Environment Environmental Regulation Reasonable environmental protections are important for sustaining Riverside County’s high quality of life. However, conflicting and costly regulations jeopardize the business climate, which supports and finances the essential services contributing to the quality of life enjoyed by our citizens. We need to protect our environment without sacrificing economic prosperity or regional competitiveness. Excessive, conflicting, and overlapping requirements among local, State, and federal jurisdictions can create inefficiencies that stifle job creation and divert business dollars away from developing products, investing for growth, and adding value to customers and shareholders. Policy makers must coordinate their oversight and take into consideration market-oriented approaches and incentives that offer maximum compliance flexibility and achieve cost-effective outcomes.
Positions ER-1: Support environmental regulations based upon sound science (e.g., realistic risk assessments, accurate pollutant inventories, and credible environmental and economic models) that produce achievable, cost effective, and measurable benefits to public health and the environment. ER-2: Support improved methods and techniques for modeling and measuring health risks, securing accurate pollutant inventories, assessing environmental impacts, and measuring the effectiveness of control measures. ER-3: Support consistency and coordination in CEQA and other environmental review processes among governmental agencies to streamline environmental reviews, expand participation by project proponents, and ensure fairness in environmental review fees. ER-4: Support efficient environmental analysis through integration of environmental and planning laws and the elimination of CEQA duplication. ER-5: Utilize CEQA litigation for compliance issues rather than delay to reduce frivolous, excessive, and costly lawsuits. ER-6: Support local access to and accountability from regulators within regional and statewide frameworks that promote statewide consistency. ER-7: Support innovative, market-oriented approaches for meeting environmental standards such as emission reduction credit banking and trading, habitat conservation plans, carbon labeling of goods sold within the state, and incentives for voluntary impact reductions.
760-347-0676
gcvcc.org
33
