Call to Action: Protect Environmental Review & Oppose SB 607
It’s time to oppose Senate Bill 607, a dangerous rollback of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) protections.
What is CEQA and Why SB 607 is a Bad Move?
CEQA is a longstanding environmental and public health bill of rights that follows the precautionary principle, meaning that if there is evidence that a project may cause significant environmental harm, the reviewing agency should study potential impacts, allow for public participation and input, consider alternatives, and adopt appropriate measures to lessen environmental harm. This sounds good because it is!
Often, CEQA is the only tool available to vulnerable communities in California to ensure consideration of alternative solutions and mitigation measures to limit harm and protect public health.
However, with SB 607, the long-standing precedent in favor of requiring in-depth environmental review would be reversed. Instead, it would be easier for an agency to simply refuse to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) if they provide evidence that a project won’t have a significant impact, regardless of frontline community concerns about a project's environmental and health impacts.
In short, SB 607 weakens environmental review requirements for nearly all private and government projects, including freeways, airports, dams, railyards, shopping centers, sports complexes, power plants, prisons, and mining operations.
Unfortunately, SB 607 is being touted as streamlining infill housing or clean energy projects. However, it would only enable agencies to ignore credible scientific evidence on air pollution, water contamination, and climate impacts, ultimately removing government transparency and accountability. Instead of addressing the housing crisis, it would only exacerbate the burdens of vulnerable communities.
TAKE ACTION TODAY!
Contact Your State Senator and Assemblymember by April 23Contact your state Senator & Assemblymember by April 23 and tell them to oppose SB 607. Find your legislators at findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov and use the call script below.
For direct outreach contact:
Sen. Mike McGuire: https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/contact
Sen. Catherine Blakespear: https://sd38.senate.ca.gov/contact
Call Script
Hello. My name is ____, and I live in _____. I am calling to urge the Assm./Sen. ____ to oppose SB 607. This bill weakens environmental review requirements and enables agencies to ignore credible scientific evidence on air pollution, water contamination, and climate impacts. Without EIRs, community members will have significantly less information and fewer opportunities to participate in the public engagement process about potentially harmful proposed projects.
I urge you to oppose SB 607 and protect communities from environmental harm.
For more information on SB 607, read the CEQA Works Factsheet, and for more on CEQA, check out this info page.
