With the support of the governor, the business-backed “Citizens to Save California” has proposed an initiative to fundamentally change the budgetary process—imposing a new spending limit, giving the governor broad new powers, and significantly changing Prop 98 (education spending) and Prop 42 (transportation funding).

The aspects of the proposal with the greatest potential impact on the environment are the provisions which allow the governor to declare a fiscal emergency and gain broad authority to cut spending if: revenue falls more than 1.5% below projected levels, or; if the budget reserve account declines by more than half in the fiscal year. Note that the trigger is whether revenue is more than 1.5% below forecast levels, not below actual spending levels.

In the event that the governor declares a fiscal emergency, the Legislature would convene in special session. If, after 45 days, one or more bills have not been enacted to remedy the situation, the governor gains the authority to “reduce items of appropriation on an equally proportionate basis, or disproportionately, at his discretion”.

As an example, revenue could fall 2% short of overly-rosy projections, triggering the governor to declare a fiscal emergency. The governor then vetoes the Legislature’s proposal, and 45 days pass. The governor then has the authority to unilaterally cut funding for the Coastal Commission, the Resources Agency, or any other program (except for debt service, appropriations necessary to comply with federal laws and regs, or appropriations necessary for a state contract). This provision of this initiative would indeed give the governor drastic powers to change the structure of government in California.

The governor gains similar powers if a budget is not in place by July 1. Of course, the governor could cause a budget to not be approved by July 1 simply by vetoing the Legislature’s proposal, thereby gaining broad new authority to cut programs.

Another part of the initiative creates a new spending cap, based on the revenue growth over the previous three years. This spending cap would also apply to the expenditure of user and regulatory fees, potentially ham-stringing environmental programs that would otherwise be supported by fees (and therefore should be independent of budget constraints).

In simplest terms, the initiative amounts to a massive power-grab by the governor. The Los Angeles Times called the initiative “A Really Bad Idea” written by “two people who many voters, if not the governor, would label special interests” (LA Times Editorial, 4/18/05).

If the governor has anti-environmental leanings, then this initiative could be extremely harmful to the environment.

It is very probable that the Sierra Club will oppose this initiative.

Sierra Club California Lobby Day

August 28-29, 2005

Help Sierra Club California discuss priority environmental issues such as land use, growth management, forestry, solar energy, clean air and clean water with our state legislators at the State Capitol.

This is a great opportunity to protect the environment by influencing the political process, to sharpen your advocacy skills, as well as meet new people with similar issue interests from around the state.

Training for Lobby Day will take place on Sunday afternoon (August 28) in Sacramento. Sierra Club lobbyists will provide helpful tools and knowledge for achieving successful meetings with legislators and their staff members. The lobbyists will also discuss the legislative process and provide talking points on the priority bills that you will discuss in the Capitol.

Lobby Day participants will attend meetings with key legislators at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, August 29 throughout the day. The day will end with a debriefing and wrap-up back at the Sierra Club office.

Sierra Club California will provide free hotel accommodations in double-occupancy rooms in a nearby hotel in Sacramento, and will provide Sunday dinner, Monday breakfast and Monday lunch. A portion of travel expenses will also be reimbursed with prior approval.

The registration deadline for Lobby Day is August 8. Please register as soon as possible as we may receive more applications than we have space for; preference may be given to applicants from our targeted districts. Early registration is helpful as we make appointments with legislators.

Please contact Sabrina Juarez, Sierra Club California Legislative Aide, for more information at 916-557-1100 ext. 107 or at Juarez@sierraclub-sac.org

Industry Lobbyist Named to Air Board

Democrats vow to fight the governor's selection, but others say Cindy Tuck is a good choice.

June 29, 2005

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has named an energy industry lobbyist who has fought against many of the state's toughest air pollution regulations to head California's powerful air quality agency.

Cindy Tuck, whose efforts on behalf of oil refineries and power plants include opposing a landmark law to combat global warming, was named chairwoman of the Air Resources Board.

Environmentalists have opposed the appointment, but business groups and some air quality officials have supported Schwarzenegger's choice of Tuck, who is a registered lobbyist for the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance.

"Her expertise is vital to ensuring California continues to lead the nation in setting air quality standards while at the same time balancing the need to keep our economy strong and thriving," Schwarzenegger stated.

But Democrats in the California Senate vowed to block Tuck's appointment. They called her unfit to head the air pollution agency that forced automakers to add catalytic converters three decades ago and approved regulations to reduce greenhouse gases from car tailpipes last year.

"As a lobbyist for major oil companies and the power plant industry who has opposed every major air quality law passed by the Legislature in recent years, Ms. Tuck is not the right person to help the board carry out its mission of protecting the air our families breathe," said Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland).

Supporters of Tuck, a 45-year-old Sacramento lawyer, said she was an effective behind-the-scenes player who has demonstrated a willingness to compromise on many environmental issues.

"We have worked with Cindy Tuck for many years and she has always worked to bring people together," said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which is charged with fighting smog in the Los Angeles region. "Sometimes you have to separate the person from who they are representing, unless they have crossed some moral line."

But opponents said Tuck has routinely opposed California's most ambitious air pollution measures. “This makes her a particularly poor choice to lead the state's fight against smog and global warming.”

"What's really alarming is that this is the kind of appointment that [President] Bush makes, putting someone from an industry in charge of the government agency that is supposed to be cleaning up that industry," said Sierra Club lobbyist Bill Magavern.

Alan Lloyd, Schwarzenegger's environmental protection secretary and the former chairman of the air board, said he became convinced during interviews with Tuck that her past opposition to air pollution regulations would not prevent her from promoting the positions of her new boss.

Schwarzenegger, who has laid out an environmental agenda that sets him apart from many Republican officeholders, has made a highly publicized campaign pledge to reduce air pollution by 50%. He has signed an executive order to slash greenhouse gases by more than 80% over the next half a century.

"There is no way whatsoever that she would have been appointed if she had not been committed to implementing the governor's environmental action plan, including the greenhouse gas targets," Lloyd said.

Since Lloyd left the post last January, the Schwarzenegger administration has been engaged in a lengthy, sometimes contentious internal debate on who should chair the air board.

Environmentalists told Schwarzenegger officials that they opposed Tuck. They favored another top candidate, Jason Grumet, the executive director of the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan panel that recently recommended a national plan to tackle global warming that is being considered by the US Senate. But Grumet was opposed by some business interests, including General Motors, who preferred Tuck.

Some Democrats have warned Schwarzenegger officials that they would probably reject Tuck when her confirmation came before the state Senate Rules Committee.

Schwarzenegger, siding against some of his own environmental advisors, stuck with Tuck, whose lobbying group had supported a plan by the governor last year to increase fees to raise money for air pollution programs.

Tuck's appointment especially upset advocates of environmental justice, or equal protection from toxic threats for minorities and the poor. Tuck has represented business interests in an Air Resources Board panel that debated ways to address such concerns.

