Gavin Newsom suspends environmental review laws for wildfire victims
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has taken loads of flak over the recent wildfires, and he appears to be desperately trying to make up for his missteps in the meantime.
According to Fox News, Newsom has ordered the suspension of some environmental laws that could have slowed the rebuilding of homes in areas where the wildfires caused mass devastation.
Homeowners and business owners along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway in California expressed grave concerns over the ability to rebuild after the fires destroyed some 10,000 homes in the area.
Because the destruction zone is in Democrat-run California, state law requires people looking to build to submit to a lengthy and ridiculous environmental review process.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom in an executive order suspended state environmental rules and permitting in coastal areas, a move intended to help rebuild from wildfires causing extensive destruction in Los Angeles. https://t.co/ssB7jprIHd pic.twitter.com/DNNcsay3yB
— Law360 Real Estate Authority (@RealEstLaw360) January 14, 2025
While regular builders will still be subject to that process, it was announced that those rebuilding after the wildfires will be able to skip ahead to actually engaging in construction, something that shouldn't have taken a magic wand to make happen in the first place.
Fox News noted:
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that a review be conducted to weigh any potential environmental effects before a building permit is approved. Another state law, the California Coastal Act, focuses on development as it relates to "the preservation of sensitive coastal and marine habitat and biodiversity."
Newsom signed an executive order over the weekend that temporarily suspended both of the laws for those affected by the wildfires.
The Democrat governor said in a statement, "When the fires are extinguished, victims who have lost their homes and businesses must be able to rebuild quickly and without roadblocks."
He added, "The executive order I signed today will help cut permitting delays, an important first step in allowing our communities to recover faster and stronger.
"I’ve also ordered our state agencies to identify additional ways to streamline the rebuilding and recovery process," the governor continued.
Newsom has also signed a number of additional executive orders to assist victims of the California wildfires in various ways.
One of the California environmental laws has received a ton of backlash from all sides.
Fox News noted:
"I don’t think that anybody really thinks that CEQA works exactly how it’s supposed to," Eric Buescher, an attorney with San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental nonprofit working to "hold polluters accountable," said in 2022 about the state law, according to local outlet Bay Nature.
President-elect Donald Trump has leveled sharp criticism at the California governor, blaming him for mismanaging the entire situation and allowing the conditions that led to the outbreak in the first place.