Santa Lucian • Oct. 20161

Don’t See Your Favorite Candidate? In order for a candidate to receive a Sierra Clubendorsement, five things have to happen:

1. Candidates for local office must not have elimi-nated themselves from consideration by virtue oftheir records as incumbents or their public statementson key environmental issues.2. Candidates have to make it possible for us to con-tact them, preferably by filling in the blanks for con-tact information when filing with the County Clerk’soffice or providing some means of contact on theircampaign website.3. They must agree to participate in the endorsementprocess.4. They must return their questionnaire in time forour Political Committee to deliberate and make rec-ommendations to our Executive Committee.5. They must meet the strong environmentally pro-tective criteria for a Sierra Club endorsement.

Every election cycle, we’re surprised to see howmany candidates don’t make it past the second re-quirement. Among those who got all the way throughthe process this time, the toughest call of the yearwas Jan Marx vs. Heidi Harmon for Mayor of SanLuis Obispo. Both are environmental champions,both are friends of the Sierra Club. In the end, wewent with Mayor Marx for her encyclopedic grasp ofland use policy and a years-long track record ofstanding her ground when the pressure’s on to bust acity ordinance or gobble up open space. In a race foran open city council seat, we’d be likely to endorseHeidi in a heartbeat. Good luck to all our endorsed candidates!

SANTA LUCIAN Oct. 2016

Volume 53 No. 9T h e o f f i c i a l n e w s l e t te r o f th e Sa n ta L u c i a C h a p te r o f t h e S i e r r a C l u b ~ Sa n L u i s O b i s p o Co u n t y, C a l i f o r n i a

IIIII n s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d eCelebrating Lois Capps 2

Phillips 66 oil trains chug closer 3

Coastal Commissioners come a cropper 4

Utilities’ solar switcheroo 5

Classifieds 7

Outings 8

Please recycle

This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-

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Santa LuciaChapter

hillaryclinton.com

U.S. SenateKamala Harris

kamalaharris.org

U.S. Congress 24th DistrictSalud Carbajal

Mayor, San Luis ObispoJan Marx

City Council, San Luis ObispoMila Vujovich-LaBarre

Mayor, Morro BayBetty Winholtz

Mayor, Pismo Beach Sandra Neilsen sandraforpismobeach.com

Cambria CSDHarry Farmer

Cambria CSDAmanda Rice

How toReplace aNuclearPowerPlantIn our post-Diablofuture, one programcan replace both theenergy the powerplant generated andits role in the localeconomy

Sierra Club Voting Guide

By random chance, on theday of the announcement ofthe agreement to retire theDiablo Canyon plant by2025, two consecutive NPRheadlines appeared on theKCBX website, reportingthe day’s news and the newsfrom the day before. They were:

June 21: Plan to closeDiablo Canyon: PG&Eannounces phasing outnuclear power in Californiaby 2025

and

June 20: Community ChoiceEnergy plan gets potentialfunding in Santa BarbaraCounty.

They were the equivalentof an image of a wave ofthe past receding as a waveof the future crests behindit. PG&E underscored thepoint in its press releaselisting the reasons forDiablo’s pending closure,ending with this one: thepotential increases in thedeparture of PG&E’s retailload customers to Commu-nity Choice Aggregation. Community Choice Ag-gregation – aka CommunityChoice Energy, aka locallygenerated renewable power– is PG&E’s longtime up-start competitor, which,over the last decade and a

CCA cont. on page 6

When the newsbroke of the pro-posal to shut down

Sierra Club Intervenes inDiablo Case at the PUC

ting down the state’s lastreactors at Diablo Canyonis replacing the lost powerwith renewable energy.” Or as the UtilityDivewebsite put it, “One of thebiggest tests of all time forrenewable electricity wasjust proposed in California.It didn’t get the attention itdeserves because everybodycalled it the closure of theDiablo Canyon NuclearPower Plant.” The Sierra Club is givingthat test the attention it de-serves in our protest ofPG&E’s application to thePublic Utilities Commissionto approve the proposal andrecover costs from rate-payers. In brief, the proposedGHG-free replacementenergy plan for Diablo doesnot appear to facilitate addi-tional and timely clean en-ergy deployment and failsto ensure the conservationof the Diablo Lands -- morethan 12,000 acres of unde-veloped coastal land sur-rounding the plant. TheSierra Club is attempting toresolve questions on theterms of the Joint Proposalthrough data requests. De-pending on the clarity ofresponses, our attorneysmay require the opportunityfor cross-examination inevidentiary hearings. The PUC should requirePG&E to analyze the im-pact of fossil fuel use andresulting greenhouse gasemissions upon Diablo’sretirement as compared to ascenario where Diablo re-mains operational. Whileacknowledging that “ifDiablo Canyon wereretired in 2024 and 2025and no other preparatoryactions were taken, fossilfuel use would immediatelyincrease substantially,”PG&E has conducted nosuch analysis. PG&E’s commitment to a55 percent RenewablesPortfolio Standard by 2031

delays greenhouse gas miti-gation for Diablo until sixyears after its retirementand is less than what willlikely be needed to meet SB32 greenhouse gas objec-tives. The timing of emis-sion reductions matters.Deferred deployment ofgreenhouse gas mitigationreduces the likelihood oflimiting future temperaturerise to below catastrophiclevels. To ensure the closureof Diablo will not hinderCalifornia in meeting its2030 greenhouse gas reduc-tion requirements, PG&Eshould increase its renew-able energy procurement for2024 from 40 to 50 percent,and its 2030 renewablesprocurement from 50 to 60percent, with no changes toexisting cost allocationmethodologies for departingcustomers – i.e those optingin to Community ChoiceEnergy Programs (see“How to Replace a NuclearPower Plant,” left). California recognizes thatenergy efficiency — cuttingemissions by cutting thedemand for energy — isone of the best ways to getto a low-carbon economy.SB 350, the Clean Energyand Pollution Reduction

Act of 2015, requires acumulative doubling ofstatewide energy efficiencysavings by January 1, 2030.The Application appears toset weak standards for effi-ciency procurement thatwould allow PG&E to takecredit for efficiency thatwould occur anyway underSB 350 and fund programsthat are not cost-effectivefor PG&E customers. The Application wouldcreate less consistent andless robust rules for effi-ciency procurement thanwhat would be set at a sepa-rate PUC proceeding forprocuring energy efficiencyand does not appear to con-fer any significant advan-tages from early action. In addition to the directGHG impacts on the energysector from the retirementof Diablo without suffi-ciently robust provisions forrenewables and efficiency,significant indirect GHGimpacts will result shouldPG&E turn its back on pre-vious affirmations that itwill ensure the 12,800 acresof land around Diablo isconserved rather than soldfor development. At the

We endorse:

Proposition 59—Shall California’s elected officialsuse their authority, including their authority topropose a constitutional amendment, to overturnCitizens United? The Sierra Club has long supportedcampaign finance reform as an important part of envi-ronmental protection. Although this action is advisory,it gives Californians an opportunity to express abhor-rence of the Supreme Court ruling that gave corpora-tions undue influence on candidates and ballot mea-sures.

YES

Diablo Canyon, the SanFrancisco Chronicle edito-rialized, “Nuclear power isfinished in California….Just as remarkable as shut-

INTERVENE continued on page 5

Nov. 8, 2016

What it’s about Replacing that (above) with these (below).

winholtzformayor.org

milaforcitycouncil.com

electamandarice.com

janmarx.com

harryfarmerforcsd.org

saludcarbajal.com

billmonning.org

President of the United StatesHillary Clinton

State Senate 17th DistrictBill Monning

Ballot Measures:

Prop. 56—Cigarette Tax to Fund Healthcare, To-bacco Use Prevention, Research, and Law Enforce-ment. Would increase the sales tax on cigarettes by $2per pack, and e-cigarettes would be taxed on anequivalent level. The tobacco tax has not been raisedsince 1998. Sierra Club has long supported reducingpublic exposure to air pollution, including pollutionfrom cigarettes, and has supported cigarette taxes as atool for smoking reduction. Cigarette taxes help in-crease the cost of smoking, discourage smoking andfund anti-smoking education.

