In The Media

California lawmakers are proposing legislation that aims to reestablish safeguards for the state’s streams and wetlands in response to a Supreme Court ruling limiting federal clean water regulations.

Supporters say the legislation has taken on heightened urgency as the Trump administration begins to scale back protections for many streams and wetlands, making them vulnerable to pollution and worsening water quality.

“We need clean water to drink, to grow our food, to safely bathe and swim in, to support healthy ecosystems and the environment,” said state Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), who

Legislators and environmentalists are considering how to safeguard California’s wetlands after the Trump administration announced its plans to rein in — once again — the nation’s 53-year-old law protecting waterways. 

At stake are seasonal streams, ponds and pools, which are only inundated part of the time and found throughout the Southwest. In California, an estimated 80% of all linear miles of streams and rivers are ephemeral or intermittent. 

The Trump administration’s plan to alter the Clean Water Act’s definition of wetlands to exclude such waterways could render vast areas of

Numerous local officials attended the groundbreaking event, including county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel and Sen. Ben Allen.

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A bill now being considered from state Sen. Ben Allen would require developers to analyze fire behavior and create evacuation plans in cooperation with local fire authorities as part of their projects.

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Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), the group’s co-chair, said it’s time to dramatically increase the scope of the task force’s efforts “or find another vehicle for a convening of these different entities to talk about more substantive policy changes in terms of the highway.” “I think more broadly in the long term I really welcome a broader discussion involving the re-envisioning of a highway that was established at a time when far fewer people were living along the road,” Allen said.

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Earlier this year, state Sen. Ben Allen, a Redondo Beach Democrat, introduced Senate Bill 709 at the behest of environmental groups seeking to require the board to directly regulate the dairy sector like it does other methane-producing industries, like landfills. It’s a two-year bill to allow for more discussion of the issue, a spokesperson for Allen said.

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The bill’s signing drew plaudits from Environmental Legislative Caucus co-chairs Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale). “Accountability is a central component of efforts to protect our planet, and that accountability must include requiring top earning businesses to disclose if they are doing their part to reduce climate pollution,” they said in an email to Capitol Weekly.

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“Emerging research is making it clear that artificial turf poses an environmental threat due to its lack of recyclability and presence of toxins such as lead and PFAS,” said state Sen. Ben Allen, the Redondo Beach Democrat who authored the bill. With the new law “local governments will again be able to regulate artificial turf in a way to both protect our environment in the face of drought and climate change but also by preventing further contribution to our recycling challenges and toxic runoff,” he said.

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“It’s clear young people are focused on climate change and for good reason. A lot of past policies, actions, and inactions have created a situation that has folks very worried about the future, and I share that worry,” said state Sen. Ben Allen, the Redondo Beach Democrat who sponsored the 2021 budget item that funded the school program. “I hope that elected officials, industry leaders, and others in positions of power listen to what they’re asking for and respond with the urgency it demands."

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"Politicians tend to shy away from water because it’s so politically fraught,” said Marcus. She pointed to lawmakers like Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who has roots in both environmental and agriculture worlds, and Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), who have sponsored legislation to strengthen the state’s water authority, as some in the new generation to watch.

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