Energy

Exemption for California PUC Chief Stalls Budget Finalization

June 20, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO -- Under a provision tucked into budget legislation by the state Senate, the president of the California Public Utilities Commission would be exempt from a proposal intended to prevent commissioners from spending agency-related funds that receive less public oversight. </p> <p>A dispute over the proposal pits the two houses of the Legislature against each other and threatens to hold up other measures aimed at increasing scrutiny of the commission, which regulates the energy, telecommunications and transportation industries.</p>

Google’s Wind Plan: Evidence of Global Reach

June 15, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Google plans to corner the wind energy market in New Jersey.</p> <p>It’s a first-of-its kind venture that could cost Google and its partners $1.3 billion, but one Google believes fits its core mission: You can make money without doing evil.</p>

Lawmakers Adopt DTSC Haz-Waste Fee Reform In Secret Budget Deal

June 14, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>State lawmakers this week approved a revised budget proposal by the toxics department to reform the agency's hazardous waste fee structure after the department, lawmakers and the governor's office hammered out an agreement behind closed doors, sources say. Some observers are blasting the way lawmakers and the department have handled negotiations on the fee reform, arguing they negotiated in private with little transparency, despite potential major economic impacts to industries.<br /> <br />

Toxic Regulation Agency Fails to Collect $185 Million, Audit Expected

June 6, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The California agency in charge of toxic regulation announced last Thursday that it had failed to collect $185 million in repayments owed by polluters. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has since come under fire from <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/consumer-watchdog-requests-financial-audit-after-toxics-regulator-reveals-185-million-un">Consumer Watchdog</a>, who has called for a comprehensive financial audit of DTSC by the California State Auditor.</p>

Calderon Ties To Water District May Be Part Of FBI Investigation

June 5, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Sources say federal investigators asked about legislator Ronald S. Calderon's ties to the Central Basin Municipal Water District.</b></p> <p>SACRAMENTO — Ronald S. Calderon's knack for raising campaign cash and collecting gifts has attracted attention, often unwanted, since he arrived in Sacramento more than a decade ago. Now the Democratic state senator finds himself in the sights of federal investigators.</p>

California Consumers Doomed to High Gas Prices as Feds & State Bless Tesoro Purchase of BP Refinery & ARCO Stations

May 17, 2013  ·  Liza Tucker

Purchase of BP’s big refinery in Carson complies with anti-trust laws means over time gas prices will go up in the state

DTSC Second-in-Command Steps Down

May 13, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>The state toxic department’s chief deputy director relinquishes role weeks after NBC Bay Area investigation</b></p> <p>A key leader at the <a href="http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/">Department of Toxic Substances Control</a> has stepped down from her post just weeks after the Investigative Unit uncovered a stock portfolio full of investments into companies her department oversees.</p>

Lessons (Not) Learned From the Chevron Fire

April 10, 2013  ·  Liza Tucker

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2628" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/images_chevron_refinery_fire_0.png" style="width: 211px; height: 141px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right; " width="641" height="428" />On Friday, federal accident investigators told California legislators that the state’s patchwork of oil industry regulations needs a serious overhaul. The Chevron fire that produced a toxic cloud and sent 15,000 people to the hospital could have been prevented, but the system was reactive and not designed to foresee and forestall problems, said the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. Duh.

Consumer Watchdog Presses For Investigation Of Two State Officials

March 15, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/mar/15/consumer-watchdog-press-investigation-two-state-of/">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast</a>.</p> <p><span class="dateline">SAN DIEGO</span> — Consumer Watchdog is not convinced that Chief Deputy Director Odette Madriago and Deputy Director Stewart Black are clear of conflict-of-interest violations. They want an outside agency to look into the allegations.</p>

Senator Joel Anderson Asks State Agency ‘To Rule Out Toxic Chemicals’ In Wildomar

February 27, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>Anderson also asks the DTSC for a written response detailing a plan, with timelines, to address the issues in Wildomar's Autumnwood development.</strong></p> <div class="main_text"> <p>Updated at 12:20 p.m.: Senator Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) is calling for the Department of Toxic Substances Control to test soil in a Wildomar neighborhood following concerns over toxicity there.</p>

Stop the Gas Price Gouging

February 27, 2013  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2606" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/images_Gas-Cash.gif" style="width: 250px; height: 170px; float: right; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px;" width="300" height="204" />If you think the price you are paying at the pump today is too high, <em><strong>what do you think will happen if there are even fewer oil companies providing your gasoline?</strong></em><br /> <br />

WILDOMAR: State Senator Seeks Clarity On Deaths

February 26, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A state senator is demanding that state environmental officials take action to settle questions about whether chemical contamination can be blamed for the deaths of two Wildomar women and illnesses among others who lived in the same housing tract.</p> <p>“I ask that you take the necessary steps to rule out toxic chemicals as the cause of the illnesses and deaths,” Sen. Joel Anderson, R- Alpine, said in a Feb. 22 letter to Debbie Raphael, director the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control.</p>