Environment

SAN FRANCISCO – On Tuesday, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and eleven State Attorneys General urged Congress to limit any preemption of states’ authority to protect their residents and the environment from toxic chemicals when reconciling the bills passed by the House and Senate to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (“TSCA”).  The Attorneys General also commended members of Congress for undertaking efforts to improve the TSCA and for their progress in moving the bill closer to final passage.

In the letter, the Attorneys General set forth seven principles regarding the vital, complementary roles that the states and the federal government must play, and historically have played, in chemicals regulation.  The letter notes that in a few areas of core priority to the Attorneys General, such as the timing of preemption and the requirements for obtaining a waiver, the bills differ in the extent to which they address the states’ concerns.

“California’s environmental standards lead the nation in protecting our residents from harmful chemicals and pollutants, and my office has fought diligently to enforce them,” said Attorney General Harris.  “As Congress moves closer to reforming the Toxic Substance Control Act, it is critical that states' ability to protect communities from toxic chemicals is not preempted.”

As the letter notes, existing TSCA and the House Bill avoid problematic “regulatory void preemption,” and provide a traditional two-part waiver standard that the federal government, states and the courts have ample experience implementing.  In these areas, the Senate’s language introduces the risk of regulatory void preemption and unnecessarily complicates the waiver process.

In other areas, the letter explains that both the House and Senate have made significant progress in addressing the Attorneys General’s principles regarding the state-federal relationship.  For example, both bills allow states to co-enforce federal standards through the adoption of identical requirements in state law; preserve longstanding state chemicals programs such as California’s Proposition 65 from preemption; and exempt from preemption state water quality, air quality and waste treatment or disposal laws.  In each of seven areas, the letter offers specific reasoning and recommendations for reconciling the language of the House and Senate Bills.

California was joined by Attorneys General from Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington in submitting this letter to Congress.

The Attorneys General letter can be found attached to this release at www.oag.ca.gov/news

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley today announced a settlement with Comcast Cable Communications LLC (“Comcast”) to resolve allegations that Comcast both unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste and discarded records without first omitting or redacting private customer information. As part of the settlement, Comcast will pay a total of $25.95 million. 

“Comcast’s careless and unlawful hazardous waste disposal practices jeopardized the health and environmental well-being of California communities and exposed their customers to the threat of identity theft,” said Attorney General Harris. “This agreement holds Comcast accountable for breaking the law and puts strict measures in place to prevent them from putting Californians and our environment at risk in the future.”

“Today’s settlement represents a victory in California’s ongoing efforts to ensure that hazardous waste is disposed of in a safe, legal and environmentally sustainable manner,” states Alameda County DA Nancy E. O’Malley. “Not only will my office pursue all necessary legal action against entities that pollute our environment, but we will also use all legal means to ensure California’s consumers’ private information is protected.  My office will continue to work together with state and local agencies to investigate and prosecute violations against our environment.”

The civil enforcement action and proposed settlement against Comcast were filed today in Alameda County Superior Court by Attorney General Harris and District Attorney O’Malley. The settlement requires court approval before it becomes final.

Today’s announcement stems from a robust investigation by the offices of Attorney General Harris and District Attorney O’Malley, assisted by the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the California Highway Patrol. According to the investigation, since 2005, Comcast warehouse and dispatch facilities and customer service centers throughout the state unlawfully handled and disposed of various hazardous waste products, routinely and systematically sending these materials to local landfills that were not permitted to receive these items. The majority of the hazardous waste was electronic equipment such as remote controls, splitters, routers, modems, amplifiers, and power adapters. The investigation also uncovered that Comcast discarded documents containing sensitive customer information, including names, addresses and phone numbers, into the trash without shredding them or making them unreadable, potentially exposing the information to identity thieves.

If approved by the court, under the final judgment, Comcast must pay $19.85 million in civil penalties and costs. An additional $3 million will fund projects furthering environmental and consumer protection and enforcement in California. Comcast will also be providing CalRecycle with $2.25 million in airtime over a four-year period and $150,000 to develop and produce public service announcements that educate the public on the proper handling and disposal of hazardous waste they might generate, including electronics. Finally, Comcast will spend a minimum of $700,000 to enhance its environmental compliance and will be prohibited from violating these laws in the future, under the terms of a permanent injunction.

Upon notice of the investigation, Comcast agreed to cooperate and, at the request of the Attorney General and the Alameda County DA, took interim steps to improve its hazardous and universal waste management compliance programs. As part of the settlement, Comcast has committed to fund multiple measures over the next five years to enhance its environmental compliance. Comcast will also be required to hire an independent auditor to conduct three audits of its environmental and customer privacy compliance over the next five years. There are ten Comcast facilities in Alameda County and all ten facilities are subject to the terms of the settlement.

Last year, Attorney General Harris and District Attorney O’Malley reached a $23.8 million settlement with AT&T over similar hazardous waste disposal violations.