"She has been very reasonable with me, but the bottom line is that she has advocated positions that are the antithesis of environmental justice," said Joe Lyou, executive director of the California Environmental Rights Alliance. "I didn't think this is what we'd be in for when the governor said we didn't have to worry about his environmental policies."

An Evening of Wine Tasting, Food and Music
at Upper Newport Bay
August 7, Sunday 5-8 pm
Orange County Group True Cost of Food Campaign Presents:
Back Bay Concert

Journey with us to the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center built into the side of the bluffs with panoramic views of Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve. We will begin the evening enjoying delicious appetizers and wine tasting while listening to Birkin Newell, a classically trained cellist who plays for us with 25 years of experience. Birkin has toured the world with the Orange County Youth Symphony and now freelances for weddings and special events.

Then we will have a sit-down concert of acoustic guitar playing by Award Winning Guitarist Toulouse Engelhardt. His music has been classified as a vibrant collage of musical styling based in traditional Americana: acoustic blues, ragtime, impromptu jazz and the “wet” surf sounds of the early 1960s.

The Sierra Club Orange County Group True Cost of Food Campaign, has created this evening not only to experience the beauty of the 140 acre Nature Preserve, but also to experience locally-grown, organic appetizers. Orange County restaurants such as; Au Lac, Sun Grown Foods, Native Foods, Bodhi Tree, Happy Veggie, Health Emporium, Wellness Experience International and Mother’s Market & Kitchen will tempt your taste buds. Beautiful, native flower and plant arrangements will be provided for the raffle by Tree of Life Nursery.

Organic Vintners will provide the highest quality premium organic wines with local participation by Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa where you can find a large selection of organic wine. You will have a chance to win prizes with a raffle of gift baskets, wine and dinners for two while supporting the Orange County Group’s local conservation work.

Behind the scenes tours of the MUTH Center will be available.

You must purchase your tickets in advance.

Ticket prices: $15 per person or $25 per couple. Make checks payable to: OC Group, Sierra Club
Mail checks to: Lisa Hellman, 9551 Bickley Drive, Huntington Beach CA 92646
Please send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope!

For more information, contact Lisa Hellman at 714-964-4488 or lhellman@hmausa.com

Please join us for a fundraising event for Sierra Club conservation efforts in North Orange County.

Rachel Myers

Conservation Program Coordinator

Walk and Dine with Ed Begley, Jr at Au Lac
July 24, Sunday 1-5 pm

Please join the OC Group True Cost of Food Campaign for a walk at Mile Square Park. This will be your opportunity to chat with actor, environmentalist and fellow conservationist, Ed Begley, Jr. This is a fundraising event for Orange County Group and the Conservation work that they are active in. Only $5.00 — includes a raffle ticket for a basket of Ed Begley’s new autographed green cleaning product. Also see Begley’s Best website at www.begleysbest.com. Opportunities to buy more raffle tickets will be available. After the walk at 2:30 pm, join us for dinner at Au Lac, Gourmet Vegetarian Restaurant where Ed Begley Jr. will be discussing, “Live Simply So Others Can Simply Live.” Meet us at 16563 Brookhurst (at Heil) in Fountain Valley (plenty of parking) across from Mile Square Park. Experience the best raw food in OC! Not Raw? This is your opportunity to sample great Raw Veggie food, meet the Orange County Group True Cost of Food Committee and hear Ed Begley, Jr. Bring extra money ($$$) for dinner. Bring a friend. Newcomers welcome. Please RSVP by July 22, limited seating and bring $5.00 to event. Contact Lynn Heath at 714-893-2986 or lynnrheath@surfside.net. Leaders: Lynn Heath and Rachel Myers.

Court Ruling Affirms California
Coastal Commission's Right to Exist

The California State Supreme Court ruled unanimously recently that the California Coastal Commission is not an illegal body and does have the right to make decisions concerning development along the California coast. Two lower court decisions had ruled that the California Coastal Commission was unlawfully formed by the State Legislature back in 1976. This latest ruling by the state Supreme Court should put to rest the legal efforts to disband the California Coastal Commission.

Many environmental groups acted as friends of the court (amicus curiae) in support of the Coastal Commission and the California Coastal Act.

Environmentalists File Suit on Riverpark Project

Four Environmental Groups — the Sierra Club, Friends of the Santa Clara River, the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Water Impact Network — filed suit Friday (June 24th) after the City of Santa Clarita approved a 1100 unit Riverpark project, ignoring months of public protest.

The City of Santa Clarita approved the Riverpark project on May 24th after a two-month delay caused by the close down of yet another public water supply well for ammonium perchlorate pollution. Last week, four environmental groups joined together to bring a public interest complaint against the city and the real party, Newhall Land and Farming, claiming the approval of 1100 units next to the Santa Clara River ignored concerns over inadequate protection for the last unchannelized river in Los Angeles County, as well as air and water pollution. The complaint also faults the city for its failure once again to follow its own hillside ordinance.

Recently, Newhall/Lennar’s owner-holding companies changed once again with two companies moving off-shore to the Cayman Islands and Bermuda Islands, respectively,” said Johanna Zetterberg, Conservation Coordinator for the Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. “This company is no longer local. It is headquartered in Florida and incorporated in Delaware. With its new off-shore status, we want to make sure all the water pollution issues are thoroughly addressed and that the public is protected from the continued spread of the ammonium perchlorate pollution plume in the water supply”.

After placing the Santa Clara River on its national most endangered rivers list in April, American Rivers cited the overly rapid pace of development in Santa Clarita as the greatest threat to the river’s many resources. Peter Galvin, Conservation Director for the national environmental group, Center for Biological Diversity, agreed. "The Santa Clara River is a critically important waterway for rare wildlife in southern California and is one of the most endangered rivers in the United States." Galvin added "We have filed this lawsuit because our public oversight agencies have once again miserably failed to provide protection for the river's web of life. Conservation is not just good common sense, it's the law."

“I just want them (the City of Santa Clarita) to get the heck out of the flood plain, and protect the Significant Ecological Area as they promised to do when they became a city,” Ron Bottorff, Chairman of Friends of the Santa Clara River, said in frustration. “Eighty per cent of the portions of this project adjacent to the river are closer than 100 feet. That is not an adequate buffer.”

Carolee Krieger, spokesperson for California Water Impact Network, a water watchdog with a state wide view point, said their concerns were the cumulative stress placed on water supplies from the massive, rapid development in Santa Clarita. “All new development in Santa Clarita will be supplied with water transfers from northern California. Areas of origin are concerned about the loss of surface flow from their rivers to feed SoCal’s appetite for urban sprawl.

Water transfers may also impact farming economies and increase water quality problems,” she said. “And what will happen in the next drought cycle when there is not enough water to go around?”

The suit came just after the release of the notice of yet another 5300 unit project by Newhall Land and Farming adjacent to the Santa Clara River in the Newhall Ranch area.

SaddleCreek/Crest Successfully Appealed

Here is an example of the amazing work that we are doing. Congratulations to all involved and all who cherish this space.

