Alert! Referendum to Challenge Yucca Valley Approval of the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR

Dear MBCA Members and Friends of CEIYV,

A referendum petition is circulating to challenge the Yucca Valley Town Council's decision to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR. To repeal the Council’s decision, at least one thousand verifiable signatures are required from Yucca Valley registered voters.

The petitions must be delivered to CEIYV by September 12, 2008.

If you are a Yucca Valley registered voter and oppose the Council's decision to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter EIR, we need your help to obtain petition signatures and assist at staff tables located at local grocery stores.

The following is the press release for the referendum:

"The Coalition for Environmental Integrity in Yucca Valley is sponsoring a Referendum Petition against Yucca Valley Ordinance #194, the decision of the Yucca Valley Town Council to approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter. This is to undo a done deal by Wal-Mart and the Yucca Valley Town Council.

A successful Referendum Petition will give the Town Council a chance to repeal their decision or submit the decision to the voters of Yucca Valley.

Registered voters within Yucca Valley are given the opportunity to make the Town Council listen and heed their concerns about the Wal-Mart Supercenter and the economic damage it will cause to Yucca Valley.

Petition Circulators will be at a table outside a grocery store near you."

Please share this referendum information with registered voters you know in Yucca Valley and encourage them to sign the petition at a local grocery store before September 11, 2008.

For more information please contact David Fick at 366-9862 or Charla Shamhart at 365-3170 or email MBCA.

Sincerely,

David Fick,
President, MBCA
http://www.mbconservation.org/


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.

Lucerne Valley to hear Johnson Valley's concerns

Lucerne Valley, just to the north of the Morongo Basin, shares many of our concerns regarding impacts of development on our local economies and rural character. The Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association (LEVDA) has been providing comments on Green Path North; the Programmatic Solar Energy environmental study currently being conducted by the Departments of Interior and Energy; and wind energy projects in their neighborhood such as West Fry (in the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Recreation Area) and the Granite Mountains.

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, they'll be hearing from Johnson Valley residents and user groups about impacts of the proposed expansion of the 29 Palms Marine Base and potential economic impacts on Lucerne Valley. Lucerne Valley Senior Center, 5 p.m.

Open Space Group now has Website

The Morongo Basin Open Space Group, of which MBCA is a member, now has a Website.

The Open Space Group was created by local agencies and organizations as a forum to collaboratively protect our unique natural landscapes and open spaces through regional conservation and lands use planning in the Morongo Basin of California.

On the site may be viewed meeting agendas and summaries and group documents.

New JTDOG keeping herd on Katz

The following press release was issued by a new organization formed to keep an eye on development in Joshua Tree:

JT Residents Establish Land Use Watchdog Organization

Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group (JTDOG) Eyes Katz Project

Joshua Tree, August 26, 2008 -- In response to widespread community concerns over a proposed large-scale housing development in Joshua Tree, residents have joined together to form the Joshua Tree Development Oversight Group, Inc. (JTDOG). According to its core founders, JTDOG will educate and inform the public on land use issues, and mobilize the community to participate in the process from an early stage.

"The formation of JTDOG is a direct result of the community's outspoken opposition to the proposed Katz project," said downtown Joshua Tree business owner George Kopp, one of JTDOG's founding officers. "Over 300 residents showed up at the public meeting last March, and not one spoke in favor of this project. Putting 2,700 homes on a square mile of pristine land, and causing the destruction of over 10,000 Joshua trees, is unacceptable to our community, and contrary to the Community Plan."

Kopp stressed that the Katz project, dubbed Joshua Tree Villas, is by no means a done deal, and that organized community opposition could derail it. "There is a mistaken assumption that because Katz's land is zoned for 2,700 homes, he can build whatever he wants," Kopp said. "In fact, he has many hurdles to surmount, and it will be years before he can put a shovel in the ground. Now is the time for the community to get involved."

To assure that the permitting process is followed properly, JTDOG will closely monitor government entities, including the Board of Supervisors, county planners, the Dept. of Building and Safety, and the Joshua Basin Water District. JTDOG will keep the public informed of open meetings and other opportunities for public participation and comment. "So far, the developer has dominated the conversation with county agencies," Kopp said. "The community is entitled to have its say."