YES

Prop. 58—California EdGE Initiative. Would over-turn restrictions on bilingual education that were im-posed in 1998 by Proposition 227. The CaliforniaEdGE Initiative allows every student in California thechance to get the most appropriate language instruc-tion and, therefore, become engaged residents who caneffectively speak out for the environment and publichealth.

YES

Prop. 67—Referendum to Overturn Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bags. Do voters wish to keep the state-wide plastic bag ban (SB 270) signed into law in2014? A “yes” vote is a yes to a clean environmentand an end to single-use grocery bags that pollute wa-terways, harm wildlife, and create a long-lasting litterproblem. A “yes” will say no to big out-of-state plasticmanufacturers who put this measure on the ballot totry to stop enforcement of the statewide ban.

YES

2 Santa Lucian • Oct. 2016

The Executive Committee meetsthe second Monday of every monthat 5:30 p.m. The ConservationCommittee meets the secondFriday at 1p.m. at the chapter office,located at 974 Santa Rosa St., SanLuis Obispo. All members arewelcome to attend.

Denny Mynatt PRINT MEDIA COORDINATOR

Energy Task Force Karen Merriam

Intergenerational Task Force

Water Subcommittee Open

Committee ChairsPolitical David BouquinDevelopment openConservation Sue Harvey

Nuclear Power Task Force Rochelle Becker Linda Seeley Climate Change Task Force Heidi Harmon

Victoria Carranza

Printed by University Graphic Systems CalPoly, San Luis Obispo. Mailing servicescourtesy of Silver Streaks.

Office hours Monday-Friday,1 p.m. - 7 p.m., 974 Santa RosaStreet, San Luis Obispo

Coordinator Kim Ramos, Admin and Development

kimlramos@yahoo.com

Santa Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

CNRCC Delegates Lindi Doud, Patrick McGibney John BurdettWildlands Stewardship Group Holly SlettelandCalendar Sales Bonnie Walters 805-543-7051Outings Joe Morris

Webmaster Monica Tarzier

Trail Guide Gary Felsman

Chapter Director Andrew Christie

Santa Lucian

EDITOR

Greg McMillanLindi DoudLinda SeeleySandy SimonEDITORIAL COMMITTEE

The Santa Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental information andletters to the editor are welcome. Thedeadline for each issue is the 13th of theprior month.

send to:Editor, Santa Lucianc/o Santa Lucia Chapter, Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406sierraclub8@gmail.com

Santa Lucia Chapter

2016 Executive CommitteeKaren Merriam (12/18) CHAIRLindi Doud (12/17) TREASURERSue Harvey (12/16) MEMBERCal French (12/16) MEMBERPatrick McGibney (12/17) MEMBER

Open COUNCIL OF CLUB LEADERS

Andrew Christie

dpj1942@earthlink.net

monica@tarzier.org

As many of our membersknow, the National SierraClub offers dozens of ser-vice trips every year thatprovide an opportunity formembers to give some-thing back to the publiclands that have given somuch to them. But what ifyou can’t get away for afew days or a week, butyou still want to lend Na-ture a hand? The Santa Lucia Chapteris forming the WildlandsStewardship Group forpeople just like you wholove spending time in ourparks, preserves and open

space and want to do yourpart to keep them in goodshape. You’ll be workingwith other conscientiousfolks to help remove inva-sive plants, pick up trash,naturalize bootleg trails andplant native plants. Andyou’ll be joining a networkof Sierra Club volunteersworking on service projectsthroughout the country tohelp sustain our public lands.You’ll experience the satis-faction of knowing that youhave made an importantdifference and that you havehelped to heal a woundedworld.

For our inaugural event,we’ve decided to focus ourattention on helping nativetrees, which have been inthe news a lot lately, andmost of the news hasn’tbeen good. We’ve heardabout thousands of treesdying from drought, thou-sands more toppled by bull-dozers at Justin Vineyardsand tens of thousands burn-ing up in the Soberanes andChimney fires. It’s staggering to lose somany trees so quickly. Wecan’t repair the damageovernight, but we can cer-tainly help get the process

started. To that end, we’repartnering with the City ofSan Luis Obispo to planttrees on Bishop Peak. We’llbe planting Coast live oak(Quercus agrifolia) seed-lings grown from acornscollected in the surroundingarea and graciously donatedby John Chesnut, JohnDoyle and Lionel Johnston.The planting will involvemaking gopher baskets,digging holes, covering theseedlings, watering, mulch-ing and caging them to pro-tect against browsing. So grab a friend or comeon your own and make anew friend at the kick-offon Saturday, November5th from 9a.m.-12p.m.Long pants, layered shirtsand shoes with closed toesrecommended. We’ll have tools and sup-plies, but if you have glovesand/or a shovel, bring themalong. We’ll be working insmall groups so we cantrade off jobs and no onegets too tired. And we’llhave drinks and snacks tokeep us going. If we’relucky enough to have a lightdrizzle, we’ll work throughit. But if it’s pouring rain(wouldn’t that be nice!)we’ll need to cancel. We really hope you joinus! If you have any ques-tions or to RSVP, pleasecontact Holly Sletteland athslettel@calpoly.edu or805.239.3928. The meet-up location will be an-nounced by mid-October.

Wildlands Stewardship Campaign Kick-Off

by Holly Sletteland, Wildlands Stewardship Group

For HerDistinguishedServiceLois Capps receivesSierra Club Award

Every year, the SierraClub honors exemplaryindividuals whose achieve-ments help preserve theenvironment. These awardwinners embody JohnMuir’s passion for thenatural world. Of some twenty differentaward categories, the Dis-tinguished Service Awardhonors “persons in publicservice for strong and con-sistent commitment to con-servation over a consider-able period of time.” As that’s an apt descrip-tion of Representative LoisCapps, the Santa LuciaChapter was proud tonominate her for this year’saward, presented at anOakland ceremony on Sep-tember 10. Lois has served in Con-gress since 1998. She sitson the Natural ResourcesCommittee and is co-chairof the Congressional Na-

tional Marine SanctuaryCaucus and the SustainableEnergy and EnvironmentCoalition, and honoraryVice-Chair of the LGBTEquality Caucus. In 18 years in Congress,Representative Capps hasbeen at the forefront of ef-forts to protect the environ-ment as a champion of cleanenergy and a foe of fossilfuels. She has led efforts toprotect consumers fromshouldering the financialburden of cleaning up waterpollution in their water sup-plies, and has introduced

legislation to permanentlyban new offshore drillingoff the California Coast inevery Congress since 2006.In the wake of the RefugioBeach oil spill, the Housepassed an amendment sheauthored to push federalregulators to finalize en-hanced safety rules for oilpipelines. She is a strongopponent of the environ-mentally disastrous Phillips66 oil-by-rail proposal thatwould bring Canadian tarsands crude through Cali-fornia. She introduced the Cali-

fornia CoastalNationalMonumentExpansionAct to addnumerousCalifornialocations tothe CaliforniaCoastal Na-tional Monu-ment (see “AMonumentalAction,” page4). In 2015,she sponsoredthe CentralCoast Heri-tage Protec-

tion Act, a sweeping visionto protect 245,500 acres ofwilderness, create two sce-nic areas encompassing34,500 acres, safeguard 159miles of wild and scenicrivers in the Los PadresNational Forest and theCarrizo Plain NationalMonument, and establishthe Condor Trail. The Actwould provide habitat for468 species of wildlife andmore than 1,200 plant spe-cies, including the SanJoaquin kit fox, steelheadtrout, California spottedowl, Smith’s blue butterfly,arroyo toad, the Californiajewel-flower, and Californiacondor. And she has lent her in-valuable support to federaldesignation of the ChumashHeritage National MarineSanctuary, which will pro-tect 10,000 square miles ofmarine habitat off the coastof Central California. As she retires from Con-gress at the end of her cur-rent term, Lois Cappsleaves a wonderful legacyfor all Americans and toeveryone who cherishes thenatural world. Thank you, Lois.

