California Senate Bill 476, legislation to implement the main recommendations of a recent ELC report on environmental justice aspects of clean energy financing, cleared the Senate Banking Committee on an 8-to-1 vote. 4/21/21
Bill spurred by ELC energy justice report clears key committee
ELC marks 11th memorial of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill by challenging U.S. oil spill response plan
On behalf of an Inupiaq health worker in Alaska, a commercial fisher in Louisiana, and multiple environmental groups, ELC has filed its opening merits brief challenging EPA’s nationwide plan for responding to oil spills. 4/20/21
Utility trade press cites clinic’s energy justice litigation against PG&E
The trade publication Utility Dive describes ELC’s recent Public Utilities Commission filing that protests PG&E’s proposal to use polluting diesel power during public safety power shutoffs. 3/31/21
Major gift advances clinic’s environmental health and justice work
Orrick and Chairman Mitch Zuklie ’96 together pledged $250,000 to the clinic over five years — which also unlocked an anonymous $1 million gift made on a 4-to-1 matching basis. 3/21
ELC advocacy helps push state energy-related agencies to fully decarbonize the grid
The clinic’s emphasis on equity issues in shaping the state’s energy future — and in particular, the need to avoid further pollution in environmental justice communities — in 2020 took the form of an extensive ELC comment letter on implementation of Senate Bill 100, key legislation pushing California toward a renewable energy future. 12/20
Jack Chang ’20: Who’s on the Hook for Refinery Accidents?
We believe that people deserve to know whether fossil fuel companies can pay for their mistakes. As it turns out, after two months of digging, we finally were able to obtain Phillips 66’s insurance documents at the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response, a branch of the state’s Fish and Wildlife Department that protects waterways. 11/6/20
ELC joins fight against Formosa petrochemicals plant; Army Corps suspends permit
In October 2020, ELC filed a proposed amicus brief in federal district court on behalf of the Louisiana environmental justice groups Concerned Citizens of Saint Johns and Justice and Beyond, opposing the construction permit for a huge plastics production and petrochemical complex in the highly polluted area known as “Cancer Alley” or “Death Alley.” 10/20
Clinic-assisted cosmetics safety bill enacted as nation’s strongest disclosure law
The “Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act” was signed into law after two years of work by ELC students, who partnered with client Breast Cancer Prevention Partners to force public disclosure of known-toxic ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products. Director Claudia Polsky discussed the bill in this San Francisco Chronicle op-ed. 10/1/20
Clinic Celebrates Progress Towards an Equitable Microgrid Policy
Teaching Fellow Heather Lewis on a California Public Utilities Commission decision about developing microgrids in communities of color and low-income communities, Legal Planet, 6/26/20
Alyssa Cheung M.P.P. ’21: Microgrids Will Save Lives and Green the Golden State
If the state wants to truly protect its most vulnerable, and also meet its ambitious climate goals, the state and its and electric utilities must ensure that microgrids benefit disadvantaged communities as quickly as possible.