Burrowing Owl: Sushanta Bhandarkar
NEW SB 131 Weakens transparency and harms the environment: Urgent Correction Needed for Cleanup Legislation
What is happening?
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is the state’s foundational law for transparency, public participation, and environmental protection in project planning. It requires agencies and developers to disclose impacts and consider public input, alternatives or mitigation before moving forward.
In June, Senate Bill 131 was signed into law in a rushed, flawed process after only three days of public review, one hearing in the Senate Budget Committee, no hearings in the Assembly, and no meaningful process for the scrutiny warranted by such a sweeping rollback of environmental protections.
SB 131 creates new CEQA exemptions for certain housing, infrastructure, and “advanced manufacturing” projects. While the bill was promoted as helping California meet housing needs, its provisions weaken habitat protections and remove public review for industrial projects with potentially significant environmental and health risks.
CEQA’s public review process not only identifies environmental risks, it often improves project designs, triggers other necessary permits, and involves local resource agencies. Without it, hazardous projects can proceed with less oversight and no mitigation.
Santa Clara County legislators who voted in favor of SB 131 include Senators Josh Becker and Dave Cortese, and Assemblymembers Patrick Ahrens (District 26), Ash Kalra (District 25), Alex Lee (District 24), Marc Berman (District 23), and Gail Pellerin (District 28).
Legislative leadership has publicly committed, both on the floor and to members, to pursue a quick “cleanup” bill to address SB 131’s most serious flaws. Dozens of organizations are calling on the legislature to stand by this commitment.
Why is it important?
Without urgent fixes, SB 131 will cause lasting harm to California’s biodiversity, communities, public health and environmental protections:
Critical habitat excluded from protections: SB 131’s definition of “natural and protected lands” omits habitat and lands essential for completing Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCPs) or Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs). Without CEQA review, projects could destroy habitat for candidate, rare, threatened, and endangered species without surveys or mitigation—undermining California’s 30x30 conservation goal and pushing species closer to extinction.
Loss of CEQA-triggered species protections: Most private lands have never been surveyed for rare or endangered species. CEQA reviews are often the only process that identifies these resources and triggers California Endangered Species Act (CESA) protections. Without CEQA, developers may avoid CESA permits entirely.
Broad “advanced manufacturing” exemption: SB 131’s vague definition covers any facility that “improves existing or creates entirely new materials and processes, including lithium recovery plants, rare earth strip mines, semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace production, fertilizer plants, plastic recycling, hydrogen fuel production, and water bottling facilities.
Real-world pollution risks: History shows the consequences of allowing hazardous industrial facilities to operate without strong oversight:
Fairchild Semiconductor in San Jose leaked toxic solvents into the groundwater, creating a Superfund site and contributing to Santa Clara County’s current total of 23 active Superfund sites, the highest in the nation.
Lehigh Cement Plant in Cupertino emitted mercury into the air and selenium into local waterways for decades before enforcement and public pressure forced reductions.
Other historic cases across California - from perchlorate contamination in the Inland Empire to PCB dumping in the Bay Area - demonstrate that once contamination occurs, cleanup can take decades and cost millions, with lasting impacts on public health.
CEQA’s unique role: CEQA often triggers other permitting processes, involves local agencies in planning, and encourages alternative designs or stronger mitigation measures - benefits that other environmental laws do not guarantee. Removing CEQA review removes these safeguards.
What you can do? Take Action:
Contact Your Senator and Assemblymember
Your voice can make a difference. Call your state representatives as soon as possible and urge them to support immediate cleanup legislation for SB 131.
How to find your representatives:
Enter your address to find your California State Senator and Assemblymember.
Note their Sacramento office phone numbers and emails.
Tip: Phone calls take only minutes, and are more impactful than emails, but you can also send a follow-up email with the same message.
When you call, you can say:
Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I live in [CITY]. I’m calling to urge [Senator/Assemblymember NAME] to support immediate cleanup legislation for SB 131 immediately. SB 131 was passed with almost no public review and weakens CEQA in ways that put our communities, health, and environment at risk.
Please:
Add habitat and conservation lands to the definition of “natural and protected lands” so projects impacting these areas remain subject to CEQA review and mitigation.
Remove the broad “advanced manufacturing” exemption that could allow toxic industrial projects to bypass environmental review.
These changes are critical to protecting endangered species, preventing toxic contamination, and keeping Californians safe. Thank you.