The winner is Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune (left) and Club President Aaron Mair con-gratulate Rep. Lois Capps on her Distinguished Service Award.

Hill on lakes SLO Natural Resources Manager Bob Hill briefedClub members on plans for dredging Laguna Lake in a way that willprotect and enhance wildlife habitat at our July 27 general meet-ing. The city council voted on September 20 to further study of twopotential dredging plans.

They’ve Got the Power

Don’t missthe scoopon CentralCoastPower onpage 6. Ourclean energyfuture isnow!

Santa Lucian • Oct. 20163

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On September 14, theSierra Club joined with 90civil society organizationsin a National Call-In Day ofAction against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) In the lead-up to the day,we reminded our combinedmillions of supporters whythe TPP is a bad deal forAmerica, encouraging sup-porters to tell their congres-sional representatives tooppose the TPP in a post-election lame duck sessionof Congress. As part of the national dayof action, more than 13million people engagedthrough a range of onlineand offline channels, withcalls from every congres-sional district in the coun-

Congress Gets a Message

try. The efforts were de-signed to encourage Ameri-cans to call their Member ofCongress while also direct-ing extra attention at the 28House Democratic Mem-bers who vote to “fast

track” authority for the TPP. Some key activities of thenational day of action:

* The Sierra Club, thenation’s largest environ-mental group, made theenvironmental case againstthe TPP, encouraging allour members, supportersand volunteers to call theirMembers of Congress, es-pecially those in key dis-tricts, and tell them to comeout publicly against theTrans-Pacific Partnership. Ramming through an un-popular trade deal in thefinal days of the Congresswould be a disaster for ourclimate. Though trade cansignificantly increase cli-mate-disrupting emissions,the TPP text fails to even

mention the words “climatechange.” The TPP would under-mine efforts to address cli-mate disruption and keepfossil fuels in the ground. Itempowers multinationalfossil fuel firms like Trans-Canada to use the investor-state dispute settlement(ISDS) system to challengeenvironmental safeguards inprivate trade tribunals. We reached out to hun-dreds of thousands of sup-porters to participate in thecall-in, building on themore than 100,000 calls andmessages Sierra Club mem-bers and supporters havealready sent to Congressthis year.

* On social media plat-forms, an anti-TPP Thun-der-Clap Action reachedmore than 1.6 millionpeople via Twitter, Face-book and Tumblr on themorning of Sept. 14.

* Our Revolution, the post-primary movement of Sen.Bernie Sanders, sent out anemail alert for the call-inday to their list of about sixmillion individuals over thetwo days prior, asking re-cipients to sign a congres-sional petition against TPPwith the goal of placing at

Don’t pass the TPP!least 50,000 calls to mem-bers of Congress and theiroffices on the 14th.•

* Communications Workersof America (CWA) activistsare engaged in multipleactions to reinforce opposi-tion to the TPP. CWA mem-bers nationwide called theirCongressmembers, focusingon Senate contests in battle-ground states. In SouthFlorida, protests at the dis-trict offices of pro-fast trackvoters Senator Marco Rubioand Representatives MarioDiaz-Balart and DebbieWasserman Schultz in-cluded CWA and otherSouth Florida unions, Citi-zens Trade Campaign andcommunity activists andmembers of the LaborCouncil of Latin AmericanAdvancement (LCLAA).

* The AFL-CIO engaged its12.5 million membersthrough its State Federa-tions and Central LaborCouncils. It ral-lied more than100,000 actiontakers around thecall-in day, in-cluding more than15,000 peoplewho signed apetition opposinga lame duck vote

in the just two days in earlySeptember.

“Representatives aredeciding now whether tosupport this toxic tradedeal. This national call inday was designed to keepthe pressure on,” said An-thony Torres, AssociateCampaign Representativefor the Sierra Club’s Re-sponsible Trade Program.“As opposition continues togrow, its supporters areplanning a last-ditch at-tempt to pass the tradeagreement during the lameduck session of Congressafter voters have gone tothe polls in November. Un-less we act now, one of thelast acts of the Obama Ad-ministration may be ap-proving the Trans-PacificPartnership. For a Presidentthat has otherwise been aleader on climate issues,this would be an incredibledisappointment.”

Phillips 66: County Punts Again On September 22, theCounty Planning Commis-sion wrapped up hearingnumber seven – count ‘em,seven – on the proposedPhillips 66 oil train terminalfor the Santa Maria Refin-ery without concludingdeliberations or reaching adecision. The day-long hearing waslike watching a group ofmen fumble around in thedark looking for their carkeys. Commissioners askedquestions they had askedover the previous six hear-ings and engaged in anelaborate discussion of thefine points of a score of

allegedly theoretical permitconditions (lighting, howhigh the berm should be,where the out houses shouldgo, etc.) that they mightattach to a permit if theyeventually decide that theywant to approve the project. Two days before the hear-ing, two enlightening eventsoccurred in the Bay Areathat should have providedsufficient illumination forthe commission to locate itsbackbone and deny thePhillips 66 project. The

Valero Oil Co. failed in itsbid to strike down the deci-sion by the planning com-mission of the City ofBenicia to deny their verysimilar oil train terminalproject when the federalSurface TransportationBoard issued a ruling thatBenicia had full land useauthority to issue a denial.Valero contended that thefederal jurisdiction overrailroads preempted theCity’s authority to deny theproject. In its ruling, theSTB reminded Valero –repeatedly — that it is anoil company, not a railroad,and federal preemptionapplies to railroads, not oil

companies. A few hours later, theBenicia City Council fol-lowed the wise course of itsplanning commission andissued a final unanimousdenial of the project. “I’m over the moon,”Yolo County SupervisorDon Saylor told the Sacra-mento Bee. “The commu-nity of Benicia, in thecrosshairs of history, madeone of those decisions thatwill make a difference forthe country. They stood upand said the safety of our

communities matters.” Two days later, by way ofcontrast, it was business asusual at the San LuisObispo County PlanningCommission. Phillips’ biggest change inthe proposed project –switching from five trains aweek to three – still has notbeen properly evaluated.The company’s stated pur-pose and need for theproject is to access addi-tional sources of NorthAmerican crude oil. Phillipshas provided no detail onhow they might take onadditional crude capacitydespite the reduced project.By reducing the project

from five tothree trainsper week,how doesPhillips planto receiveadditionalcrude itexpectsfrom alter-nativesources?Will Phillipsengage inalternativemeans suchas truckdelivery? Ifso, the sig-nificantlocal air

pollution and safety risks ofthis delivery alternativemust be evaluated. When the matter of thecurrent level of trucked-inoil at the refinery came up,Environmental ConsultantJohn Pierson tried hard notto call Phillips a liar, but hecouldn’t keep the incredu-lity out of his voice: “Dur-ing the throughput increaseproject, Phillips told us ‘Wehave no facilities to offloadtrucked oil’,” he said. “Imean, I have that letter.Phillips has never once

commented that thisis something theycan do or plan todo.” A project permitcondition has beenproposed stating thatPhillips will onlyaccept trains com-prised of DOT 117tank cars, consideredthe least likely topuncture and ex-plode in a derail-ment. This condition

is disingenuous. Federal lawgoverns the phase-in ofthese improved tank cars,not the County, that phase-in period will take years,and there are many caveatsto the tank car fleet transi-tion. Meanwhile, if defi-cient DOT 111 and CPC1232 tank cars happen toshow up at the Nipomorefinery loaded with volatilecrude, will Phillips turnthem away and send themback to their origin, therebydoubling the risk to localand California communitiesas these hazardous trainstravel back through theircommunities? There are numerous sig-nificant and unmitigablelocal impacts documentedthroughout the EIR, on thebasis of which – withoutventuring into the murkywaters of federal preemp-tion — the Commissioncould and should have de-nied the project. The long list of violationsof the County’s GeneralPlan and the proposed de-struction of Environmen-tally Sensitive Habitat Areaat the site are detailed in theFinal EIR and staff report,which affirm that theProject would result in sig-nificant and unavoidableimpacts relating to Agricul-tural Resources, Air Qualityand Greenhouse Gases,Biological Resources, Cul-tural Re- sources, Hazard-ous Materials, Public Ser-

vices and Utili-ties, and WaterResources. Tooffset such im-pacts, the pro-posed Statementof OverridingConsiderations isbased solely onalleged economicbenefits re-lated to con-struction, op-erations,includingmaintenanceof ongoingoperations. Itlacks support-ing evidenceand overstatespotential ben-efits of theProject. The Com-mission shouldnot delay anyfurther andshould issuethat denial toprotect localresidents, thelocal environ-ment andeconomy, andcommunitiesthroughout thestate. The Com-mission isscheduled totake anothershot at it onOctober 5.Public com-ment is closed.

4 Santa Lucian • Oct. 2016

On August 31, develop-ment interests succeeding inkilling Senate Bill 1190 inthe State Assembly, themeasure that offered thebest hope of reforming theCoastal Commission bybanning the practice of “exparte” contacts – privatecommunications with com-missioners that occur out ofpublic view and guaranteefull employment for unreg-istered lobbyists in the ser-vice of coastal developers. The bill was sponsoredby Sen. Hannah-Beth Jack-son (D-Santa Barbara), whotold the L.A. Times, “I amextremely disappointed thatthis bill will not be movingforward this year. I continueto believe that prohibitingex parte communications isvital for restoring publictrust in the Coastal Com-mission and leveling theplaying field between big-moneyed interests and thosewithout.” Underscoring that point, alawsuit filed two weeksbefore Jackson’s bill wasdefeated named five coastalcommissioners — Chair-man Steve Kinsey, ErikHowell, Martha McClure,Wendy Mitchell and Mark

Vargas – charging themwith violating ex parte dis-closure rules 590 times.Each violation carries a fineof up to $7,500. The case against the com-missioners, brought by theSan Diego watchdog groupSpotlight on Coastal Cor-ruption, hinges on a provi-sion of state law requiringthat “No commission mem-ber, nor any interested per-son, shall conduct an exparte communication unlessthe commission memberfully discloses and makespublic the ex parte commu-nication by providing a fullreport of the communica-tion to the executive direc-tor within seven days afterthe communication or, if thecommunication occurswithin seven days of thenext commission hearing, tothe commission on therecord of the proceeding atthat hearing.” The number of allegedviolations per individualcommissioner range from42 to 75, with Pismo BeachCity Councilman ErikHowell in the middle of thepack with 48 charged viola-tions: “This Defendant con-ducted ex parte communica-

tions without fully disclos-ing them and making thempublic, within the time lim-its prescribed by law, eitherby providing a full writtenreport of such communica-tions to the CaliforniaCoastal Commission’s ex-ecutive director or to theCommission on the recordat the next hearing…. ThisDefendant made, partici-pated in making, or in someother way attempted to usehis official position withinthe California Coastal Com-mission to influence at leastone Commission decisionabout which he had know-ingly had at least one exparte communication thatwas not reported.” Howell’s actions, per thelawsuit, leave him liable forcivil fines of at least$720,000. The suit alsocharges Howell with 96separately punishable viola-tions of the Coastal Actcarrying an additional li-ability of at least$2,880,000. Prior to engaging in theirillegal conduct, the lawsuitalleges, “Defendants re-ceived training on, wereaware of, and therefore hadactual knowledge of” the

requirements of the law, but“consciously disregardedthe requirements of Sec-tions 30324 and 30327 [ofthe Public Resources Code]based on the arrogant, cor-rupt belief that their exparte conversations werenone of the public’s busi-ness, at times using per-sonal e-mail to conceal theconversations. Defendants’repeated violations were notinnocent oversights.” Howell, who opposed SB1190, is also the target of aseparate lawsuit and anongoing Fair Political Prac-tices Commission investiga-tion on related issues. The amount of civil finesrequested by SOCC couldincrease as more violationsare discovered in the courseof the litigation. On September 22, anOrange County SuperiorCourt judge handed down ascathing decision in anotherlawsuit, Friends of the Can-yon v. California CoastalCommission, voiding aCoastal Development Per-mit approved by Howelland five other commission-ers due to their failure todisclose ex parte communi-cations.

Continuing coastal crisis

More Hot Water for Coastal Commissioners

MitchellMcClureHowell Kinsey Vargas

On September 16, repre-sentatives of Senator Bar-bara Boxer, Congress-woman Anna Eshoo andJared Huffman joined Con-gresswoman Lois Capps,Bureau of Land Manage-ment Director Neil Kornze,California Natural Re-sources Secretary JohnLaird and local elected offi-cials at the Cambria VetsHall to discuss additions tothe California Coastal Na-tional Monument. At the community meet-ing, they heard feedbackfrom the public and localleaders on the managementof outstanding public lands,including the PiedrasBlancas Light Station Out-standing Natural Area inSan Luis Obispo County,Lighthouse Ranch andTrinidad Head in HumboldtCounty, Rocks and Islandsin Orange County, theCotoni-Coast Dairies inSanta Cruz County and LostCoast Headlands. “I’m grateful that DirectorKornze will visit thesespectacular public lands andhear from the public on theproposed expansion of theCalifornia Coastal NationalMonument,” Senator Boxersaid. “Adding these areas tothe National Monument willincrease protections for ourcoast, expand recreationalopportunities, and boost theeconomy in local communi-ties.”

tiquities Act to expand theCalifornia Coastal NationalMonument. The California CoastalNational Monument wasdesignated by PresidentClinton in 2000 andstretches the entire 1,100miles of California’s coast-line, protecting more than20,000 small islands, rocksand exposed reefs betweenMexico and Oregon. It pre-serves habitat for a varietyof wildlife including sea-birds, California sea lionsand southern sea otters. Senators Boxer andFeinstein, along with Con-gressman Mike Thompson,first introduced legislationin 2012 to expand theMonument to include thePoint Arena-Stornetta Pub-lic Lands in MendocinoCounty. In 2014, PresidentObama included theselands as the first onshoreaddition to the Monument. After the meeting, Cappswrote “Many participantssupported the inclusion ofPiedras Blancas in the Na-tional Monument and ex-pressed optimism that thisexpansion would not onlyprotect the land for futuregenerations but also be aboon to the local economyand help to ensure thelong-term management ofthe site. Given the strongsupport of elected repre-sentatives across Califor-nia, as well as the positivecomments from local resi-dents, I am hopeful that wecan achieve this goal thisyear.”

A Monumental Action “I am excited to welcomestate and federal officials toPiedras Blancas in my dis-trict so that they can hearfirst hand about the broadsupport this proposed ex-pansion enjoys,” saidCapps. “The CaliforniaCoastal National Monumentis one of our nation’s great-est treasures. The proposedexpansion, which includesthe Piedras Blancas LightStation in San Luis ObispoCounty, is critical to pro-tecting landscapes along theentire coast of California,while providing a greatervisitor experience and ex-panded access to the exist-ing monument. On the Cen-tral Coast, this expansionwould ensure that theunique history and abundantnatural resources we takepride in are protected forgenerations to come.” Earlier this year, SenatorBoxer and RepresentativesCapps, Eshoo and Huffmanintroduced the CaliforniaCoastal National MonumentExpansion Act, legislationthat would provide lastingprotection to multiple sitesalong the California coastwhile improving manage-ment and highlighting thehistoric, cultural, scientificand ecological significanceof each location. On February 11, Boxersent a letter to PresidentObama requesting he usehis authority under the An-

Worth it Left to right: Santa Lucia Chapter Chair KarenMerriam testifies in support of the expanding the monu-ment at the Cambria meeting; the Piedras Blancas LightStation; outside the Cambria Vets Hall.

