Russ Steele
A judge has ruled that CARB was not in compliance with it’s own CEQA rules when it wrote the AB32 Scoping Plan. According to six environmental groups that brought the court case, they are convinced that if CARB did the proper trade off analysis, cap and trade would not be the best air quality solution. The Court argreed and ruled CARB must follow CEQA.
“We think if the air board does the proper analysis, it will find that cap-and-trade is not the best option,” said Adrienne Bloch, attorney for Communities for a Better Environment.
However, this directly conflicts with what the CARB said in a press release: “ARB does not believe it is petitioners’ intent to put on hold the many measures in the Scoping Plan now underway in California to develop cleaner energy and protect public health, such as efforts to improve energy efficiency, establish clean car standards, and enforce low carbon fuel regulations.”
CARB, read the Judges order again. Your AB32 Scoping Plan is not valid until you do a CEQA analysis. Yes, it is a slow and cumbersome process that requires multiple public meetings. And, your CEQA study can be challenged by community groups as inadequate and then you have to go through the whole process again. Yes, it can take years to complete the CEQA process. Hey, CARB it was your own bureaucratic genius’ that created this process to enabling your environmentalist friends can stop any development project they did not like.
Now the real issue, is CARB going to comply with it own rules, or are we going to see a public display of in your face corruption. If you, or I violated the court ruling we would go to jail. If CARB violates the Court Order the staff gets a raise.
Exit question: Will CARB comply, or will they tell the court your stinking court order does not apply to us, we are above the law.