Articles

First Big Test for Attorney General Becerra: Investigating Sempra and SoCalGas

Submitted by Liza Tucker on Tue, 01/24/2017 - 14:10

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra has just been confirmed. Now he's got a big test in front of him. Our public interest group, together with Food & Water Watch, just wrote him, urging him to investigate unfair business practices in the manipulation of Los Angeles natural gas supplies by Southern California Gas, its parent Sempra, and pipeline manager Kinder Morgan.

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Bravo To Air Regulators For Making Southland Refineries Safer

Submitted by Liza Tucker on Mon, 01/23/2017 - 14:01

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s move to recommend a ban on highly dangerous modified hydrofluoric acid (MHF) used at two Southland refineries is the only sensible thing to do in the wake of a 2015 explosion at one of them that could have severely burned or killed thousands.

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Surprise! Insurance Industry Hands Revealed Behind Prop 103 Attack

Submitted by Carmen Balber on Wed, 01/18/2017 - 11:22

California consumers and small business owners saved $246 million dollars on their insurance in 2016 thanks to public rate challenges brought by Consumer Watchdog under insurance reform initiative Proposition 103.

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Reopening Aliso Canyon Without Knowing What Caused Blowout Is Not Smart

Submitted by Liza Tucker on Tue, 01/17/2017 - 17:16

State regulators are considering re-opening the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility without knowing what exactly caused the blowout in the first place.  That’s like taking an airplane that just crash landed and sending it aloft again without knowing if the engine’s loose.

But that’s what State Oil and Gas Supervisor Ken Harris said today in a briefing with legislative staff in Sacramento who were asking tough questions about the state’s proposal to reopen 34 of the 114 wells at Aliso—albeit at reduced pressures and with continuous monitoring.

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Governor Brown, Me Thinks Thou Dost Protest Too Much

Submitted by Liza Tucker on Fri, 12/30/2016 - 14:54

Governor Jerry Brown is circling the wagons around the Public Utilities Commission in the face of our criticism that one of this latest appointments—his trusted advisor on all things energy and environment Cliff Rechtschaffen—is a lapdog of the oil industry. 

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