Source: US State of California 2
What you need to know: Governor Newsom is taking additional steps to speed up the rebuilding process for Los Angeles by further suspending CEQA and the California Coastal Act to expedite the rebuilding of utility and telecommunication infrastructure, including the undergrounding of equipment.
LOS ANGELES – Governor Gavin Newsom today signed an executive order to suspend unnecessary permitting and review requirements to accelerate the rebuild of Altadena, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades following the devastating January fires.
Today’s executive order expedites the process of repairing and replacing electric, gas, water, sewer, and telecommunication infrastructure in communities damaged by the fires. The order also speeds the process of “undergrounding” utility equipment to help communities recover more quickly while building resilience to preventing similar catastrophic fires in the future.
“We are determined to rebuild Altadena, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades stronger and more resilient than before. Speeding up the pace that we rebuild our utility systems will help get survivors back home faster and prevent future fires.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
Previously, Governor Gavin Newsom had called upon the electric utilities serving the firestorm-impacted communities in Los Angeles to begin the process of rebuilding safer and more resilient electric infrastructure, including the undergrounding of such infrastructure.
The letters sent to Southern California Edison and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, urged the utilities to rapidly develop rebuilding plans for the communities of Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu, including plans for undergrounding electric distribution infrastructure by the end of March.
Further suspends the Coastal Act
Previously, Governor Newsom signed an executive order reiterating that permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act are suspended for rebuilding efforts and directing the Coastal Commission not to issue guidance or take any action that interferes or conflicts with the Governor’s executive orders.
Today’s directive expands upon that effort and by removing regulatory hurdles that could otherwise prevent utilities from rebuilding quickly and hardening and upgrading equipment following fires.
Protecting Californians from future fires
Since the first day of his administration, Governor Newsom has taken significant action to protect Californians from wildfires.
This has included hardening the state’s electrical grid to increase resiliency and reliability, and to reduce the risk of wildfire ignition from transmission and distribution lines, which include strategies such as undergrounding of lines.
In response to climate change and heightened wildfire threat, California has expanded resilience efforts through increased investments in fire mitigation and response, community hardening, and emergency preparedness. California’s electric utilities must be part of the solution to this problem.
Track LA’s recovery, including the latest air quality results, at CA.gov/LAfires.