After a notoriously developer-friendly gang of CoastalCommissioners (including, by a less than amazing coinci-dence, most of the folks described at left) fired the Com-mission’s executive director in February, they promised torestore trust in the Commission by conducting a thoroughand inclusive search for a new executive director thatwould result in the hiring of a champion for coastal accessand coastal protection and allay all the concerns raised bythe Commission’s February action. To the surprise of no one, that’s not how it’s working out. The recruiting document posted on the Commission’sweb site as the outreach for candidates is written in a waythat will make the commission more developer friendly. Go to www.coastal.ca.gov and scroll down to “Nowaccepting public comments on Executive Director SearchCriteria.” Click on that and go to August 26, 2016, to read“draft recruitment materials: memo.” It calls for a change in the “culture” of the commission toone of “customer service.” In other words, it considersdevelopers its customers and its mission to be one of ser-vice, i.e. the Commission’s mission is to serve developers.It shows no concern for upholding the California CoastalAct or the role of the public in doing so. It does not includeany requirements for maintaining an independent staff. You can send a letter asking for changes to the recruitingdocument so that it does not seek to:

- Change the culture of the commission to be “customer”(developer) friendly.- Fail to recognize that the function of the Commission is touphold the Coastal Act and serve the public.-Fail to provide direction to maintain an independent staffand allow that staff to function without being subject to“capture” by the commissioners in the majority.- Fail to indicate that one of the things necessary is for theExecutive Director to provide is leadership that instillsconfidence in the staff and results in low turn-over.

Send your comments to:Pam Derby, CPS Executive Search, at: resumes@cpshr.us

Coastal CommissionSeeking Stooge

Santa Lucian • Oct. 20165

Our Resilient Coast On September 15, FEMARegion IX, the NOAA Of-fice for Coastal Manage-ment, the California CoastalCommission, the CaliforniaState Coastal Conservancy,and USC Sea Grant hosteda Coastal Resilience Work-shop at the SLO CountyVets Hall. “Coastal resilience” hasbecome a watchword foragencies and elected offi-cials, to whom has fallenthe task of essentially open-ing the second front in thestruggle to curb climatechange: Efforts to slashcarbon emissions must con-tinue and rapidly increase,but they must also preparefor the impacts that are nowbaked in the cake by currentlevels of atmospheric car-bon – including sea levelrise and storms of increas-ing frequency and intensity— and factor them intohazard mitigation planning,

flood risk management,adaptation and land useplanning. As part of FEMA RegionIX’s Open Pacific CoastStudy, federal, state, and

local partners are collabo-rating to convene interac-tive RiskMAP Resili-ence workshops the lengthof the California coast tolearn more about the risksand hazards facing coastalcommunities, and share bestavailable tools and re-sources. At the workshop, partici-pants from SLO county andcity governments, local,state, and federal agencies,non-governmental organiza-tions and academic institu-tions learned about thealignment of state and fed-eral processes, models forconsidering flooding andsea level rise in HazardMitigation Plans and LocalCoastal Programs, availablefederal and state resourcesthat can support risk reduc-tion, best practices fromlocal community stakehold-ers who are leveraging re-sources to support resil-ience-building actions, andhow to develop partnershipswith federal and state agen-cies.

This won’t cut it The seawalls of Pismo Beach – and the idea ofcoastal development in the path of rising seas – have no future.

On September 8, Gover-nor Jerry Brown signed twolinked bills that are de-signed to ensure that Cali-fornia continues movingforward on its commitmentto reducing greenhouse gasemissions. One of the bills, SenateBill 32, by Senator FranPavley, codifies California’sgoal to reduce greenhousegas emissions to 40 percentbelow 1990 levels by 2030.That bill follows onPavley’s 2006 legislation,Assembly Bill 32, whichestablished California’scommitment to addressingclimate change. A second bill, AssemblyBill 197, by Assemblymem-ber Eduardo Garcia, doublejoined to SB 32, establishesgreater opportunities for thelegislature to be part of theCalifornia Air ResourcesBoard’s decision making onclimate regulations. It alsoensures more—and moretransparent—reportingabout emissions around thestate, and requires theagency to consider the so-cial costs of climate pollu-tion when adopting rules.

On August 23, we sent comments to the County PlanningDepartment on the draft Adelaida/Willow Creek VacationRental Ordinance. The ordinance would make it possible to obtain a permitto hold events at a vacation rental. No events should beallowed at vacation rentals. While we support some level ofevents associated with active agriculture, vacation rentalsare not an appropriate venue for events. There is a materialdifference between an ag operation planning and oversee-ing events and events planned and carried out by transientpopulations that utilize vacation rentals. Permanent ag operations have a sizeable investment inthe success of their ag operations and an investment in thewelfare of the community. A transient population utilizing avacation rental for an event has no such investment in theland or the community. The “Purpose” section of the draft ordinance states thatthe Adelaida area has limited infrastructure, narrow road-ways and challenged fire service. The entire ordinance areahas a very high fire risk. The disastrous Chimney Fire di-rectly adjacent to the proposed ordinance area sadly offersa graphic example of why temporary events should bebanned at vacation rental sites. It would be impossible forevents at a vacation rental to have the kind of oversightnecessary to mitigate fire danger in a high fire risk areawith “challenged fire service, narrow roadways, limitedinfrastructure.” The ordinance should specifically ban Tem-porary Events. Occupancy levels must be enforced. On-site parking mustrequire vegetation-free, graveled parking areas that areadequate to accommodate the maximum number of ve-hicles likely to be on the property, including daytime guestparking. The County Planning Commission will deliberate on thedraft ordinance at its Thursday, October 13 meeting.

time of its passage, PG&Erepeatedly expressed sup-port for the goals of Mea-sure A, the DREAM Initia-tive, a 2000 County ballotmeasure the overwhelm-ingly favored putting thepristine coastal lands sur-rounding the plant into aconservation easement be-fore the plant closed. Inorder to ensure the conser-vation objective of MeasureA is finally implemented,

PG&E must not, betweennow and 2025, sell the feetitle to any of these undevel-oped coastal lands. TheJoint Proposal should beamended to include a com-mitment that these lands willbe placed under a conserva-tion easement and land in-terests will be transferred toa land trust or state conser-vancy. Because it is silent on thesubject, we are concernedby the statement of ChiefNuclear Officer Ed Halpinat PG&E’s July 20 meeting

Governor Signs KeyClimate Bills into LawState sends strong signal of unwavering deter-mined to address our most critical issue

(Double-joined bills requirethat both bills pass and getsigned into law before eitherbill becomes effective.) “The Governor’s signinglays to rest the claim by theoil industry and other regu-lated entities that Cali-fornia’s commitment to cli-mate action is ephemeral, anartifact of a former legisla-tive body,” said KathrynPhillips, Director of SierraClub California. “Californiais fully committed for thelong term to reducing thegreenhouse gas pollutionthat is creating climate dis-ruption worldwide. Nearlyevery legislative district inthe state is feeling climatedisruption’s effects already.” Senate Pro Tem Kevin deLeon, Speaker AnthonyRendon, Senator FranPavley, AssemblymemberEduardo Garcia, and all thelegislators who, with theirvotes, passed the legislation,and Governor Brown, whosigned these bills, will beamong those listed in historybooks as the heroes whobucked special interests andacted when action was mostneeded.