The Court of Appeal issued its opinion reversing the approvals of the 600-acre SaddleCreek/Crest development in Trabuco Canyon. This is an incredible victory for preservation of natural resources in the Foothill/Trabuco Specific Plan area. We owe a great deal of thanks to the coalition that fought this destructive housing development — Sierra Club, Endangered Habitats League, California Oak Foundation, California Native Plant Society, Rural Canyons Conservation Fund, Sea & Sage Audubon, and Ray Chandos — to the diligent attorneys, Rick Derevan and Ray Johnson — and to the dozens of individuals who fought this project with impassioned testimony in defense of the environment. Among other wonderful things, 500 oak trees will NOT be destroyed and the Foothill/Trabuco Specific Plan will NOT be amended to lessen its protections of the amazing natural resources and open space here.

Congratulations to all and thank you all for your support of our efforts in the canyons!

Gloria D. Sefton, PO Box 714, Trabuco Canyon CA 92678 — (949) 589-9230

Co-Founder, Saddleback Canyons Conservancy, Vice-Chair, Saddleback Canyons Task Force, Sierra Club

Overfishing Action Alert

We need your help to fight against NOAA’s proposed rule change of the Overfishing Standard, or National Standard 1. The rule change, which was printed in the Federal Register on June 22, completely guts the Overfishing Standard. It allows the continued overfishing of already depleted fish stocks and delays the time it takes for these stocks to rebound.

As of now we have a 60-day public comment period, ending August 22nd, in which to influence NOAA to not change the current National Standard 1 guidelines. The Marine Fish Conservation Network (Sierra Club is an affiliated member) will be conducting a media campaign and soliciting public comments, amongst other strategies, and any help or support with comment generation or media attention on the issue would be greatly appreciated.

If you can help, please send me a message offline and I will email a packet of materials and information guides for you to use. It will include: an action alert letter, a press release and media advisory, a fact sheet and booklet concerning the Overfishing Standard, a letter from the Marine Fish Conservation Network (MFCN), and a postcard which can be used for comments.

Please use them at tabling events and other occasions in the next few weeks. Comments can also be sent directly via the website: http://www.net.org/overfishing

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Vivian Newman, Maine Chapter Conservation Co-Chair and National Marine Wildlife and Habitat Committee
Sierra Club, PO Box 388, South Thomaston ME 04858
207-594-7534 - newviv@adelphia.net

Sierra Club Lawsuit on Highway-Related Air Toxics Settled

Las Vegas—The Sierra Club announced on Monday, June 27, that a landmark agreement with the Federal Highway Administration and the Nevada Department of Transportation to help prevent children who live and attend school near U.S. 95 from being exposed to increased levels of dangerous airborne toxics.

The settlement focuses on minimizing and monitoring the exposure of highway-related air toxics for kids who attend schools adjacent to an expanded US 95. It is the first time that federal and state transportation agencies will be installing air filters and monitoring equipment designed to minimize the levels of highway-related air toxics in schools.

"Our goal all along has been to solve the traffic problem without putting nearby residents, especially the kids, in harms way," explained Jane Feldman on behalf of the Sierra Club. "The agreement allows us to move school kids out of the danger zone and monitor pollution to stay ahead of any future highway health hazards in the neighborhood."

As part of the arrangement, the Sierra Club agreed to withdraw its challenge in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In return, the Federal Highway Administration and the Nevada Department of Transportation have pledged the following:

• Pollution monitoring and air filtration systems designed to reduce toxic air pollution at three schools next to US 95: Fyfe and Adcock Elementary Schools, and Western High School.
• Relocation of three portable buildings and the kindergarten playground at Fyfe Elementary School to a greater distance from the highway.
• Funds to help ensure that the current redesign of Western High School minimizes students' exposure to toxic air pollution.
• $1 million to retrofit Clark County School District buses to reduce diesel emissions.
• Outreach and education to reduce idling time of diesel vehicles.
• A major study to monitor vehicle emissions at five highway locations across the county to determine the levels and behavior of toxic air pollution from motor vehicles.

The Sierra Club and the Justice Department are filing the agreement with the 9th Circuit Court today. The agreement will go into effect once accepted by the federal district court in Las Vegas.

"The agreement would not have been possible without the leadership and input of key local leaders, especially Chairman of the Clark County Commission Rory Reid and Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia and Deputy Superintendent Walt Rulffes," stated Feldman. "We also applaud the Federal Highway Administration and Nevada Department of Transportation for rolling up their sleeves with us to find an innovative solution."

Added Feldman, "Las Vegas should not have to choose between reducing traffic and protecting its children. There's no question that the US 95 expansion is a better project now that the schools will get some relief from pollution."

More Good News Concerning Rosemead Wal-Mart

It has been a good week in the courts for causes in which the Sierra Club is involved. Congratulations to Rosemead's Save Our Community for gettng the Wal-Mart EIR declared invalid on several points. The court's decision means that portions of the EIR will have to be re-done, re-heard, and the decision reconsidered by the Rosemead City Council. This victory alone would not be significant if it were not for the Council victory in March, wherein two of the pro-Wal-Mart council members were removed from office, and the recall campaign against two of the others. The court decision should delay the process further while the recall is in progress. This is a great textbook example of grass roots organizing — Jeff Yann.

Vote NO on CAFTA

The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. CAFTA's environmental provisions are weak, unenforceable, and full of loopholes, and do not require any country to adopt or maintain a clear set of basic environmental laws and regulations. Central America has incredible biodiversity which could be threatened by CAFTA.

Tell your Senators and Representatives to vote "no" on CAFTA and that the NAFTA model should not be expanded.

Cattle Grazing Regulations Doctored

Just before the Bush administration relaxed rules for cattle grazing on public lands, it doctored sections of an environmental impact study to downplay the effects of grazing on water quality and wildlife, including endangered species. "This is a whitewash. They took all of our science and reversed it 180 degrees," said Erick Campbell, one of the retired scientists who helped write the unedited version of the report. According to a recent Los Angeles Times story, the original environmental analysis draft warned that the new rules would have a "significant adverse impact" on wildlife, but that phrase was removed. The bureau now concludes that the grazing is "beneficial to animals."

Building Industrial Wind Developments in Remote
Reaches of the Desert Just Got Easier

The US Department of the Interior released a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Study on wind development across the country. The new policies will speed up the permitting process and make it easier to develop wind factories on public lands in 11 Western states, including California.

Efforts to move toward more sustainable and localized clean energy sources should be applauded, but not all alternative energy developments fit this bill. Interior's plan paves the way for the production of 3,200 megawatts of wind energy by 2025, enough to power 1 million homes. Of that amount, 45 percent of the new wind-energy development would be in California — most of it in the desert. Under the plan, the 784 wind energy projects already in California on BLM land could nearly double to 1,462. Wind developers are seeing doors open for them on public lands, which were not there before and they are stepping through. Currently over 60 applications for wind testing and development on public lands are pending or authorized — just within the California desert. Many of these are in remote, undeveloped areas. Some border on National Parks and wilderness areas. Others are home to cultural resources important to Native Americans. Others are places where people escape to hike, horseback ride, rock climb, and camp.

