Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, says that the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board is the least environmentally friendly board in decades.
"My faith in the state system's ability to protect our right to clean water had been severely eroded," writes Gold. "The system isn't entirely broken, but it is in need of major reform."
"From the board's perspective, a nine-month negotiated deal between Ventura County and the 11 cities in the county was helpful but surely not deserving of support. A late staff amendment to weaken the permit by allowing off site mitigation of Low Impact Development requirements when difficult to implement on-site? Not enough. Add the ability for developers to use biofiltration off site? Still not enough for the BIA, so definitely not enough for the Regional Board."
Thanks to James Brasuell
Read the full story: Heal the Bay's Mark Gold Asks: What Water Quality Control?
Rain gardens keep up to 99% of pollutants out of San Francisco Bay
The city's roadside rain gardens soak up stormwater and filter out dozens of harmful micropollutants.
How Capturing Rainwater Can Make Cities Safer, More Resilient
Green infrastructure can help prevent flooding and replenish groundwater supplies, preventing subsidence that makes land sink.
LA’s ‘Spongy’ Infrastructure Captured Almost 9 Billion Gallons of Water
The city is turning away from stormwater management practices that shuttle water to the ocean, building infrastructure that collects and directs it underground instead.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority