Environment

Coastal Commission Approves Sweeping New Environmental Justice Policy to Increase Coastal Protections for All Californians

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a landmark environmental justice policy to help ensure equitable access to clean, healthy, and accessible coastal environments for communities disproportionately overburdened by pollution.

Published

6 years ago

March 29, 2019

Oakland Post

By Sentinel News Service

The California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a landmark environmental justice policy to help ensure equitable access to clean, healthy, and accessible coastal environments for communities disproportionately overburdened by pollution.

“Equity demands more. Over the last five years, the commission has questioned whether we are doing enough to provide access for all to our beaches, a right guaranteed under the California constitution,” said Environmental Justice Commissioner Effie Turnbull-Sanders. “Achieving true equity requires us to first understand and own our history of disenfranchisement; then, work diligently and deliberately to create full and inclusive participation in process, policy and benefits. Now the real work begins.”

The commission adopted the policy on Friday, March 8 at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Since 1999, California has passed a series bills advancing the concept of environmental justice, which emerged out of the civil rights movement. In recent years, the push to correct long-standing inequities that have disproportionately burdened lower-income communities of color has been increasing with a number of state agencies working to adopt similar policies.

The state’s environmental justice community played an integral role, with more than 30 organizations and stakeholders offering letters of support after their comments strengthened the final draft. Organizations including The City Project, Green Latinos, the California Environmental Justice Alliance, Azul, Central Coastal Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, and others advocated for the agency to correct long-standing inequities that have disproportionately burdened lower-income communities of color. Assemblymembers Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood), Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara), and Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), also supported passage.

“This is the best environmental justice policy I’ve seen from any agency – state or federal – in my 35 years as a civil rights attorney,” said Robert Garcia, the director of The City Project in Los Angeles. “This is the Magna Carta of coastal justice in California.”

Historian Alison Rose Jefferson set the tone for the policy at Friday’s meeting with a presentation on the African American experience in Southern California. The final policy is the culmination of a two-year effort following the 2016 passage of AB2616 by Assemblywoman Burke, which grants the commission the authority to consider environmental justice in its permitting decisions.

The law also required then Gov. Jerry Brown to appoint an environmental justice commissioner, who is currently Turnbull-Sanders. The environmental justice commissioner helps guide the agency in its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as well as its pursuit of a more expansive approach to coastal access.

The commission developed the policy with the input of more than 100 environmental justice groups, California Native American tribes, conservation organizations and individual stakeholders. The policy went through multiple revisions in response to public feedback. Friday’s meeting was the fourth public hearing.

The document includes a policy statement, implementation plan and a statement of principles to help guide staff and commissioners. Topics include climate change, coastal access, housing, tribal concerns, local government, accountability and transparency, participation in the process and more.

The implementation plan calls for the agency to develop environmental justice advocates in every major unit and budget requests to bolster staff hiring, retention and training, Other changes include holding a quarterly conference call between environmental justice stakeholders and the agency’s executive director, scheduling items with significant environmental justice implications close to affected marginalized communities when legal deadlines allow, and encouraging local governments to amend their local coastal programs and other long-range development plans to address environmental justice.

“Environmental justice is at the heart of what the commission has strived to do for 45 years, but until we can extend that mission to marginalized communities throughout California, we will never achieve the Coastal Act’s vision,” said commission Chair Dayna Bochco. “This new policy will help us keep that promise.”

Established in 1972 by a voter initiative, the commission has a mandate to protect and preserve the California coast for current and future generations by regulating development with local government. Under the new policy, in addition to traditional Coastal Act considerations, the agency can now consider the impacts of a proposed project on an underserved community. For example, if an electrical plant was proposed in the city of Oxnard, the agency could look how this might affect this community already overburdened by industrial development.

The State Lands Commission recently passed an environmental justice policy and the Coastal Conservancy and the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission are also working on similar policies. In addition, the Attorney General’s office recently added an environmental justice unit and 18 state agencies have sent teams to Sacramento for intense ongoing racial equity training with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity.

“The development of this policy has been such a humbling and inspiring journey for us all at the agency,” said Executive Director Jack Ainsworth. “It’s the future of this agency and, frankly, the right thing to do.”