Intervenecontinued from page 1

Not Party Timein Adelaida

By Robert Freehling & Andrew Christie

In July, a troublingarticle headlined “WhyHome Solar Panels NoLonger Pay in SomeStates” appeared in theNew York Times. The Times chose forits primary case studyElroy Holtmann ofLafayette, CA, whospent $20,000 two years ago on a home solar array. Thanksto “net metering,” which provides a bill credit to solarcustomers for the surplus power they feed back into theelectric grid, it was going to save him money on charginghis electric car, slash his monthly utility bill, and pay foritself in about twelve years. But then “the utilities regula-tors changed the equation.” California regulators granted PG&E permission tochange Mr. Holtmann’s rate schedule into one that willmake solar customers in PG&E’s service area “pay muchmore for the electricity they draw from the grid in theevening, while paying those customers less for the excesspower their solar panels send back to the grid on sunnysummer days. As a result, Mr. Holtmann’s solar setup maynever pay for itself.” Attempting to defend the changes, Michael Picker, presi-dent of the California Public Utilities Commission, said“People want choices, they want customized services…andhow do you make that fair to everybody, because not ev-erybody is moving as adopters at the same pace?” This narrative effectively blames early adopters of solarenergy as the ones who were being unfair. However, fu-ture adopters of rooftop solar were not the source of thecomplaint. It was the utilities and ALEC, the Koch broth-ers’ legislative action organization, that have attempted—in some cases successfully—to paint solar customers as“unfair” in order to undermine net metering in states across

in San Luis Obispo thatPG&E “has not made adecision on the future ofWild Cherry Canyon,” anapparent contradiction ofPG&E’s public statementsin agreement with the letterand intent of Measure Asixteen years ago, and in-consistent with the ex-pressed wishes of thecounty’s voters. The Friends of WildCherry Canyon and CentralCoast Wave Energy Hubhave intervened in the PUCproceeding to advocate for

the conservation of DiabloCanyon lands. The Cities ofSan Luis Obispo, PismoBeach, Paso Robles, ArroyoGrande, Morro Bay, andAtascadero have also filedas intervenors, requestingthat “Decisions about futureuse should include consid-eration of ...options for thefuture use and protection ofopen space and marine re-sources, cultural resources,historic sites, and relatedfacilities.” It’s time to make theDREAM initiative reality.

the nation. Regulators in Californiaat least refrained fromdoing away with net meter-ing altogether, but theymade several big changes,one of them being pullinga rate schedule switch onhundreds of thousands ofexisting solar customers. This particular changewas at best a questionableinterpretation of the letterof the law, and it was cer-tainly contrary to the spiritof the requirement in AB327— the legislation thatallowed the commission tomake a number of changesto residential rates, includ-ing net metering compen-sation—to grandfatherexisting solar customers toallow a fair payback. The California SolarInitiative doled out $3 bil-lion of subsidies for 3 bil-lion watts of solar panelson customer roofs, with thegoal of reducing the costand scaling up the rooftopsolar market in California.Participating customerskicked in about $15 billionof their own money. PG&E’s big switch isunfair punishment ofpeople who were followingthe state’s energy and cli-mate policies, volunteeringto be leaders in helping tobring in new green tech-nology, to help lower thecost and make solar energymore affordable for every-one else. We have seensimilar abuse in Europe,punishing many peoplewho dared to invest insolar energy, with paymentcuts and retroactive solartaxes, and tens of thou-sands of solar installerscallously thrown out ofwork as their punishmentfor bringing down the costof solar by 50% to 75%over the past decade. It is probably not a coin-cidence that this blowbackarrives just as solar startsto get competitive withother energy sources.

The CaliforniaSolar Bait &Switch

Developers’ favorite bogeyman not the cause of housingcrunch or economic harm

By Cesar Diaz, California State Building and ConstructionTrades Council legislative and political director, and SierraClub California attorney and policy advocate Kyle Jones.From Capitol Weekly, August 30, 2016.

The California Environmental Quality Act has long beenthe punching bag of business interests and some policymakers. It has been blamed for everything from a dearth ofaffordable housing to a sluggish economy during financialdownturns. Yet, until now, precious little objective research has beenconducted to understand the costs and benefits associatedwith this 46-year-old law. Recently, the Rose Foundation for Communities and theEnvironment commissioned BAE Urban Economics to draftan objective report to dig into this sticky question. Leveraging a combination of rigorous quantitative analy-sis, a literature review of past research, case studies and areview of recent legislative changes to the law, the reportfound little evidence of economic harm inflicted by thislandmark environmental law. In fact, the report found that CEQA has done a good jobof helping California to grow in an environmentally sustain-able way. The state is relying more on increased density toaccommodate a growing population and less on agriculturalland and open space to accommodate new housing than ithas in decades past. California is now the 11th most densely populated state inthe nation, up from its ranking of 13th in 1970. Nearly one-quarter of the most walkable cities in the US are now lo-cated in California. It’s difficult to justify claims that thislaw impedes environmentally-sensitive development withthese facts at hand. Since CEQA’s enactment in 1970, the state economy hasexperienced both booms and busts. As the new reportshows, this law should be assigned neither credit nor blamefor either extremes. Looking at the state’s strong recoveryfrom the Great Recession again indicates the CEQA is anunlikely driver – either positively or negatively – in thestate’s economic picture. Our state has seen very strong jobgrowth since 2012, ranking fifth in the nation on that met-ric. It is also difficult to make any clear cause-and-effect argu-ment between CEQA and the state’s challenges around de-veloping sufficient affordable housing. According to the research in this report, California is nearthe top of all states in its rate of developing affordablehousing unit per 100,000 residents in the nation. Some could point to this statistic as evidence that every

CEQA:This LawHas Done aGood Job

CEQA continued on page 8

6 Santa Lucian • Oct. 2016

The winners of the Cali-fornia Ocean & CoastalAmateur Photography Con-test have been selected, andout of a pool of 700 photos,the first place winner is LosOsos resident Gary O’Neillfor his close-up picture ofcrashing waves that heentitled ”Ocean’s Power.” He captured the shot us-ing a long camera lens as hesat on a bluff near thePiedras Blancas Light Sta-tion, where he volunteers asa tour guide. Mr. O’Neill retired to LosOsos with his wife after anagricultural career in theCentral Valley, and is amember of several localcamera clubs. The judges also awarded16 honorable mentions —check them out along withall the winners atmycoastalphoto.com. The California CoastalCommission coordinatesthe contest with the ThankYou Ocean Campaign andprovides financial supportfrom the Whale TailLicense Plate Fund.

California Ocean and Coastal Amateur Photography Contest Announces 2016 Winners

After the Starfish Are Gone*

By Judith Bernstein

Farewell to glorious purple arms(And burnt orange, yellow, crimson).Farewell to crabs, anemones, tight-lipped mussels.

Still waves, though acidic, will roll inSands spit, blow holes blowAnd children with pails and shovelsWill build castles of sand.

When is a forest not a forest?When millions have died of drought,Beetles, fragmentation.When pine trees and junipers have goneThe way of the dodo (soon to be joinedBy panda, panther, polar bear).Another question: if 66 million trees fallAnd there is no one to bear witness,Are they really gone?

But palm trees may thrive in northern tropicsAnd perhaps tall saguaro cacti will replaceTowering redwoods and douglas firs,Parrots occupy woods where owls once flew.

And yet.For us who remember, a void, an absence,Ghosts.Is Earth, bereft of half its species,Still our planet, our home?

* On learning that in the next half century, 50% of all speciesalive today could be extinct and that 66 million trees in

California forests are dead or dying

half, has resisted every oneof the giant utility’s multi-million dollar attempts tokill it. Instead of the utilitymodel of coal, gas ornuclear-generated electric-ity sent over long-distancetransmission lines from apower plant to a substation,Community Choice ulti-mately means renewableenergy and local energygeneration, a model that hasnow overtaken nuclearpower in terms of mega-watt-hour generation glo-bally. A Community Choiceprogram can replace DiabloCanyon’s contributions toboth the energy grid and theeconomy, and do so moresustainably, safely, and withgenuinely clean power. It’s good that our electedofficials are now saying – aswe have been saying foryears – that we must start toplan for a post-Diabloeconomy, but their follow-up tends to consist of ge-neric economic nostrums.We’re happy to remind anyforgetful Supervisors that,in fact, they started to planfor that future exactly oneyear ago when they ap-proved the County’s partici-pation in a regional feasibil-ity study for CommunityChoice Energy, along withSanta Barbara and VenturaCounties (see “On October6, Help the County Makethe Right Choice,” Oct.,2015). In February, everycity in SLO County opted into the feasibility study. Long before, in a View-point printed in the Decem-ber 3, 2008, edition of theTribune, Santa Lucia Chap-ter Chair Karen Merriamwrote that the state’s Com-munity Choice law in com-bination with California’sother recent clean energybills had “the potential tocreate a huge new marketfor renewable energy.” Eight years later, SanDiego’s fledgling Commu-nity Choice program hasplanted the flag for shiftingto 100 percent renewableenergy (read all about theprecedent-setting plan in“The 100 Percent Clean