Copies of the civil enforcement action and proposed settlement are attached to the online version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

VENTURA - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice will be formally joining the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office in the ongoing prosecution of multiple individual and corporate defendants charged with environmental crimes and other specified offenses related to the November 18, 2014 explosion at the Santa Clara Waste Water Company facility located in Santa Paula, California. 

The explosion disbursed toxic chemical residue and is alleged to have caused serious injuries to employees and first responders. In August 2015, a Ventura County grand jury indicted nine individuals and two corporate entities on multiple criminal counts including conspiracy to dispose of hazardous waste, failure to warn of a serious concealed danger, handling a hazardous waste with a reckless disregard for human life, withholding information regarding a substantial danger to public safety, filing a false or forged instrument, and dissuading a witness.

“The reckless handling of hazardous waste is a danger to public health and safety, and will not be tolerated in California,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris.  “My office will continue to prosecute serious environmental and health violations and will work closely with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office to hold all perpetrators accountable.”

Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten stated, “We are pleased with the Attorney General’s decision and welcome the contribution of prosecutorial resources and environmental expertise the Department of Justice will bring to this case.”

This joint prosecution effort follows a nine-month investigation by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Ventura County Environmental Health Department, and the Ventura County Fire Department. The joint prosecution will include all aspects of the case, as well as the ongoing investigation into the storage of thousands of gallons of chemicals recently discovered through execution of a search warrant at the company’s facility in Santa Paula on November 5, 2015.

Green Compass Environmental Solutions LLC, one of the corporate entities previously indicted by the Ventura County Grand Jury, has facilities in Orange County, Kern County, and conducts waste disposal services in the Bay Area, making this matter one of statewide significance.

The next court date is an arraignment on December 1, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. in Department 12 of the Ventura Superior Court.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today released the following statement after the California Department of Justice joined 17 states, the District of Columbia, and several major cities to intervene in lawsuits filed in opposition to President Obama’s Clean Power Plan and New Source Standards.  The Clean Power Plan and New Source Standards, issued pursuant to the Clean Air Act, are the first-ever national standards that address greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.  

“President Obama’s plan to limit harmful emissions from power plants is necessary to preserve our natural resources and protect public health,” said Attorney General Harris.  “I will vigorously defend these rules on behalf of future generations of Californians.”

The Clean Power Plan requires existing fossil-fueled power plants, the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the nation, to cut their emissions starting in 2022 and will reduce emissions from the power sector to thirty-two percent below 2005 levels by 2030.  The New Source Standards, which take immediate effect, limit emissions from new, modified and reconstructed power plants.

“In the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, reckless politicians and polluters want to gut the president’s clean air plans,” said Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. “Today, California and its partners stand together in fighting these pernicious and dangerous lawsuits.”

The finalization of the Clean Power Plan and New Source Standards marks the culmination of a decade-long effort by states and cities to require mandatory cuts in the emissions of climate change pollution from fossil fuel burning power plants under the Clean Air Act.  The rule for existing plants is expected to eliminate as much climate change pollution as is emitted by more than 160 million cars a year – or 70% of the nation’s passenger cars.

Since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final versions of the rules on October 23, 2015,  lawsuits to challenge the rules have been filed by West Virginia, North Dakota coal industry associations, and others.  California is joining with 17 other states and the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boulder, and Broward County (FL) to intervene on the side of  EPA to defend the Clean Power Plan.  In addition, California is joining with 15 other states and two major cities to intervene in and defend EPA in cases challenging the New Source Standards.  

Attorney General Harris has aggressively fought to protect AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, and is currently defending challenges to California’s Cap-and-Trade auctions and its precedent-setting Low Carbon Fuels Standard.  In 2014 and earlier this year, when West Virginia and coal producers filed legal challenges during the proposal stage of EPA’s rulemaking, Attorney General Harris and a coalition of states intervened to defend EPA.  The D.C. Circuit dismissed all those challenges as premature.

A copy of the motion to intervene is attached to the online version of this news release at oag.ca.gov/news.

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced changes to regulations implementing Proposition 65, the landmark law requiring businesses to provide warnings if they expose individuals to any listed carcinogens or reproductive toxins.    

The proposed amended regulations are the product of nearly five years of analysis and have been drafted in consultation with business and environmental groups.  They are intended to protect public health and the environment while helping to stem abuse of the law’s mechanism to allow for enforcement by private parties.  The amendments mark the first substantial change to the Attorney General’s Proposition 65 regulations since their adoption in 2001-2003. The 45-day public comment period is open until November 9.

“California has led the nation for decades in protecting our residents and the environment from pollutants and toxic chemicals,” said Attorney General Harris.  “These proposed changes maintain the intent of Proposition 65 and our vital legacy of public health and environmental protections while eliminating incentives to abuse the system.  Good public policy means rejecting the false choice that suggests we must sacrifice our commitment to the environment and public health for California businesses to thrive.”

In 1986, California voters approved the initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. These regulatory changes will help restore public confidence that Proposition 65 is used for its proper health-protective purposes and not abused for private gain.  The proposed amendments focus on increased transparency and accountability to ensure that civil penalties in litigation brought by private enforcers under Proposition 65 are used for purposes that are clearly defined, relevant to the violations which prompted the settlement, and beneficial to Californians. 

The proposed regulations would also increase accountability by capping “in lieu of penalties” payments to ensure that the Office of Environment Health Hazard Assessment receives revenues necessary to continue its work of implementing Proposition 65 and protecting public health, as intended by the statute.  The proposed changes also raise the bar for demonstrating that settlements requiring reformulation confer a significant public benefit, instead making individual cases fact-specific and stating that payments under a settlement “may” confer public benefit.

For information on submitting public comments, click here.

Attorney General Harris has a long history of taking action to protect the health and well-being of California communities.  She has filed lawsuits to enforce Proposition 65 and other environmental laws, protecting local communities from diesel emissions, hazardous electronic waste, and other harmful pollutants.  She has also supported the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and led a coalition of states in intervening to defend the EPA from attacks and legal challenges.

SACRAMENTO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced her support for SBX2 5, legislation authored by Senator Mark Leno to protect children and youth from the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes.  The bill ensures that e-cigarettes are included in existing laws that prevent underage smoking and mandate smoke-free spaces by explicitly defining them as “tobacco products,” in addition to requiring child-resistant packaging.

“Protecting children from a life of nicotine addiction is essential to good public health and smart fiscal policy,” said Attorney General Harris.  “I thank Senator Leno for his leadership on this issue and urge the Legislature to approve this important legislation.”

SBX2 5 will include e-cigarettes in California’s Smoke-Free Act, which prohibits smoking at workplaces, schools, daycares, restaurants, bars, hospitals and on public transportation. The legislation will also make sure e-cigarettes are covered under the 1994 Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, which has successfully reduced illegal sales of cigarettes to children.  Tobacco use in California is responsible for $13.29 billion in health costs each year.

Attorney General Harris earlier this year launched a first-of-its-kind Bureau of Children’s Justice, with the aim of bringing together the California Department of Justice’s criminal and civil law enforcement tools to hold those who prey on children accountable, help shape and implement policies that help children, and work with a range of stakeholders to better support kids.  More info on the Bureau is available here: https://oag.ca.gov/bcj.

SACRAMENTO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris released the following statement on SB 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, and SB 32, Climate Pollution Reduction Beyond 2020:

“Today, millions of Californians enjoy cleaner air and water because of our state's longstanding efforts to improve our environment.  SB 350 and SB 32 build on this legacy by setting aggressive but achievable clean energy goals. These bills will ensure California continues to innovate smart solutions to climate change while growing our economy and improving public health.”

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today released the following statement in support of President Barack Obama’s America’s Clean Power Plan which will limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuel-fired power plants.

“Power plants emit pollutants that contribute to climate change and, left unchecked, those pollutants harm our natural resources and pose a grave threat to public health,” said Attorney General Harris. “California is leading the world in curbing greenhouse gas emissions and pioneering clean and renewable energy.  The President’s clean power plan, combined with California’s green innovation, create a path for the nation to protect our environment for current and future generations.”

Attorney General Harris has fought to protect AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which has served as a global model for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2014 and 2015, Attorney General Harris and a coalition of states intervened in cases filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to defend the EPA’s authority to propose rules limiting emissions of greenhouse gases from existing power plants.

SANTA BARBARA— Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today toured the clean up efforts at the Refugio State Beach and surrounding area affected by the last month’s oil spill.

“This oil spill has scarred the scenic Santa Barbara coast, natural habitats and wildlife,” said Attorney General Harris. “I want to thank the federal, state and local agencies working around the clock to restore our coastline. We will continue to devote all necessary resources to hold the responsible parties accountable.”

The Attorney General’s office and the Santa Barbara District Attorney are conducting a joint criminal and civil investigation of the oil spill. 

On May 19, a pipeline operated by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured north of Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, California, spilling over 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and onto coastal beaches. Local, state and federal agencies have been leading efforts to protect natural habitats and clean up residual hazardous materials along the coast.

Photos from today's events can be found below:

Photo Credit: Ricardo Miranda Photography. For high resolution copies of these images, please contact agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

LOS ANGELES— Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued the following statement on the oil spill off Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County. The Attorney General’s office is actively working with the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office and state and federal agencies to investigate the incident.    

“California’s coastline is one of the state’s most precious natural treasures. This oil spill has scarred the scenic Santa Barbara coast, natural habitats and wildlife.  My office is working closely with our state and federal partners on an investigation of this conduct to ensure we hold responsible parties accountable.”