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Activism

Asm. McKinnor Pushes Bill to Protect California Workers from High Heat, Other Climate Hazards

“Extreme heat is on the rise, with year-over-year, record-breaking temperatures that threaten the health and safety of California workers, from warehouse workers who lack adequate cooling, to janitors cleaning buildings after the air conditioning has been turned off, to line chefs cooking in unventilated kitchens,” McKinnor said at the rally.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Asm. Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) stands with members of California Labor for Climate Justice (CLCJ) during a rally at the State Capitol, where she spoke about her bill, AB 694. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

On May 6, employees from industries across the private and public sectors — including utility, domestic, janitorial, healthcare, oil and gas, and farm workers — joined educators and others in Sacramento to push lawmakers to strengthen the state’s health and safety enforcement systems.

The rally at the State Capitol was organized by a statewide coalition of 15 worker unions called California Labor for Climate Jobs (CLCJ).

Organizers say their campaign to pressure legislators and state officials to not abandon their responsibility to protect workers is urgent as climate hazards rise and federal government efforts to pull back on oversight and enforcement increase.

“Approximately 19 million workers in the state are here together to have a say in what happens next,” said Norman Rogers, vice president of United Steelworkers Local 675. “In seven of the last eight years, California has recorded record-high temperatures while workers from our state’s fields to our commercial kitchens, from our warehouses to our schools continue to work in dangerously high-heat conditions.”

Cal/OSHA provides protection and improves the health and safety of working men and women in the state. The agency also enforces public safety measures to protect passengers riding on elevators, amusement rides, tramways, and more.

According to a 2023 report by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), workplace hazards are responsible for killing approximately 140,000 workers each year, including 5,283 from traumatic injuries.

Hazardous working conditions have caused an estimated 135,000 deaths from occupational diseases. That’s about 385 workers dying each day, according to the report.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) spoke at the rally to discuss legislation she authored, Assembly Bill (AB) 694, which proposes a pathway to jobs for Cal/OSHA to ensure stronger public safety enforcement.

According to CLCJ, Cal/OSHA is experiencing an understaffing crisis that is evident in the agency’s 43% vacancy rate.

McKinnor, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), said the bill aims to fully staff the state agency with enforcement agents who have expertise in working in California’s most dangerous work environments.

The Assembly Committee on Higher Education voted 9-0 to advance AB 694 on April 29. It is now headed to the Committee on Appropriations for consideration.

McKinnor continued, “We must urgently shore up our health and safety systems, so we can enforce California heat standards and safeguard worker health.”

CLCJ released the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights last fall, urging state legislators to propose policy solutions to protect workers from climate hazards such as extreme heat, fires, smoke, and floods.

Norman Rogers, Second Vice President of United Steelworkers Local 675 in Carson, said oil refinery operations around the state pose “the most hazards.

“AB 694 seeks to recreate Cal/OSHA to hire union oil and gas workers leveraging the knowledge, health and safety training, and process safety training used daily to ensure safe, compliant refinery operations,” Rogers added.

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Activism

Gov. Newsom Approves $170 Million to Fast Track Wildfire Resilience

AB 100 approves major investments in regional conservancies across the state, including over $30 million each for the Sierra Nevada, Santa Monica Mountains, State Coastal, and San Gabriel/Lower LA Rivers and Mountains conservancies. An additional $10 million will support wildfire response and resilience efforts.

Published

1 month ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Courtesy of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

With wildfire season approaching, last week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 100, unlocking $170 million to fast-track wildfire prevention and forest management projects — many of which directly protect communities of color, who are often hardest hit by climate-driven disasters.

“With this latest round of funding, we’re continuing to increase the speed and size of forest and vegetation management essential to protecting communities,” said Newsom when he announced the funding on April 14.

“We are leaving no stone unturned — including cutting red tape — in our mission to ensure our neighborhoods are protected from destructive wildfires,” he said.

Newsom also signed an executive order suspending certain regulations to allow urgent work to move forward faster.

This funding builds on California’s broader Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, a $2.7 billion effort to reduce fuel loads, increase prescribed burning, and harden communities. The state has also launched new dashboards to keep the public informed and hold agencies accountable.

California has also committed to continue investing $200 million annually through 2028 to expand this effort, ensuring long-term resilience, particularly in vulnerable communities.