Environment

Air, Land Use, Water, Solid Waste

• Support regional solutions to environmental pollution that provide effective air and water quality control and regional planning for solid waste management
• Support measures for conservation and environmentally sensitive development of San Francisco Bay that promote enhancement and preservation of the Bay and its shoreline, tributaries, native vegetative communities and habitats
• Support measures that ensure adequate parks and the protection of natural resources, open space, and agricultural land, both outside urban growth boundaries and in urbanized areas
• Support natural resources policies to achieve:

1. Air and water quality standards that adequately protect people and the environment and effective enforcement of these standards 
2. Clean air through regulation of motor vehicle emissions 
3. Sound long-range planning for sewage, industrial and solid waste disposal 
4. Conservation of the Bay’s ecology, including tributaries and riparian and other native plant communities and habitats 
5. Measures to ensure that public access does not degrade habitats and native plant communities and that economic growth does not adversely impact the environment 
6. Requirement that the polluter pay for clean-up costs. 

Natural Resources

*CEQA MItigation (condensed)

• Support effective legislation, guidelines, and criteria for governmental decision making on mitigation of the negative environmental impacts of a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that take into account whether:
• the decision to proceed or not is environmentally sound and gives particular attention to cumulative impacts; and
• the mitigation plan is properly implemented under an acceptable process for meeting legal requirements and public need. 

1. Strengthen California Environmental Quality Act:
1. clear process for project determination by the lead agency  
2. early public involvement with  emphasis on public hearings 
3. environmental checklists identifying significant effects for initial study
4. assessment of the broad cumulative impacts
5. effective implementation of monitoring programs,
6. sufficient funding for mitigations
2. Utilize CEQA to inform decision making in consideration of League positions on Regional Planning; Housing and Economics; Environment; Transportation and Hazardous Materials on whether to: 
1. avoid the project; 
2. proceed with the project as proposed; 
3. proceed with appropriate mitigations; 
4. proceed with an alternative project and appropriate mitigations 
3. Apply appropriate criteria to the mitigation decision making to:
1. determine whether there is an acceptable or unacceptable process for meeting legal requirements and public need; 
2. identify the comprehensive and realistic environmental impacts of a project under CEQA, including cumulative impacts; and
3. prevent or eliminate environmental damage.