On August 29, the California Senate Appropriations Committee held two measures that attempted to provide California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) relief for wildfire prevention projects.
AB 1227 (Ellis, R-Bakersfield) would have created a temporary CEQA exemption for critical fuels reduction projects in very high fire hazard severity zones. In particular, the bill would have made it easier to remove nonnative species under 8” in diameter.
RCRC’s letter of support for AB 1227 is available here.
AB 1456 (Bryan, D- Los Angeles) would have required CalFire to update the California Vegetation Treatment Program Environmental Impact Report (VTP EIR) to expand the treatable landscape; describe how biomass will be disposed; and integrate indigenous knowledge and tribal ecological knowledge.
RCRC’s letter of support for AB 1456 is available here.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.