JTDOG will hold its first fundraiser, a screening of the award-winning documentary, "The Unforeseen", on September 23rd at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center (formerly Mentalphysics), directly across the highway from the proposed housing project. "The Unforeseen" relates the saga of a mega housing development in Austin, Texas, and its unforeseen impacts on the community. JTDOG, Inc. is a non-profit California corporation, and has applied for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)3 of the tax code. More information is available online at http://www.jtdog.org/ .

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Land Use/Development pages of the MBCA Website. View previous blog posts Joshua Tree, Katz Development/Section 33.

Partying with the stars

The Andromeda Society will host a Star Party on Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Hidden Valley Campground in Joshua Tree National Park. Find out more here.

Our deep and starry night skies are one of the finest and most valuable assets of the Morongo Basin. Careless lighting needlessly threatens this resource. Learn more about why dark skies matter and how to keep the stars shining on the Lighting Issues pages of the MBCA Website. There you'll also find copies of the Lighting Ordinances for Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and the County areas, and learn how to use them.

Besides hosting regular star parties in the Park, the amateur astronomers of the local Andromeda Society also publish a monthly round-up of celestial movements on their Website.

Kids in the outdoors

Youngsters are "six times more likely to play a video game than to ride a bike, according to the Sierra Club, and fewer than 15 percent have taken part in an outdoor recreation program."

In an article about the harm that can result from a generation uneducated in the outdoors, Tom Stienstra details dangerous fire and water-safety encounters in the wilds and looks for solutions:

Many young people do not have outdoor skills, ethics or know the law, or in some cases, care how they impact others. Many do not hike, fish, go boating or try to see wildlife.

[snip]

One solution is to create a program that would pay for California's kids to learn outdoor skills, ethics and the law, and take part in outdoor education and recreation. The bill to do this, Assembly Bill 2989, authored by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Arleta (Los Angeles County) and sponsored by the Sierra Club, passed the Assembly and the Senate Natural Resources Committee, but has been stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Read the rest of the article on SFGate.

The Morongo Basin Conservation Association has been supporting local environmental education programs in the Basin since 1997. Read more on the new Education page on our Website.

Desert tortoise burned in Park

The burned remains of [a desert] tortoise were discovered Aug. 4 in a fire grate at the Black Rock campground, according to a park news release issued Tuesday. Officials estimate the animal was about 45 years old.

Park officials are investigating. Read the rest at The Desert Sun.


FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Desert Tortoise page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Wildlife.

Base applies to start study for expansion

The Department of the Navy has submitted an application to the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw from public use 421,270 acres of land that border Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, including land in the Johnson Valley area.

[snip]

The BLM will publish a notice of intent for the withdrawal request, which will trigger a public-comment period. While forming an environmental impact statement, the Marine Corps and BLM say they will work with off-road vehicle, recreation and business communities to manage continued public access to the areas under study for potential acquisition.

Base officials expect the Department of the Navy to issue a notice of intent to begin the environmental impact study in late October or early November, with a public scoping meeting to be held in early December.

The public acreage in the study area borders the base on its eastern, southern and western areas, including a portion of the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area. There is also interest in these areas on the part of solar and wind energy projects.

Read the rest in the Hi-Desert Star.


MORE INFO ON THESE ISSUES: On Community ORV Watch and on the Off-Road Vehicle and Energy pages of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Off-Road Vehicles, Johnson Valley, Energy.

Virtual Candidates Forum: Your questions invited!

Who will decide your future? Shouldn't you have a say?

A variety of candidates has filed for vacancies on the Town and City Councils of Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, as well as the boards of the Hi-Desert and Joshua Basin Water Districts and the Copper Mountain Community College District. Who wins will have a significant impact on the future of our lives and homes and the health of this beautiful land we share. Shouldn't you be part of the equation?

To make the best choice, you need to know where the candidates stand. If you've ever wished you could quiz them on the issues important to you, here's your chance. MBCA will be submitting a list of questions to the candidates for the open positions, and their answers will be posted on our Website and publicized for review by the voters. In putting together our list of questions, we'd like YOUR ideas on what we should ask them in our Virtual Forum.