Energy Economy is CloserThan You Think” in theMay/June issue of Sierra),and twenty California coun-ties are in some phase ofevaluation of a CommunityChoice program. Less thana year after starting theirCommunity Choice Energyprogram, Marin Clean En-ergy customers were al-ready reducing their annualgreenhouse gas emissionsby approximately 70,000tons, the equivalent of re-moving nearly 12,000 carsfrom the road each year,and 27% of all their energywas coming from renewableresources. Sonoma CleanPower saved its residentsand businesses $13.6 mil-lion in its first year of op-eration. Programs inAlameda, Humboldt andSanta Clara are scheduledlaunch in early 2017. On its website, SLOClean Energy notes thatCommunity Choice Energymeans “rate savings, localbuildout through energyefficiency, feed-in-tariffs,and municipal projects,” allof which adds up to “ca-reers that are fulfilling,financially rewarding, cansustain families, and build astronger more prosperouscommunity.” Santa Barbara CountyEnergy Choice puts it sim-ply: “CCE creates a com-petitive market place, spur-ring innovation that benefitsenergy customers.” So no surprise that SLOClean Energy editorializedin the Tribune in 2013 thata “Post-Diablo future neednot be grim.” The ability ofCommunity Choice to “pro-vide long-term electricalrate stability, local reinvest-ment of electricity revenues,local renewable energy andlocal jobs,” they wrote,meant it should be incorpo-rated into the Board of Su-pervisors’ decision to “startplanning for the day when,sooner or later, the DiabloCanyon nuclear power plantwill no longer be with us.” Those pivotal momentswere made possible by thefact that in 2010, thanks tothe Sierra Club, the update

CCAcontinued from page 1

of the County’s GeneralPlan included a detailedstrategy to “evaluate CCAfor the ability to developlocal energy resources,” andthe County’s adoption of aClimate Action Plan a yearlater that, thanks to the Si-erra Club, included the pro-vision that the County “willconsider developing a com-munity choice aggregationprogram with the incorpo-rated cities of San LuisObispo County to procureup to 50 percent of theregion’s electricity use fromrenewable sources by2020.”

Central Coast Power Following the County’svote to join Santa Barbaraand Ventura in funding aCommunity Choice Energyfeasibility study last Octo-ber, regional governmentsformed Central CoastPower, a consortium dedi-cated to empowering ourcommunity with the choiceof how and where our elec-tricity is created and en-hancing the sustainabilityand economic vitality of thetri-county region. All 27jurisdictions in the tri-county area served byPG&E and Southern Cali-fornia Edison are includedin the feasibility study. An

This map shows the evolving development of Community Choice in California. It includes information forall 58 counties and all 482 incorporated cities in the state. The colors (in our on line edition) represent oneof six levels of program development, in addition to those that are ineligible because they are served by amunicipal public utility or Irrigation District. To learn about the progress of Community Choice, go to cleanpowerexchange.org/california-community-choice/ and click on any county and its respective cities. Note that most counties have a mixed compositionof program development among their cities. Each county is assigned the color that represents the level cor-responding to most of the county. Click on the cities for more detail.

California CCA: An Interactive Map

“Community Choice Energy: What Is the Local Eco-nomic Impact? ,” a case study prepared for policymakers in San José by Fosterra Clean Energy Consult-ing and released last month, found that “local eco-nomic benefit is directly correlated with local renew-able energy investment. Under the scenario with thehighest level of local solar deployment, this reportprojects more than 12,000 jobs will be created region-ally from CCE activity, with an associated $1.25 billionof incremental economic activity over six years, from2018 to 2023. Using current deployment percentages byjurisdiction, San José could realize $425 million of thetotal estimated economic impact within the city itself.”(http://climateprotection.org/community-choice-energy-local-economic-impact/)

advisory working group isoverseeing the effort andincludes representativesfrom the three counties andthe cities of Camarillo,Carpinteria, Moorpark,Ojai, Santa Barbara, SimiValley, Thousand Oaks andVentura. The feasibility study willhelp each county’s board ofsupervisors and city coun-cils to decide whether tomake the CCE option avail-able to its residents andbusinesses. The feasibility study isdue to be completed thiswinter. In early 2017, theSLO County Board of Su-pervisors and cities willvote on whether or not toproceed with CCE. Sign upfor e-news at Centralcoastpower.org. In the wake of PG&E’sdecision to retire DiabloCanyon, our supervisorsand city councils shouldfeel a compelling newsense of urgency to con-tinue down the path toCommunity Choice Energy,which is the surest wayboth to meet the County’s“50% renewables by 2020”goal and build the cleanenergy economy that wewill need to have up andrunning when Diablo goesaway.

cleanpowerexchange.org

Santa Lucian • Oct. 20167

ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is October 16. To get a rate sheet or submit your ad and payment,contact: Sierra Club, P.O. Box 15755, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 orsierraclub8@gmail.com

CYNTHIA HAWLEYATTORNEY

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONLAND USE

CIVIL LITIGATION

P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428Phone 805-927-5102 Fax 805-927-5220

This internationally known event encourages community recycling of unwanted cloth-ing through artistic reuse. The event will include various do-it-yourself workshopsincluding: basic sewing, repurposing a T-shirt, a children’s craft table and more.Each workshop will be taught by local artists. The event is sponsored by Soul & Oak,a business that offers home craft and tea parties for individuals and businesses. Allproceeds will go to support the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club.

8 Santa Lucian • Oct. 2016Outings and Activities CalendarSeller of travel registration information: CST 2087766-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.

All our hikes and activities are open to all Club members and the general public. Please bring drinking water to all outings andoptionally a lunch. Sturdy footwear is recommended. All phone numbers listed are within area code 805 unless otherwisenoted. Pets are generally not allowed. A parent or responsible adult must accompany children under the age of 18. If you haveany suggestions for hikes or outdoor activities, questions about the Chapter’s outing policies, or would like to be an outingsleader, call Outings Chair Joe Morris, 549-0355. For information on a specific outing, please call the listed outing leader.

This is a partial listing of Outingsoffered by our chapter.

Please check the web pagewww.santalucia.sierraclub.org for

the most up-to-date listing ofactivities.

Activities sponsored by other organizations

(805) 549-0355

Oct. 23-25. Join us for a 3-day, 3-island, live-aboard cruise to the Channel Islands. Hikewindswept trails bordered with blazing wildflowers. Kayak rugged coastlines. Snorkel inpristine waters teeming with colorful fish. Swim with frolicking seals and sea lions. Lookfor unusual sea and land birds. Watch for the endangered island fox. Or just relax at sea! All cruises depart from Santa Barbara. $650 cost includes an assigned bunk, all meals,

snacks and beverages plus the services ofa naturalist-docent assigned by the na-tional park to help lead hikes, point outitems of interest and give evening pro-gram. For more information, contactleader: Joan Jones Holtz; 626-443-0706;jholtzhln@aol.com. To hold a reservation, mail a $100check to Sierra Club, and send to JoanJones Holtz, 11826 The Wye St., ElMonte, CA 91732.

Island Hopping in Channel Islands National Park

Sat., Oct. 8th, 9 a.m.Stenner Springs Trail toWest Cuesta Ridge.Moderate fall hike, 9miles rt and 2,400 ft. gain,near SLO. We will take theStenner Springs Trail toShooter’s Trail to WestCuesta Ridge, loopingaround Morning GloryTrial, all with great viewsof Cal Poly and valley tothe coast. Possibility ofpoison oak. Bring water,snacks or lunch, and dressin layers for weather.Meet at end of StennerSprings Rd, the first rightturn past HighlandDr when leaving SLOnorth on Hwy One.Leader: Chuck Tribbey,441-7597.

Sun., Oct. 9th, 2 p.m.Historic Walk: SLO’sSecret Past. A guidedexploratory stroll to dis-cover the original site ofthe Mission, the 1860sstagecoach stop, home ofSLO’s first millionaire, thelast remaining city gaslight, and other hiddenlandmarks in the historiccore of San Luis Obispo.Duration about 1 1/2 hrs.Meet at NW corner ofNipomo and Dana Sts.Leader: Joe Morris,549-0355.