Irvine Company Projects Threaten Local Quality of Life

The decision-making process on the Irvine Company's Santiago Hills II and East Orange Planned Communities finally seems to be approaching a conclusion. That conclusion is NOT foregone; the Orange City Council and Planning Commission are still waiting to hear thoughts, feelings, and comments from concerned residents of our area. Public turn-out will be very important! Please "save the date" for upcoming events at City Hall (Council Chambers, 300 E. Chapman):

Mon, July 18 (tba; 7 pm??): City Planning Commission begins formal consideration of Irvine Company application to build over 3900 homes in East Orange. Info: www.cityoforange.org/depts/commdev/planning_commission.asp

Even if you don't plan to speak (3-minute "public comments") at the meetings, your simple presence is very important to boost morale and help our cause. If you want to address the specific issues of water pollution and biological impacts, please indicate this on your "public comments speaker card" before you turn it in at the start of the meeting. We'll have a few "Don't Kill Our Hills" t-shirts available for $10 (cheap!)

Some Points You May Wish to Make

• East of Orange is not a "relatively small development. 4000 homes is an approximate increase of 10% above the number of homes in Orange now. These 4000 homes will stretch along about 5 miles of Santiago Cyn Rd, from Jamboree almost to Silverado Cyn Rd.
• The proposed Irvine Company projects are second only to Rancho Mission Viejo in size and scope in Orange County.
• Local residents are not clamoring for thousands of tract homes to be built over environmentally important and sensitive land, as proponents claim.
• Why ruin (Irvine Company president) Donald Bren's "Vision" for the land he wisely, thankfully, shrewdly, and intelligently put into tax-deductible conservation easements by building sprawl communities in the middle of it? Why not move the development closer to the toll roads and stay away from Irvine Lake?
• Local residents will have to live with the increased traffic and gridlock; higher tax burdens; increased air, noise, light, and water pollution; and diminished scenic hill views the Irvine Company project will cause. Their legitimate concerns deserve to be heard and addressed.
• Contrary to Environmental Impact Report (EIR) analysis, East Orange Planned Communities will have significant impacts on migratory wildlife by increasing fragmentation of habitat.
• Fragmentation of mountain lion habitat will inexorably lead to extirpation of this species from the Santa Ana Mountains and Orange County.
• The EIR gravely underestimates project impacts on north-south wildlife movement and corridors and asserts that wildlife will or should cross the proposed golf course to maintain connectivity between preserved habitat areas. This is not credible for many animals.
• Increased traffic and widening of Santiago Canyon Rd will isolate wildlife populations.
• Project grading for East of Orange will destroy large areas of habitat: 563 acres in Santiago Hills II, over 6300 acres in East Orange areas 1, 2, and 3.
• Irvine Ranch Land Reserve is not adequate mitigation for this large loss of habitat, particularly because the proposed developments greatly reduce the biological quality of the Irvine Ranch Reserves by separating them from other open space in the Cleveland National Forest (fragmentation and edge effects).
• The EIR acknowledges significant impacts on populations of many endemic plant and animal species.
• Rushing "full speed ahead" is not a responsible course.
• We elect our officials to protect us and expect them to take a discerning, even critical look at developments.
• A project of this scale requires thorough, thoughtful consideration, not hasty approvals.

For more information and many more talking points: Orange Hills Task Force www.orangehills.org

If you are able, please send a letter to the Register, the LA Times, and our Council members regarding the Irvine Company's East of Orange Development.

NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT. We just need 3 votes on the council when it gets down to it. Speak out for your community and educate the City Council and Planning Commission on the issues. This is a wonderful opportunity to generate some much-needed press on these issues. If you can write even a few lines on just one point, it will help us.

Judge Threatens DWP Sanctions Over Owens River Flow

June 25, 2005

Judge Lee E Cooper ruled Friday that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power should face sanctions for missing a series of deadlines to restore a 62-mile stretch of the Lower Owens River. He said that the Department had been "piddling around." "It appears that DWP needs the threat of immediate sanctions before it gets busy" on the restoration effort.

His proposed sanctions will be considered at a hearing scheduled for July 25. They could include a fine or limitations on the DWP's pumping of Owens Valley groundwater to Los Angeles.

Such limits could cost about $7.5 million a year, roughly the amount that Los Angeles saves annually by delaying the Lower Owens River Project.

A lawsuit brought two years ago by the California Department of Fish and Game, the California State Lands Commission, the Sierra Club and the Owens Valley Committee accused the DWP of deliberately missing deadlines for implementing the project, which would cost about $39 million to launch.

The project is more than two years behind schedule.

DWP officials, however, have insisted that the delays have been the result of circumstances beyond their control. Cooper dismissed that argument Friday, saying that if the agency "had not piddled around trying to play bureaucratic games" with federal environmental authorities and other groups, "it could have complied with the order."

The river was reduced to a nearly dry channel in 1913 when the Owens River Aqueduct began delivering water to Los Angeles.

A second system, the so-called Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, opened in 1970. The Lower Owens River Project was conceived in 1991 as mitigation for excessive groundwater pumping by the DWP that had destroyed 100 acres of habitat in the Owens Valley from 1970 to 1990.

The DWP promised environmental groups and Inyo County residents in what stood to be the largest river rehabilitation effort in the West, to return a steady flow to the river by diverting aqueduct water to provide habitat for native game and fish and to revive stands of cottonwoods and willows.

In exchange, the DWP would have been allowed to continue to pump groundwater — a major source of Los Angeles' drinking water — and recover some of the aqueduct water to put it back into the river.

In 1997, the DWP agreed to restore flow in the river by mid-2003. That deadline was pushed back to 2004. Then, under a court stipulation, the DWP promised to commence flows by this September 5.

Now, the department says it cannot meet that deadline either.

Cooper angrily suggested that the postponements were a legal tactic described by Gerald Gewe, the DWP water system's chief operating officer, at an environmental law conference in Yosemite six years ago.

Gewe, Cooper said, "bragged about the amount of money and water DWP saved by litigation delay."

"DWP now responds that it's not in business to make a profit and that its officers do not benefit financially from such a policy," Cooper said. "Be that all as it may, saving money and water benefits the city and makes the officers look good for whatever benefits they bring."

Greg James, a consultant and attorney for Inyo County, said he was "surprised the court came off as strongly as it did."

"But it's great," he added. "I think this river will be actually flowing sooner rather than later."

Don Mooney, attorney for the Owens Valley Committee, also expressed high hopes for the river.

"It confirms what we have been saying for years about how Los Angeles has handled this project," he said. "There is no incentive for them to do this, save for a court telling them to do it now." Mooney added, "If they don't, they'll have to answer to Judge Cooper."

US Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Agribusiness
Attack on Environmental Law

LOS ANGELES (June 23, 2005) The US Supreme Court today unanimously rejected a lawsuit over water rights brought by California agribusinesses that threatened to undermine basic environmental and public health protections. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the court in "Orff v. United States." It is available online at: http://wid.ap.org/scotus/pdf/03-1566P.ZO.pdf

"This is a huge win for the environment of the western United States," said Barry Nelson, a senior policy analyst at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), an intervener-defendant in the case. "The court said unanimously that agribusinesses cannot use their subsidized federal water contracts to block laws that protect the public and the environment."

The Orff case was the most recent effort by recipients of taxpayer-subsidized reclamation water to challenge the federal government’s compliance with environmental requirements under the Endangered Species Act and other laws. Several California landowners sued the US government claiming they should be paid when the US Department of the Interior (DOI) reduced water delivery to comply with environmental protections. In 1993-94, after a six-year drought, the DOI reduced the amount of water delivered to water districts south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect threatened wildlife.

The original lawsuits followed federal efforts to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other damaged waterways. Under a 1992 law, more than 1 million acre-feet of water was steered away from farms for environmental purposes. The diversions helped protect the Sacramento winter-run Chinook salmon and other species, but they hurt the farmers who were only receiving about half of the water promised by their federal contracts.

"The real winners here are California’s endangered salmon and other threatened wildlife whose protection depends on the environmental laws that were challenged in this case," said Michael Rubin, an attorney at the law firm Altshuler, Berzon, which represented NRDC and the other environmental groups in the case.

Plan to Cut Trash in So Cal Waters Upheld
by US Appeals Court

LOS ANGELES (June 16, 2005) In a major environmental case, a federal appeals court has upheld a new federal rule to eliminate thousands of tons of trash from the LA River, its estuaries, and southern California coastal waters over the next 14 years. Massive quantities of trash currently pollute these waters, threatening human health, harming marine life and birds, and damaging ecosystems.

A coalition of 22 LA County cities had challenged the clean water rule, which was adopted by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 to comply with a consent decree in a case brought by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Santa Monica Baykeeper, and Heal the Bay. The cities not only tried to slow efforts to remove trash from local waters, but also attacked the consent decree itself, under which 90 new clean water rules must be established.

The decision Wednesday by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in "City of Arcadia v. USEPA" is the fifth court ruling in California this year to reject challenges by developers and municipalities to clean water rules.

The court's opinion is available at: www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/8F08A4B0C414A2A188257020006E69A4/$f

"Five wins in six months sure looks like a trend," said David Beckman, a senior attorney at NRDC which litigated all five cases. "At this rate, we may actually live to see clean water in California."

According to Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay, "this legal victory sends a strong message to litigating cities and agencies avoiding Clean Water Act requirements: it is time to stop wasting money in the courtroom and to start cleaning up polluted rivers and beaches."

"The most powerful tool for cleaning up our water is back in the toolbox, and that's great news for everyone who uses our beaches or cares about the southern California environment," said Tracy Egoscue, executive director and Baykeeper of the Santa Monica Baykeeper.

The other recent clean water rulings are as follows: In December 2004, a unanimous three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal ruled in a case from San Diego that state regulators can require that bodies of water are clean, not merely require that polluters make an effort to reduce contaminated runoff.

In March 2005, the California Supreme Court refused to overturn the San Diego decision. Also in March 2005, the Los Angeles Superior Court rejected five lawsuits challenging LA County's storm water cleanup plan, which is similar to San Diego's plan. In these cases and in the San Diego case, the courts ruled that the plans were reasonable and practicable.

In April 2005, the California Supreme Court again rejected challenges to the US Clean Water Act, this time by the Cities of Burbank and Los Angeles. The court held that polluters cannot use cost considerations under state law to avoid complying with federal sewage cleanup requirements.

Trash and contaminants dumped into the LA River flow into Long Beach Harbor and then spread up and down the coast, harming wildlife, fouling beaches and endangering public heath. Littering and illegal dumping account for some of that trash, but the top source is polluted storm water and urban runoff discharged from municipal storm drains. The rule upheld in "Arcadia v. USEPA" (known as a "total maximum daily load" or TMDL rule) gradually limits over 14 years the amount of trash that can be dumped into the river and ocean.

Fish and Wildlife Service To Review Status
of California Spotted Owl
News Release June 14, 2005

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is beginning a detailed review of the health of the California spotted owl, a subspecies of spotted owls that ranges from the northern Sierra Nevada and the Central Coast ranges south through the mountains of southern California. The Service intends to complete its 12-month review by March 14, 2006, then decide whether or not to propose listing the species as threatened or endangered. Today's action also will open a 60-day public comment period, which will begin with publication of the notice shortly in the Federal Register.

The Service's decision today, commonly known as a 90-day finding, is based on scientific information about the subspecies provided in a petition seeking the listing of the California spotted owl and other information. The finding does not mean that the Service has decided it is appropriate to list the California spotted owl. Rather, this finding is the first step in a process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. The status review will determine whether the California spotted owl warrants listing as a threatened or endangered species. The decision to proceed with a 12-month review was based on new information that has become available in the last two years.

Several significant natural conditions have changed in the past two years, among them the rapid spread of the barred owl, a competitor of spotted owls, and the impact of wildfires on the species. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the 12-month review is more exhaustive than the 90-day finding.

This is the Service's second review of the California spotted owl in three years, both triggered by petitions and/or lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign and other organizations.

This sequence began in February 2003, when the Service found that listing of the California spotted owl was not warranted because the overall magnitude of threats did not rise to the level requiring protection under the ESA. In May 2004, the petitioners filed a lawsuit challenging that finding. Then in September 2004, they submitted a new petition to list the California spotted owl. In March, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California stayed the litigation to allow the Service to respond to the new petition, and directed the Service to report on the status of that response by June 13. The Service filed that report with the Court on Monday.

The petition contends that several changes have taken place in the last two years which may affect the status and distribution of the California spotted owl. They include further range expansion of the barred owl, which hybridizes with the California spotted owl and takes over its territory; recent fires in spotted owl habitat; revisions to the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment; new state forestry regulations ; and potentially relevant analyses of population dynamics. Taken together, the Service concludes in its 90-day review that this may be substantial information and therefore justifies the more detailed analysis that occurs in a status review and 12-month finding.

Notably, barred owls have expanded their range 200 miles southward in the Sierra Nevada over the past two years. In one indication of its concern about barred owl predation, the Service has authorized the experimental take of up to 20 barred owls in the Klamath National Forest. The barred owls recently moved into an area where they displaced spotted owls. The California Academy of Sciences was given the research permit.

Further, 28 California spotted owl territories were seriously affected by wildfires in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Diego Mountains in 2002 and 2003.

The Service has not made a decision on whether to propose listing the California spotted owl, said Steve Thompson, manager of the Service's California/Nevada Operations Office. The 90-day finding is our recognition that new information has developed over the last two years.

