Chevron Appeals Ruling Halting Bay Area Refinery Expansion

Tom Schueneman — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:27:14 +0000

Chevron Corporation filed an appeal in the California State Court of Appeals yesterday in hopes of overturning a state Superior Court ruling made in Contra Costa County by Judge Barbara Zuniga, who tossed out Chevron’s environmental impact report for the proposed $1 billion expansion of its 107-year-old Richmond refinery, stating the report did not fully comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Specifically, Zuniga ruled that Chevron’s environmental analysis failed to account for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, saying the report lacked a detailed explanation for how the addition of a hydrogen plant and distribution pipeline would change pollution levels from the refinery.

Clear-Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Must be Avoided or Mitigated Under CEQA

Jennifer Lance — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:21:25 +0000

All timber harvest plans (THP) in California must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); however, logging companies and the state have largely ignored the enormous increase in global warming emissions caused by clear-cut logging practices.

CEQA requires greenhouse gas emissions resulting from a project to be quantified, as well as, THPs must identify ways to avoid or mitigate the emissions. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the conservation group calling for the greenhouse gas requirements of CEQA to be followed:

Requests to clear-cut thousands of acres of California’s forests are currently before the state Department of Forestry . For example, the Swamped Timber Harvest Plan would alone clear-cut 424 acres. None of the requests address carbon emissions, however, as required by CEQA. This is an especially serious problem given that the published science shows that clear-cutting can remove more carbon from the forest than any other disturbance, including fire.

Green Options » CEQA

Chevron Appeals Ruling Halting Bay Area Refinery Expansion

Clear-Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Must be Avoided or Mitigated Under CEQA

All timber harvest plans (THP) in California must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); however, logging companies and the state have largely ignored the enormous increase in global warming emissions caused by clear-cut logging practices.