Sat., Oct. 15th, 9:30 a.m.Guadalupe/ParadiseBeach. Moderate, six-milehike along pristine Guada-lupe Beach to MusselRock and beyond. Dura-tion about 5-6 hrs. Bringwater, lunch, windbreaker,

hat, and dress in layers forvarying weather. Eats after-ward for those interested.From Hwy 101 in SantaMaria, take Main St./Hwy166 to end at GuadalupeBeach. Meet near interpre-tive signs and picnic tables.Rain cancels. Leader: An-drea Ortiz, 264-4527 orkenya683@msn.com.

Sun., Oct. 16th, 10 a.m.Eagle Rock Trekking-PoleHike. Two-mile trekking-pole hike, 400 ft. elevationgain, to demonstrate effec-tive use of trekking poles.Meet at Eagle Rocktrailhead by going to lockedgate past Botanical Gar-dens, across Hwy 1 fromCuesta College, in parkinglot to left. In summer,there may be a small admis-sion fee. Leader: DavidGeorgi, 458-5575 orhikingpoles@gmail.com.

Sat.-Wed., Oct. 15th-19thPanamint City Backpackand Backcountry CabinAssessment. Backpack toassist in assessing state ofbackcountry cabins inDeath Valley Nat. Park.Not a beginning backpack.Meet Saturday evening atChris Wickt camp andbackpack up Surprise Can-yon to Panamint City onSunday. Monday and Tues-day, we work with NP vol-unteer to examine conditionof cabins. If we finish early,time to explore this interest-ing historical area. Thereis water in the canyon, but itrequires a hike to get it andit must be filterered before

drinking. Be prepared tocarry all food and equip-ment you need for thetrip as well as some of thetools we will be using.Contact Leader: Kate Allen,kj.allen96@gmail.com or661-944-4056. CNRCCDesert Committee.

Sat., Oct. 22nd, 9 a.m.Driving Tour Along SantaRita Rd., Templeton toCayucos. This field tripvisits one of the most beau-tiful SLO County areas on aroad following a gentle,winding cliff draining to-ward the Salinas River,leading to the ridge top,then continuing to WhaleRock Reservoir at Cayucos.A profusion of fall colorshould be out enroute, andplants endemic to this areawill be identified and dis-cussed. For carpooling,meet at Santa Rosa Park inSLO at 8:30 a.m. Tourstarts 9 a.m. from TraderJoe’s parking lot, at Vine-yard Drive off Hwy 101.Tour will last about 3 hours.

Sat., Oct. 22nd, 9 a.m.Reservoir Canyon Explo-ration. Seven-mile hike,1700 ft gain to ReservoirCanyon summit for greatviews, then traversing ridgeto a secret spot for snack,finally descending canyonfor return trip to trailhead.Bring water, snack/lunch,non-slip shoes, and dressfor the weather. Trailsidepoison oak may be present.Meet at Reservoir Canyontrailhead at end of Reser-voir Canyon Rd. More

information, contactLeader: Gary Felsman, 473-3694. Rain, threat of rain,or rain previous day cancelshike.

Sat.-Sun., Oct. 22nd-23rd.Death Valley Area GhostTown Extravaganza. Cel-ebrate Halloween withdesert ghosts of California’spast, camping near historicghost town of Ballarat. Sat-urday hike led by historianHal Fowler to Lookout Cityghost town, returning tocamp for Happy Hour andpotluck feast, then a mid-night visit to Ballarat grave-yard. Sunday tour ofBallarat town itself beforedeparture, Send $8 perperson, check payable toLeader: Lygeia Gerard, P.O.Box 721039, Pinon Hills,CA 92372. Phone: 760-868-2179. Mojave Group/CNRCC Desert Committee.

Tues., Oct. 25th, 10 a.m.Los Osos Reserve NativePlant Walk. Scenic, 1.5mile, 75 ft. gain, walk undercanopy of ancient oaks tolearn of local nativeplants. Meet in parking lotof Los Osos Oaks Reserve,on Los Osos Valley Rd,across from Eto Rd.Leader: Vicki Marchenko,528-5567 or vmarchenko57@gmail.com.

Sat., Oct. 29th, 8:30 a.m.Trout Creek to StonyCreek Meadow. Strenu-ous, twelve-mile hike, 1500ft. gain, along Trout Creekand Stony Creek drainage.Some poison oak likely

trailside. Pleasenote: trailhead isabout 6.5 milesfrom Pozo RangerStation, on a dirtroad rough inplaces thatrequireshigh-clearancevehicles. Wewill meet inSanta Margaritain from of PacificBeverage Com-pany. Extremeheat or rain willpostpone trip toanotherweekend.Leader: CarlosDiaz-Saavedra, 546-0317.

In Deepest Borneo

Sat., Oct. 8, 1:30pm-2:30p.m. Backyard Bee Keeping.Learn about backyard bee-keeping with local SueHulsmann. Meet live bees in aclosed observation hive, andlearn all about the process ofkeeping a healthy, happy hive.Info at slobg.org/bee. SanLuis Obispo Botanical Garden, 3450 Dairy Creek Rd.Cost: $5 for Garden members / $10 for public. 805-541-1400 x303.

Sun., Oct. 9, 1-3:30 p.m. Kids’Garden Fresh Cooking Class.Kids learn how to grow, harvestand cook with seasonal producestraight from the Children’sGarden! Join Cal Poly HealthAmbassadors and learn howdelicious good food can be.Info and registration at

slobg.org/kids-cooking. San Luis Obispo Botanical Gar-den, 3450 Dairy Creek Rd. Cost: $5 for Garden members /$10 for public. 805-541-1400 x303.

Tues., Oct. 25, 12-2 p.m. Succulent Pumpkin Workshop.Learn how to make your own festive succulent-toppedpumpkin for the holidays. All materials are provided andbring one home to enjoy!Info at slobg.org/pumpkin.San Luis Obispo BotanicalGarden, 3450 Dairy CreekRd. $45 for Garden members/ $50 for public. 805-541-1400 x303.

state is doing a poor job increating sufficient housingfor those most in need, andthat is almost certainlytrue. But what it shows isthat even states with veryweak environmental regu-lations do no better inaddressing the need. It ismisleading to argue thatremoving environmentalreview for affordablehousing would inevitably

increase housing supply.Moreover, all communities– including the leastadvantaged among us –deserve robust environmen-tal protections where theylive. Governor Brown’sproposal to eliminate envi-ronmental review for af-fordable housing projects istherefore extremely mis-guided. This report also showsclearly that there is no liti-gation crisis under CEQA.Fewer than one percent of

all projects that go throughthe environmental reviewprocess are confronted withlitigation. The number ofCEQA lawsuits filed eachyear has remained stablesince 2002. Given thestate’s tremendous popula-tion growth over that sameperiod, the fact that thenumber of such lawsuits hasnot seen a correspondingincrease is notable. Whatever developers sayabout the high cost of com-pleting an Environmental

Impact Report, these ex-penses are a tiny fraction ofbuild-out costs. Four casestudies in the report, CEQAin the 21st Century, showthat the cost of preparing anEIR ranges from 0.025%-0.5% of a project’s build-out. CEQA may be a conve-nient bogeyman for devel-opers and others, but thedata simply do not bear outthe argument that it is amajor factor in develop-ment or economic patternsin California.

CEQAcontinued from page 5

At our Sept. 21 generalmeeting, retired Cal PolyProfessor Randy Knightenthralled the audience atthe SLO City Library withhis slide presentation of his2011 trip to Borneo with theSierra Club’s National Out-ings program, the program’sfirst venture into Borneo. In addition to showing ussome of the most beautifulrainforest preserves onearth and the amazing di-versity of wildlife, Randydelivered a sobering mes-sage of deforestation fromhardwood logging and palmoil plantations, located just behind a “beauty screen” lining the banks of Borneo’s rivers tokeep the devastation out of sight of tourists. For info on the Club’s global destinations, go to sierraclub.org/outings/adventure-travel.