Fishery Panel Approves Trawling Ban along Pacific Coastline

A council that manages fisheries along the Pacific coast is recommending a ban on bottom trawling in large sections of the Pacific Ocean, in what one environmentalist called the biggest conservation effort on the West Coast in a long time. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, an advisory panel to the federal government, voted Wednesday in favor of a plan to strictly limit the dragging of weighted nets in federal waters, which extend from 3 to 200 miles offshore. Fishing industry representatives said many of the areas were not trawled currently, while conservationists celebrated the fact that, if adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service as expected next year, the plan would not allow bottom trawling to expand into new areas of the ocean floor.

Landmark Bipartisan Legislation Introduced
to Protect Ocean Resources

Washington DC — House Oceans Caucus Co-Chairs Tom Allen (D-ME), Curt Weldon (R-PA), Sam Farr (D-CA) and Jim Saxton (R-NJ) introduced HR 2939, the Ocean conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (OCEANS-21) to protect our nation's ocean resources for generations to come.

Over the past several years, the House Oceans Caucus, along with the oceans and fishing communities, has worked to introduce OCEANS-21, bipartisan, comprehensive legislation based on recommendations from the US Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP) and Pew Oceans Commission reports. First introduced in the 108th Congress, this bill recognizes the importance to develop and discuss guidelines that will preserve and safeguard our oceans and coasts.

"Our bill creates a new regional governance framework to function as a clearinghouse for federal, state, and local governments to address management needs at an ecosystem scale and provide programmatic support to existing regional initiatives," Representative Allen said. "Ecosystems do not follow the traditional political boundaries on which our current management approaches are based. Our hope is that the development of regional ecosystem plans will lead to better, more integrated management that reflects regional goals and priorities and eases coordinated, collaborative response to regional issues."

"We have been working to move the ocean agenda to the forefront of our legislative priorities," Representative Weldon said. "Half of our population lives in areas directly generated from ocean and ocean-related activities. More resources must be placed in developing and implementing a comprehensive ocean policy."

"Hampered by a hodgepodge of policy and outdated knowledge, our ability to manage America's oceans has faltered," Representative Farr said. "OCEANS-21 offers a comprehensive national oceans policy, based on our new understanding of how ecosystems work, that will protect, maintain, and restore the health of our oceans. Last year, our bill was the first comprehensive legislative response to the USCOP report, and I am proud to be continuing the national dialogue with this re-introduction."

Changes to this year's bill include the creation of Regional Ocean Partnership that facilitates communication among federal, state, and local management entities, and restructures the trust fund so that it draws from general revenues rather than monies from outer continental shelf activities.

Additionally, OCEANS-21 will:

• Establish a national policy and standards for management of US coasts and oceans;
• Formally codify and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA);
• Enhance national oceans governance structure;
• Promote regional, ecosystem-based oceans governance;
• Expand and coordinate programs for ocean science, exploration, and research;
• Establish an oceans trust fund.

Sempra Energy Coal Plant in Nevada

Stop the Sempra Coal-Fired Power Plan and encourage the development of renewable sources of energy. Allowing 19th century technology to provide energy into the future makes no sense when there are clean safe alternatives.

The Granite Fox Power Plant by Sempra Energy Corp in an area west of Gerlach, Nevada, would burn 6-7 million tons of coal each year. This is equivalent to adding about two million cars to the roadways. Even with emission controls, over 50,000 pounds of dangerous pollutants would be released daily, including unsafe amounts of dioxins and lethal mercury. It would only take a tiny amount of mercury to severely harm the fishery at the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation.

The area, at the base of the beautiful Granite Range, is surrounded by wilderness conservation and wilderness study areas. The planned coal-fired plant would permanently mar the pristine desert environment, consume the State's natural resources including its precious ground water and clean air, and pose a health risk to the people of Nevada and surrounding states.

The California Connection

Sempra Energy is a California-based energy business that also owns Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas and Electric. In addition to releasing dangerous pollutants into our air and depleting water supplies, Sempra’s proposed 1,450 megawatt coal-fired power plant would prevent the development of clean, renewable energy resources in order to generate electricity for southern California. Nevada would get all the pollution while California takes the dirty power.

Both California and Nevada have strong state laws that require 20 percent of the electricity sold in the state to come from clean sources of energy. To meet these standards, the electricity generated from renewable sources must be able to flow by way of existing transmission lines to where it is needed. This plant would fill up available transmission capacity, thus limiting the access of these renewable projects to western energy markets. This would halt or slow the development of this clean renewable energy in the region.

The health and environmental risks of this plant are too great for Nevada and surrounding states.

Industry Lobbyist to Return Home

Philip A. Cooney, the chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), who doctored several government reports on global warming to play down the links between greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, has resigned after unfavorable publicity. Prior to his role in the Bush administration, Cooney had been the "climate team leader" and lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute.

Two days after the story broke in the New York Times, Mr Cooney resigned. The White House denied any connection between the newly publicized censorship and Cooney's resignation, and stated that his editing of global warming reports were part of a "normal review process." They are right. In the Bush administration, it's all too normal for a man with no scientific training and a clear industry bias to manipulate credible scientific research.

Where does a former oil lobbyist turned pseudo-scientist with no job go? To ExxonMobil of course! On Tuesday, ExxonMobil announced that Mr Cooney would join its team in the fall. They declined, however, to discuss what his job would be.

We expect that Mr Cooney will get along swimmingly at ExxonMobil. Like the Bush administration, ExxonMobil Chairman Lee Raymond has been a strong supporter of dubious efforts to undermine the links between greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Mr Cooney must be excited to be heading home.

Superintendent from Mojave Preserve to Leave

Mary G. Martin, a 36-year veteran of the National Park Service, is the new superintendent of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Martin will replace Marilyn H. Parris, who is transferring to Haleakalâ National Park in Hawai'i as superintendent. Martin expects to be at the Mineral Headquarters of Lassen Volcanic by the middle of October.

"I am confident that the communities around Lassen Volcanic will enjoy Mary's keen sense of professionalism, fair play and desire to build partnerships and friendships," said regional director Jonathan Jarvis. "She is one of the finest superintendents I know, with an unerring sense of what is right for the parks."

Martin will transfer from Barstow, California, where she has been superintendent of Mojave National Preserve since 1995, shortly after the park was authorized. Her ten years as superintendent have been marked by creating park programs where none had existed, mapping boundaries, including wilderness, moving all burros from within park boundaries to the Fund for Animals Ranch in Texas or to Bureau of Land Management round up centers, closing and capping off mines, and accepting donations of former ranches.

"I am fond of high altitude parks," Martin said. "After ten years in the high desert I was beginning to look for that perfect combination of community, staff, challenge, resource, and altitude to throw my hat in the ring. Lassen Volcanic National Park presented all the right combinations and I am thrilled to have been selected as superintendent." She also spends summers with her family camping in the Lassen Volcanic area.

Martin's career has led her from the San Francisco Bay Area to Vermont to Yosemite National Park to Anchorage, Alaska to Washington DC working in human resources for the NPS. In 1994, when Mojave National Preserve was designated a unit of the National Park System, she was named its first deputy superintendent, becoming the park superintendent within a year.