Please send your Candidate Questions to us at info@mbconservation.org, and please include which Town or City Council, Water Board, or College Board race your question is meant for. We will review the questions and come up with a list for each race that we feel will best test the candidates on their positions on issues of concern to MBCA and its members.

Please send your Questions to us by September 1, 2008. We look forward to hearing from you! And - don't forget to register to vote!

Stadum project returns to Planning Commission tonight

The Yucca Valley Planning Commission will review Yucca Valley Homes LLC (Stadum/Fomotor) Concept Plan based upon prior Planning Commission and Town Council comments.

All four previous attempts to gain passage of the Stadum/Fomotor project have been rejected because of clear-cutting (mass grading) of the two 18.3-acre parcels. In each case, the Planning Commission sent the project back to the developer with clear instructions to re-submit plans which retained as many native plants undisturbed as practicable.

The developer is again attempting to gain acceptance of its Concept Plan. Will this new plan incorporate the Planning Commission and Town Council directions to save native plants?

Please attend the Yucca Valley Planning Commission meeting August 19, 2008, 7 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center.

Add your voice for the preservation of native plants and the maintenance of our rural character.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See Grading/Clear-Cutting pages on MBCA Website. Additional posts: Yucca Valley, Grading/Clear-Cutting.

BLM Land issues at Open Space Group on Aug. 19

A forum on BLM Land issues with representatives from the Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management will be on the program at the next Morongo Basin Open Space Group meeting.

MBOSG meetings are scheduled regularly on the third Tuesday every other month and open to public observation, with a stakeholder section at the end of the meetings for public input.

Tuesday, Aug. 19, from 1 to 3 pm at the Yucca Valley Community Center in the Yucca Room.

"Big Energy" updates: Green Path and solar PEIS

In the wake of last month's LADWP Green Path North meeting in Yucca Valley, the California Desert Coalition disputes LADWP General Manager David Nahai's soothing claims in a post-meeting analysis on its site:

Not to impugn Nahai's sincerity, but the 3-year-long history of GPN indicates a project far along in LADWP's planning process. LADWP has spent nearly $26 million to date on the project and has already completed feasibility studies on 5 routes. Nahai says he has made a difference since he became general manager, pointing to the removal of survey markers, but does not mention that he was on the LADWP Board of Commissioners during the full 3-year GPN planning process.

Most disturbing is Mr. Nahai's continuing contention that LADWP does not have a preferred route for GPN. Even subsequent to the Yucca Valley meeting, the Imperial Irrigation District, LADWP's partner in GPN, displays the one route and only one route that, according to public records, LADWP has worked to establish since July 2006. This is the environmentally destructive route through the high desert and its communities.

Read the rest here.

Following up on Big Solar, the Bureau of Land Management has posted on-line the public comments received during the scoping period of the Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Study (PEIS), viewable from here. MBCA's comments are also on view on our Website.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Desert becoming susceptible to wildfires

Director of Natural History for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Mark Dimmitt wrote: “During my 40 years of wildflower chasing, I never saw or heard of a large desert fire below 3000 feet elevation until the 1990s….”

Of course, “large” is a relative term that needs some perspective to make any sense, and this is usually provided by a comparison. And, on comparison, open desert land wildfires historically haven’t ranked anywhere near the magnitude of fires in other landscape zones such as forest, chaparral, valley grassland and so on.

Yet, anyone who saw the Sawtooth Fire of 2006 might tend to disagree. After all, this is the desert, and that fire burned over 61,000 acres. It destroyed 50 homes and 92 other structures and caused one resident death. If that isn’t comparative magnitude, what is?

MBCA Boardmember Mark Wheeler, who is also well known locally as a writer and naturalist, wrote this in a highly informative but sobering article in last week's Hi-Desert Star on changes in the local plant communities that increase the desert's chances of wildfire.

He summarizes:

Exotic grasses and the Sahara Mustard are extremely aggressive and will spread especially quickly into disturbed sites, whether they are disturbed by fire, grading, flooding or otherwise. Physiological adaptations give these plants a distinct advantage over most natives in recovery after fire incidents, and their growth habits extend the fire season. To whatever extent possible, these plants must be discouraged from becoming established. Failing this, we risk losing the desert to their weedy rule, and losing desert homes to increasingly larger wildfires.

