AEP BOARD ELECTIONS: The elections were completed on November 19, 2009. Congratulations to the newly elected Board members: Gene Talmadge, William Halligan, Devon Muto, Mel Willis, Kelly Koldus, Kent Norton, Mary Reents and Roger Turner. Details ...

Fish and Game Environmental Filing Fee Increase: Pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 713, the Department of Fish and Game will be increasing their Environmental Filing Fees on January 1, 2010. Details ...

KENT NORTON "on the move": Kent Norton, AICP, REA, President of AEP, has accepted the position of Director of Environmental Services with The Planning Center. Details ...

(Posted 08/31/09): AEP has submitted extensive comments to the California Natural Resources Agency concerning the Proposed Amendments to the CEQA Guidelines (a.k.a. the "SB 97 Amendments"). The AEP comments can be found here.

California Climate Adaptation Strategy Released. California's Natural Resources Agency has released a comprehensive plan to guide adaptation to climate change. The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy Discussion Draft summarizes the latest science on how climate change could impact the state, and provides recommendations on how to manage against those threats in seven sector areas. A 45-day comment period runs from the report's release date: August 3rd. The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy Discussion Draft can be found here.

OPR Update - Business as usual for at least another five months. A 29-bill package to re-balance the 2009-2010 State Budget is silent on an earlier proposal to eliminate OPR. Additional information on how the revised State Budget may affect environmental professionals can be found here.

July 20, Sacramento: The California Department of Food and Agriculture has formed a "California Invasive Species Advisory Committee" to recommend ways to mitigate the effects of non-native species on California's natural resources. The Advisory Committee will report to the Invasive Species Council of California. For more information on the Council and its Advisory Committee, visit www.iscc.ca.gov.

Eliminate OPR: In a letter dated June 30, 2009, AEP Executive Vice President Gene Talmadge notified the Governor and Legislative Leaders of AEP's objection to the legislative proposal eliminating the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. The letter takes the position that, if the office must be eliminated, then CEQA-related and planning functions should be relocated in the Resources Agency. A copy of the letter is linked here.

CEQA Guidelines: The California Natural Resources Agency will launch a formal rule making process for the purpose of adopting amendments to the CEQA Guidelines proposed by OPR for the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in CEQA documents. For information about the rulemaking process and updates, please visit http://ceres.ca.gov/ceqa/guidelines. If you need any additional information, or wish to receive hardcopy notices, please contact Christopher Calfee or Ian Peterson at chris.calfee@resources.ca.gov, ian.peterson@resources.ca.gov, or by telephone at (916) 653-5656. General information about the mailing list is at: https://lists.ceres.ca.gov/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ceqa_rulemaking (Posted 06/26/09.)

CEQA and greenhouse gas emissions are the subject of recently proposed amendments to the CEQA Guidelines. On April 13, 2009, following public workshops, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research transmitted its Proposed SB 97 CEQA Guidelines Amendments, including a Letter of Transmittal, to the Natural Resources Agency for adoption through a formal rule-making process. The rule-making process is to be completed by the end of the year. (See AEP’s initial comments on the draft amendments). Watch this site for continuing news on this important topic.