An avid outdoors person, Martin is a black diamond run skier, a camper, a regular rider in the annual NPS horse unit at the Bishop Mule Days Parade, and enjoys traveling. She has a BS from California State University-Bakersfield in environmental resource management and a masters in public administration from Golden Gate University.

Regulation Definitions Redefined Creatively

The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are getting creative. They're rewriting the definitions of everyday words—and letting their imaginations run wild.

Everyone knows what "waste" is. According to Merriam-Webster, it's "damaged, defective, or superfluous material produced by a manufacturing process; an unwanted by-product of a manufacturing process, chemical laboratory, or nuclear reactor." The US Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA have no use for dictionaries. Historically, both agencies classified toxic mine tailings as "waste" and prohibited mining companies from dumping the stuff in lakes and rivers under the Clean Water Act. With a simple rule change, they redefined the polluted by-product as "fill," for which there are fewer restrictions for dumping.

Thanks to this simple word change, the mining company Coeur Alaska will now be allowed to dump 4.5 million tons of chemically processed tailings into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest. It marks the first time since the Clean Water Act became law in 1972 that a mining company will be permitted to discard its toxic waste into a freshwater lake. Other mining companies are already looking to exploit this new loophole and dump their waste into public waterways.

Clearly these agencies have a knack for looking at words through rose colored glasses. If they keep it up, pollute will soon mean "to help an elderly woman onto the bus" and smog will be "a bubble-gum flavored treat every kid can enjoy.

Cell Phone Donations for Orange County Inner City Outings

Many children are unable to experience the natural environment due to monetary constraints. As a leading organization dedicated to providing outdoor education activities to Orange Counties urban, lower income youth the Sierra Club’s OC Inner City Outings Group, is “calling” for our help.

They have recently started a program to raise money to fund these activities, by recycling old cell phones. You can help this worthy cause by bringing any obsolete cell phones you would like to donate and drop them off in the box located in the Angeles Chapter office. Recycling proceeds from the collection will benefit OC Inner City Outings Group. It is possible for us to make a drop-off point in Orange County if you are interested.

The OC Inner City Outings Group will greatly appreciate any contributions we can provide them. Your contribution does not take a tremendous amount of effort, yet can make a difference in so many lives. Please contact me if you need further information. Let's help make this effort a success!

Rachel Myers

Sakhalin Indigeous People Protest

Last January, the Nivkh, Uilta and Evenki peoples of Sakhalin Island, Russia, withstood sub-freezing temperatures to blockade construction sites of Shell and ExxonMobil's oil projects for nearly a week. They took this action because after years of trying to negotiate with these oil giants, the companies were largely ignoring their concerns.

Five months later, and after thousands of letters were sent to these companies from all over the world, Shell still will not budge in response to the demands of Sakhalin's indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is serving as financial advisor to this project, even though the project violates the Equator Principles on environmental responsibility, to which the bank is a signatory.

As a result, the people of Sakhalin are blockading again. Hundreds of Sakhalin's indigenous peoples are once again putting their bodies on the line to stop work on these projects. The weather is warmer this time, but the conditions for Sakhalin Islanders haven't changed. The companies still have not agreed to the indigenous peoples' demand for an independent cultural impact assessment and a compensation fund. They are still polluting Sakhalin's waters and destroying key salmon and fisheries habitat. This massive industrial project continues to drastically disrupt life on the island.

Let Royal Dutch/Shell, CSFB, and the Sakhalin Governor know that the whole world watches!

Pombo Anti-Endangered Species Act Bill Revealed

On 6-28-05, environmentalists obtained Representative Richard Pombo's summary of his planned anti-Endangered Species Act bill. Cynically called the "Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005," it actually eliminates essential habitat protections, buries wildlife agencies under a mountain of costly, inefficient bureaucracy, and encourages industry groups to paralyze the government with lawsuits over Byzantine paperwork rules. It also threatens to throw government regulation of all kinds into chaos by overturning traditional property law to make the federal government pay to regulate private property. This provision would quickly bankrupt federal conservation budgets and spawn lawsuits challenging all federal regulations.

Executive Committee Environmental Resolutions Passed

Opposition to Proposed Malibu Valley Inn Resort Development (May 22, 2005)

The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, along with Save Open Space and Monte Nido Valley Community Association, opposes the proposed Malibu Valley Inn resort and development and agrees to retain Frank Angel for legal representation including representation as its lawyer in the EIR/project review process by the City of Calabasas, which serves as the CEQA lead agency for the Malibu Valley Inn project.

Priorities for the Conservation Coordinator—Summer 2005 (June 26, 2005)

1. Santa Clarita Campaign

• Facilitate creation of a functioning conservation committee that will develop a strategic plan for defeating the Riverpark development and preventing the loss of habitat
• Develop membership and interest with informal meetings with members and other citizens..."coffee and bagel brunches"

2. San Gabriel River Camnpaign

• Facilitate one project to be designated by the campaign leaders

3. Orange County Group

• Finish work on the fundraising event and help members insure its success
• Facilitate work begun on brochures and maps

4. Train and provide guidance for conservation interns

“America’s National Forests” Available Online

A new documentary film about the many wonders of National Forests and the threats they face is now available online. This nine-minute DVD is an excellent introduction of the National Forests and is a resource for educators and citizens interested in the environment, and the clean water, wildlife and recreation our forests provide.

If you would like to receive DVD copies, or need a VHS tape please contact Steve Holmer, Communications Coordinator, Unified Forest Defense Campaign, at (202) 429-2647 or steve_holmer@tws.org

The Great Bear Rainforest Needs Your Help

The planet’s largest tract of intact temperate rainforest, British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, has never been closer to being protected. With a historic land-use agreement among diverse parties currently on the table, which would see a third of the region protected from logging, now is the time to make our voices heard and ensure that the agreement becomes a reality.

Take Action: The British Columbia Government has promised to approve this agreement by September 2005. Urge British Columbia's Premier Gordon Campbell to follow through with his promise.

Volunteer Training Workshop: Saturday, February 11, 2006

Save your calendar for the Chapter’s Volunteer Training Workshop—2/11/2006.
More details in future newsletters.