Learn more about how we got this way in the rest of the article.

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Plant Life and Invasive Mustard pages of the MBCA Website. Also, see more posts on Plant Life and Fire on this blog.

Finalization of WalMart approval challenged

Councilwoman Lori Herbel challenged the finalization at the second reading of the permitting of the Wal-Mart SuperCenter on the basis that "the retail specific plan for Wal-Mart cannot be adopted because Yucca Valley’s General Plan is out of compliance with state law," according to the Hi-Desert Star.

[Attorney for the Coalition for Environmental Integrity in Yucca Valley John ] McClendon claimed Yucca Valley was out of compliance with state law by failing to file the housing element of its General Plan by June 30. The entire General Plan is therefore invalid, he argues, prohibiting the adoption of a specific plan until the missing element is filed and approved by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

[snip]

Herbel said the California Department of Housing and Community Development confirmed to her that Yucca Valley was out of compliance because its housing element was due. Without an approved housing element in a valid General Plan, she said, no specific plan can be adopted. Herbel also was told the state does not grant extensions to cities that want more time to finish the housing element.

The Town attorney contested the claim, and the finalization was carried 4-1.

MBCA President David Fick "urged the council not to approve the Supercenter without an approved General Plan, adding, 'There have been a bunch of mistakes made — please don’t add to them.'”


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.

Candidates listed for November

The filing periods for candidates for the local elections in November have ended. There are important matters at stake in the Basin, and MBCA encourages you to familiarize yourself with the candidates and their positions, make sure you're registered, and get ready to vote!

The Desert Trail has profiles this week of the three candidates running for the Twentynine Palms City Council.

The Hi-Desert Star additionally lists all the hopefuls confirmed in the races for Hi-Desert Memorial Healthcare District, Hi-Desert Water District, Joshua Basin Water District, and Yucca Valley Town Council.

Bighorn Water public forum in Johnson Valley

The Hi-Desert Star gives extensive coverage of the public forum held in Johnson Valley by budget-troubled Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency last weekend. Suggestions included such controversial possibilities as selling water, stand-by fees, and rate hikes.

Two more meetings are planned for September in Landers and Flamingo Heights

Desert Wildfire Workshop on Aug. 22

There will be a Desert Wildfire Workshop on Friday, August 22, 8:30 am-1:00 pm at the Yucca Valley Community Center.

This is a FREE event hosted by CAL FIRE, San Bernardino County Fire Dept, Town of Yucca Valley, and UC Cooperative extension. Refreshments!

House and Property: Featured speaker Steve Quarles explores fire susceptibility of various building materials, components, and assemblies with a Live Burn Demonstration. Steve is the University of California Building Materials Testing Expert and will burn deck assemblies, walls, fences, and more as part of a special day of presentations including local Fire Professionals. Find out what new California Fire Hazard Severity Zone ratings mean for living, remodeling, and building in the local desert.

Landscape: Firescaping basics including the arrangement of plants in the landscape, interactions between vegetation and structures, low water use landscapes, utilization of native plants, conservation of Joshua Trees, invasive weeds and more.

Environment: Special challenges of living in the “Wildland Urban Interface.” Variable climate, watershed values, increasing demands on water supplies, habitat in the human matrix, with presentations by local fire officials on local fire behavior and fire history in the valley.

Yucca Valley Community Center, 57090 Twentynine Palms Highway, Yucca Valley, CA. Call (909) 387-2242 for more information, or e-mail Kamcarthur@ucdavis.edu. Fire Demonstration information available here.

The State of California CAL FIRE Website also has current fire updates as well as extensive resources on protecting your home and property, including information on issues of Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI).

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Plant Life and Invasive Mustard pages of the MBCA Website. Also, see more posts on Plant Life and Fire on this blog.

Motion to join granted on Power Corridor lawsuit

The Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a motion to intervene on behalf of each of several organizations, including the Morongo Basin Conservation Association, in a suit against the 2005 Energy Act and the designation of 7 Southern California counties as a Power Corridor without regard to environmental resources or alternatives.

