

December 13, 2019 letter to EPA providing additional comments on the Fourth Five Year Review and related documents which must analyze whether the cleanup is protective of human health and the environment: the Navy’s risk assessment should consider consumption of produce grown on the former shipyard; the Navy must provide rationale for the remedial goal used for radium-223; the retesting must use adequate sensitivity to detect radioactivity far below the current remedial goals which are not protective, and; the Navy continues to make unfounded assertions about the protectiveness of the remedy. (6 pages)

Cercla Cleanup 2019.11.07 Letter To Navy - Draft Addendum For Buildings, Golden Gate University School Of Law, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

November 7, 2019 letter to the Navy commenting on its Draft Addendum to the Five Year Review (evaluating radiological remedial goals for buildings), noting that the Navy’s process for calculating risk was inconsistent with EPA guidance in numerous instances, and resulted in underestimating risk to human health and the environment. Even so, the resulting risk was outside what EPA considers protective. (14 pages)

Assembly Local Government Committee, 2019 Legislative Summary, Assembly Local Government Committee

California Assembly

No abstract provided.

Cercla Cleanup 2019.10.14 Letter To Epa Re Concurrence With Fyr Protectiveness, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

October 14, 2019 letter to Angeles Herrera, EPA Region 9, Assistant Director, Superfund Division, Federal Facilities and Site Cleanup Branch, commenting that the Navy's protectiveness determinations are inconsistent with EPA's guidance and unsupported by the facts. (32 pages)

Cercla Cleanup 2019.09.06 Comment On Navy Fyr Addendum On Soil, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

September 6, 2019 letter to Derek J. Robinson, Navy BRAC Environmental Coordinator, providing comments from Greenaction regarding Navy' s Draft Addendum to Five-Year Review (Evaluation of Radiological Remedial Goals for Soil, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard). (25 pages)

Cercla Cleanup 2019.08.22 Response From Navy Re Remedial Goals And Prg Vs. Resrad, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

August 22, 2019 response from the Navy to Greenaction’s June 28 letter pointing to various inadequacies in the Navy’s review of protectiveness in the remedial design for the cleanup at the Shipyard. (2 pages)

California Department Of Public Health: Petition Cdph Response, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

July 31, 2019 letter from Gonzalo Perez, Environmental Program Manager at the Radiological Health Branch of the CA Department of Public Health, responding to Greenaction’s July 23 inquiry, noting that CDPH is tracking the NRC and other proceedings related to Tetra Tech’s fraud, and that Tetra Tech's last radiological work in California pre-dated Greenaction’s challenge.

California Department Of Public Health: Petition Request For Action On Petition, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

July 23, 2019 letter to Gonzalo Perez, Environmental Program Manager at the Radiological Health Branch of the CA Department of Public Health, asking for a response or action related to Greenaction’s petition to revoke Tetra Tech’s California Radiological Materials License.

Cercla Cleanup 2019.06.28 Navy Use Of Prg Vs. Resrad, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

June 28, 2019 letter to Laura Duchnack, BRAC PMO, requesting meaningful public participation and challenging the use of RESRAD. (18 pages)

Nrc Petition: Supplemental Filing 4 Exhibit 2 - Bowers 2nd Nrc Declaration, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

Declaration of Bert Bowers in support of June 21, 2019 Supplemental Filing No. 4 and Supplemental Prayer For Relief.

Nrc Petition: Supplemental Filing No. 4, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law and Justice Clinic - Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Documents

June 21, 2019 filing to NRC: Supplemental Filing No. 4 and Supplemental Prayer For Relief.