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Legislative Bill Action officials to expend STIP monies for rehabilitation, threshold on public agencies for storm water per- An appropriate amendment woulc~be to statutorily mits. Staff: Yvonne Hunter, Status: SenEnvQual;Hrg- clarify that local rehabilitation projects are indeed 4/22, Position: Support. an eligible expenditure in the STIP, as stated in the California Transportation Commission's Guidelines. SB 1542 (Escutia). Landfills. Environmental Staff: Natasha Fooman, Status: AsTrans;Hrg-4/8, Justice. SB 1542 would have the real world effect of Position: Oppose Unless Amended. preempting local land use authority and overriding CEQA relative to siting and approval of solid waste ENVIRONMENI'AL landfills. It requires a solid waste facility permit, prepared by a Local Enforcement Agency (LEA), to AB ~351 (Canciamilla). Water Quality. Manda- include a new criteria beyond state minimum envl- tory Minimum Penalties. AB 2351, co-sponsored by ronmental standard--that of"location," as defined the League and the California Association of Sanita- as "... consideration of environmental.justice tion Agencies, makes modest changes to existing law concerns when locating, designing, operating, that requires regional water quality control boards to maintaining, and reusing solid waste' facilities, impose mandatory minimum penalties (MMP) for including, but not limited to, the fair treatment of specified violations of a waste discharge permit, people of all races, cultures, and incomes." The bill Responding to what we believe are unintended also authorizes the Waste Board to object to a permit consequences that have resulted in cities and special issued by the LEA on the basis of location and districts being fined for circumstances beyond their environmental.justice. Thus, SB 1542 would have control, AB 23,~1 carefully removes specified viola- the effect of giving the Waste Board the ultimate tions from the MMP requirement. It would not authority over location of a solid waste facility based impact in any way the authority of a regional board on environmental.justice grounds, trumping the to impose discretionary penalties for violations of local land use process and CEQA. Staff: Yvonne their wastewater plant permit. Staff: Yvonne Hunter, Hunter, Status: SenEnvQual;Hrg-4/15, Position: Status: AsEnvSafe&ToxMat;Hrg-4/16, Position: Support/Co-sponsor. Oppose. AB 2221 (Keeley). Air Quality. Citizen Law- SB 1342 (Morrow). Storm Water. Maximum suits Filed in State Court. Under existing federal Extend Practicable Standard. SB 1342 responds to law, citizens may file suit in federal court for viola- the concerns of numerous cities statewide regarding tions of the federal Clean Air Act and air quality requirements included by regional water quality permits issued by local air distr, icts. AB 2221 autho- control boards in municipal storm water permits that rizes citizen lawsuits in state court as well. While exceed federal law, known as the maximum extent most cities do not have stationary air pollution practicable standard. Thus, SB 13~ requires the sources that require air quality permits, there are a State Water Resources Control Bo~ ~nd the re- number of local government facilities that do require gional water quality control boar~:, ~: prescribe a~d permits, including landfills, sewage treatment plants, enforce waste discharge requirements for municipal and energy generating facilities. separate storm sewer systems in conformance with the "maximum extend practicable" (MEP) standard The League opposes AJ~2221 because we do not set forth in the federal Clean Water Act. The League believe that expansion of the citizen lawsuit author- supports this bill because we believe the MEP stan- ity to state court is necessary. In addition, the dard is the appropriate standard and that it is experience of cities facing citizen lawsuits under the inappropriate for the state to impose a higher PAGE 6/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site--www. cacities.org