Additionally, these complainants have been accorded the right to participate in all the pending appeals challenging the Department of Energy Corridors--both in the Southwest and in the Mid-Atlantic states.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs have received DOE's administrative record index and are starting work on reviewing the record and preparing opening briefs on appeal.

The successful designation of Southern California as a Power Corridor under the 2005 Energy Act would impact the ability of Morongo Basin residents to fight the Green Path North transmission corridor project.

Read more about this important lawsuit on this previous post.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Bats as neighbors

Last week a rare rabid bat was found in Morongo Valley, according to the Hi-Desert Star.

Bats are an important part of the ecology of the Morongo Basin, helping to control insect populations and even scorpions. Learn a whole lot more about bats on the Joshua Tree National Park Website.

Bat World-Mojave in Joshua Tree is a rehabilitation facility for bats. View their Website here, and read about the importance of the Inland area as a "migratory freeway" for bats here.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Wildlife page of the MBCA Website, including referrals for issues with both wild and domestic animals.

Invasive plants targeted by new National Council Plan

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior, "Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne...convened the National Invasive Species Council (NISC) at which he oversaw the adoption of the new 2008-2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan developed collaboratively by 13 federal departments and agencies and their partners."

Like many regions in the West, the Morongo Basin is increasingly plagued by invasive plant species, which can lead to displacement of native species and ruinous wildfires.

The new Plan, which replaces the 2001 plan, will "focus federal efforts to prevent and control invasive species, which are defined as species that are nonnative or alien to a nation or region and that cause or are likely to cause harm to the economy, environment or human/animal health." The Plan is viewable as a pdf here.

Read more about the devastation caused by invasives in the West in the "The Beige Plague" in the Los Angeles Times.


FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Plant Life and Invasive Mustard pages of the MBCA Website. Also, see more posts on Plant Life and Fire on this blog.

MBCA Meets Thursday, August 14

The next regular board meeting of the Morongo Basin Conservation Association is August 14, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. at PFF Bank & Trust in Yucca Valley.

Note the changed meeting time of 9:30 a.m. for this meeting only.

Please join us and add your voice and experience!

Reactions to WalMart CEQA suit

The Town of Yucca Valley reacts to the filing of two CEQA lawsuits over the proposed WalMart Supercenter in this article in the Hi-Desert Star.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.

"Water, money shortages make store bad idea"

Celeste Doyle lays out the issues underlying the two lawsuits brought over the Yucca Valley Wal-Mart SuperCenter project in a concise and informative Soapbox in last Saturday's Hi-Desert Star. Among those important issues is water:

The EIR...relies on an outdated and unapproved water supply assessment, which has been superseded by the governor’s declaration of a state-wide drought, and restrictions on withdrawals from the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, the source for Yucca Valley’s supply.

The town is barely able to purchase enough water to meet current demand without having to tap reserves, and future supplies are uncertain at best. This means there may not be water for the new housing developments and new residents that are the justification for the Supercenter.

The approval for the Wal-Mart Supercenter is built on a house of cards, and it will come crashing down on Yucca Valley and the whole Morongo Basin if this facility is ever built.

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.

Conservationists File Lawsuits Against Town of Yucca Valley

Dear MBCA Members and Friends,

MBCA wishes to announce to the membership and interested friends the recent actions of our board: MBCA is now party to two lawsuits for two very worthy causes.

The first lawsuit is an "Intervention" with the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that is now considering MBCA and seven other parties to join as "full parties" in a huge consolidated lawsuit against the 2005 Energy Act and its resulting free reigning power transmission corridors. Our Attorney, Mr. Stephan Volker Esq., said of the case:

“Our intervention as full parties (rather than simply as amici curiae, or friends of the court) seeks to overturn DOE's designation of the 7 counties in Southern California (and 3 adjacent counties in Arizona) as the Southwest Power Corridor for future construction of power lines and support facilities. National parks and monuments, state parks, federal wilderness areas, and other lands of ecological sensitivity are all exposed to development without regard to their unique resources and species.