Useful Information

Action Directory
Sierra Club Legislative Hotline: (202) 675-2394
Sierra Club National: (415) 977-5500
Sierra Club Sacramento Legislative Office: (916) 557-1100; fax (916) 557-9669
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111
White House Fax Line: (202) 456-2461
President George W Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Dick Cheney: vice-president@whitehouse.gov
White House Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
To contact your senators: Senate Office Bldg, Washington DC 20510 http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
To contact your representative: House Office Bldg, Washington DC 20515 http://www.house.gov/writerep
California Capitol Switchboard: (916) 322-9900
Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger: (916) 445-2841; fax (916) 445-4633; governor@governor.ca.gov
      State Capitol Bldg, Sacramento CA 95814

Sierra Club Links
Sierra Club World Wide Web: http://www.sierraclub.org
Angeles Chapter site:http://angeles.sierraclub.org
Angeles Chapter Conservation Newsletter: http://angeles.sierraclub.org/newsletter/
Sierra Club California: http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/
Sierra Club Vote Watch Website: http://www.sierraclub.org/votewatch/
National site main page: http://www.sierraclub.org/
National Clubhouse activist resource site: http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/

Need help contacting your US representatives or finding out about legislation?
US House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
US Senate: http://www.senate.gov/
California State Assembly: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/
California State Senate: http://www.sen.ca.gov/
California State: http://www.ca.gov/state/portal/myca_homepage.jsp
California Legislative Information: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/
California Secretary of State voter information: http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections.htm

This Electronic Conservation Committee Newsletter is sent free, automatically, on email to all activists who hold any of the following positions in the Angeles Chapter or its entities: Executive Committee Member; Entity Chair or Conservation Chair, Political, and Newsletter Editor, Conservation Subcommittee or Task Force Chair. In addition, many activists throughout the Chapter and state receive it free by email, either by request or by position.  Distribution is approximately 350 by email, and 45 by postal hard copy. If you no longer hold the Club office with the automatic pull and wish to continue to receive it, email ivesico@earthlink.net. If we do not have your email address - please let us know. If you wish (and tell us), it will be tagged "private" and not printed or given out. The Newsletter (without upcoming resolutions) is available on the Chapter website at http://angeles.sierraclub.org/home.html Paper postal copy is available ($20/year payable Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club) for those who are technically challenged or simply don't want to be bothered. To receive The Newsletter by first class mail, send a donation of $20 to (almost) cover printing/mailing costs to Conservation Newsletter, 112 Harvard Ave PMB 297, Claremont CA 91711.

National's GoldBook provides information to chapters and groups on the differences between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) funds; how to utilize and access charitable 501(c)(3) funds; how to get a project approved; fundraising plus much, much, more material on the Sierra Club. It is now available at the Clubhouse website. Go to  http://www.clubhouse.sierraclub.org/; follow the instructions for obtaining the password. The GoldBook can be found by clicking on A - Z List of Materials box, then on "G" under A-Z List of Documents, then on GoldBook, Educational Project Guidelines.
The California/Nevada Directory (RedBook) is available online. It also includes the Handbook of Sierra Club California Bylaws and Standing Rules (GreenBook). Contact Lori Ives for the online address and password. Send your membership number, your position in the Club, and your reason for needing the information. The paper edition ($20) is available on special order. Contact Lori for information.

E-Mail Lists: There are four important discussion lists for Angeles environmental activists:
Angeles Chapter Cons Listserve mailto:<angeles-conservation@lists.sierraclub.org>and
Angeles-Alerts Listserve angeles-alerts@lists.sierraclub.org
California/Nevada Listserve calif-activists@lists.sierraclub.org (moderated list for announcements)
California/Nevada Listserve calif-activists-forum@lists.sierraclub.org (unmoderated discussion list)
Subscribe to California Activists: calif-activists-request@lists.sierraclub.org
Subscribe to California Activists Forum: mailto:calif-activists-request@lists.sierraclub.org
For either list, send your name, email address, Sierra Club membership number, your position in Club (how are you active?)
Subscription is processed by one of the list owners, usually the same day.
Subscribe to Angeles-Alerts: email mailto:listsserve@lists.sierraclub.org with the message "subscribe angeles-conservation"
or "subscribe calif-activists"  or "subscribe angeles-alerts" Note: it's "listserv," not "listserve."
To leave a list, send an e-mail to mailto:to<listserv@lists.sierraclub.orgIn the text of your message (not the subject line), write: "signoff calif-activists" or "signoff angeles-conservation" or "signoff angeles-alerts"
The Angeles Chapter's website is http://www.angeles.sierraclub.org/

Angeles Chapter Conservation Management Committee
Gordon LaBedz/Chair (562) 494-6368, Bonnie Sharpe/Vice Chair/Grants Chair
Treasurer: Jay Matchett, Secretary:TBA, Newsletter Editor: Robin Ives
At Large: Marcia Hanscom, Faramarz Nabavi, Dean Wallraff
Publisher/Webmaster/Circulation (non-voting): Lori Ives
Rachel Myers/Conservation Coordinator Staff (non-voting)

Angeles Chapter Grants Committee
consists of the voting members of the Conservation Management Committee plus Judy Anderson and Rudy Vietmeier.

Angeles Chapter Conservation Committee
3435 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 320, Los Angeles CA 90010-1904

Motions should be submitted in advance, together with objective background material and supporting and opposing arguments, both to the Committee Chair and Newsletter Editor, for distribution with the agenda. Other motions will be postponed for action at a later meeting unless the motion is submitted in writing and unless the Committee votes an exception to ordinary procedure. Motions needing further action by the Angeles Chapter ExComm or some higher level of the Sierra Club should start out: "The Angeles Chapter Conservation Committee recommends that the Sierra Club..."

AGENDA — Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - 7:30 pm

Review of Agenda/Introductions
Secretary Replacement
Conservation staff report
Sprawl Hurts Us All
Can we unite Newhall, Tejon and Orange County Sprawl Projects?
The Sierra Club Foundation wants to take our money away
CAFTA Update
Wind Power-the SIerra Club has opposed every wind power development in California

           August Meeting Cancelled

Orange County Conservation Committee

Dave Perlman/Chair, Rachel Myers/Conservation Coord (non-voting) http://angeles.sierraclub.org/ocosc/
LOCATION: Inn at the Park, 10 Marquette, Irvine. Take the 405 to Culver and go west towards the beach. Follow Culver past Michelson and University and turn right on Harvard. Take Harvard to Marquette and turn right. It's on the corner of Harvard and Marquette on the right hand side.

AGENDA — Tuesday, July 19, 2005

7:00 Welcome, Introductions, Announcements

7:10 Headlands Report (Celia Kutcher)
7:20 Resolution on Desalinization Plant (Jan Vandersloot, see resolution below - discussion deleted from web version)
7:40 Saddleback Canyons Task Force Update (Rich Gomez)
7:50 Hobo-Aliso Canyons Task Force Update (Penny Elia)
8:00 Adjourn

    Next meeting: August 16, 2005

Proposed Sierra Club Resolution on opposing the proposed seawater desalination project at Huntington Beach, California, and the Draft Recirculated Environmental Impact Report No. 00-02 for the project

Resolution: The Orange County Conservation Committee recommends to the Angeles Chapter Conservation Committee that the Sierra Club oppose the proposed Poseidon Resources seawater desalination project at Huntington Beach, California, and the Draft Recirculated Environmental Impact Report No. 00-02 for this project.

Conservation Committees Calendar
Task Forces and others, if you have an upcoming meeting to be listed in this calendar:
In Los Angeles County, contact Lori Ives (ivesico@earthlink.net);
In Orange County, contact Dave Perlman (david@perlman.com)