State sues San Bernardino County to nullify its blueprint for growth
The growth blueprint for San Bernardino County, which projects a 25% increase in population by 2030, fails to adequately assess the effects of increased greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, California’s attorney general alleges in a lawsuit seeking to have the plan thrown out.
In a suit filed Thursday in San Bernardino County Superior Court, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown’s office contends that the General Plan update approved last month by county supervisors violated the California Environmental Quality Act by not fully evaluating and addressing foreseeable effects on global temperatures, air quality and natural resources.
Under the plan, the population would increase from almost 2 million to more than 2.5 million in a county that already has air quality problems and covers more land than any other in the contiguous United States.
Although a landmark state law that was passed in 2006 requires California to reduce its levels of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, the attorney general’s lawsuit alleges that the county plan does not try to estimate the increase in such emissions because of growth.
“I don’t underestimate the challenge of curtailing greenhouse gases,” Brown said in a phone interview. “But the state is committed to this. We’re all in it together, and it’s unfortunate it’s going to take a lawsuit to get San Bernardino to do what is needed.”
David Wert, spokesman for the county, said officials spent four years on the plan and were confident that they had done a thorough job of addressing the effects of increased traffic and development.
To cut down on pollution and greenhouse gases, Wert said, the General Plan encourages public transportation and smart development that includes jobs close to home.
“We didn’t ignore global warming,” he said.
The lawsuit said some of the county’s measures for reducing future air pollution seemed of a “blue sky” nature, without clear statements of funding or methods of execution.
Earlier this week, the Sierra Club, the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a similar suit.
“San Bernardino County has to take responsibility for the impacts of global warming and its actions and policies that contribute to it,” said Steven Farrell of the Sierra Club. “Warming may be a global issue, but it requires a local response.”
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Times staff writers Sara Lin and Janet Wilson contributed to this report.
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