“DOE failed to conduct any review under NEPA and ESA, failed to consider alternatives such as conservation and renewable energy sources, and ignored the growth-inducing and global warming impacts of its decision.

“We are intervening into a consolidated set of lawsuits in which several states including Arizona, California (its CPUC only), New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, together with a coalition of eastern and western environmental groups including NRDC, The Wilderness Society, the Piedmont Environmental Center and the California Wilderness Coalition, filed suit against DOE's decision. All support our intervention and welcome our assistance, as the utility and power industry is of course lined up on the other side in support of DOE's decision.”

MBCA is waiting for approval from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to be a "full party", however, the wheels of justice turn slower the higher you go, and even slower yet on the federal level. (The Eagle Mountain MegaDump federal appeal [also 9th Circuit Court of Appeals] has taken three years and counting.)

The second lawsuit is closer to home and will have far more local scrutiny. In order to challenge the Town of Yucca Valley, MBCA formed the Coalition for Environmental Integrity in Yucca Valley (CEIYV) partnering with the Morongo Basin Property Association (MBPA) and the Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development (CREED).

Mr. John McClendon, Esq. is representing CEIVY in this California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit filed July 30, 2008, against the Town of Yucca Valley for the Town Council’s approval of the Yucca Valley Wal-Mart SuperCenter Environmental Impact Report (EIR). See MBCA’s Wal-Mart blog.

The Wal-Mart EIR deserves legal scrutiny because the Marketing Input Study, Wastewater Assessment, Traffic Study and local Water Supply Availability Assessment are all flawed and incomplete.

Urban Decay is the main problem with the Wal-Mart SuperCenter Project. The projected growth of the western Morongo Basin was completely out of line with the current reality of fuel costs (commuting), housing problems (mortgage, foreclosures and lack of building inducements), State Water Project future water availability (unknown), retail square footage glut and the resulting decline in commercial property values.

This stalled growth threatens the economic viability of the four local grocery stores that would be affected by Wal-Mart SuperCenter's $30 million hit on local grocery demand. Dr. Philip King’s marketing survey and comments, while not part of the EIR, demonstrate that one, or possibly two, grocery stores would close. These failed anchor stores would decimate the auxiliary small retail stores in their shopping centers, resulting in urban blight and decay.

(Please see Mr. McClendon’s Retail Specific Plan on our website and the new and expanded entries devoted to Wal-Mart.)

We believe these activities answer our charge and responsibilities as the Morongo Basin Conservation Association.

Best regards,


David Fick
MBCA President

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page and Energy pages on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley, Energy.

Suit filed against Yucca Valley over Super Wal-Mart

The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit yesterday against the Town of Yucca Valley to "force Wal-Mart to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new store construction as required by California law," according to the Center's press release.

“Wal-Mart has stated for years that its goal is to be supplied by 100-percent renewable energy,” said Jonathan Evans of the Center for Biological Diversity. “Yet even for stores proposed in the California desert, it refuses to incorporate cost-effective features like solar panels to reduce its carbon footprint.”

[snip]

The lawsuit is one of a series of court challenges brought by the Center to reduce greenhouse gases from new development through the California Environmental Quality Act. In 2007 California passed Senate Bill 97, which affirms the requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land-use decisions. In June 2008 California also provided technical guidance on how to properly calculate and reduce greenhouse gases. The California Environmental Quality Act requirements are in addition to the requirements of the California Global Warming Solutions Act and the governor’s June 2005 Executive Order, which sets a goal of reducing emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

“Business-as-usual big-box sprawl is devastating to our local environment and communities,” said Evans. “Forty-three percent of U.S. greenhouse pollution is tied to buildings, but the good news is that with today’s technology green buildings can be a major part of solving the climate crisis.”

The Writ may be viewed on CBD's Website here.

The SB Sun states that a "second lawsuit asserts that mistaken market analysis was used to justify the new Wal-Mart, and that economic degradation and urban decay will likely follow when the store opens, and that an outdated, unapproved water supply assessment was utilized, according to a news release."

ADDENDUM: Read the Hi-Desert Star's coverage of this topic.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the WalMart page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: WalMart, Yucca Valley.