During the first Trump Administration, we persevered through what was at the time the worst assault on our environment and communities in recent history. But recent actions have shown that it was just a warmup. As we navigate this new, more aggressive administration, here are some ways that Save The Bay is continuing to lead and support efforts to resist this harmful agenda.
Last week EPA Administrator Lee Zelden announced what he called the “biggest deregulation action in US history” by issuing 31 press releases announcing planned changes to EPA policies. Among those are efforts to restrict the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, disbanding environmental justice offices focused on disproportionate health and pollution impacts in marginalized or disadvantaged communities, and the wholesale abdication of efforts to address the causes of climate change. These actions confirm that under the Trump Administration the EPA will prioritize polluters over public health, threaten access to clean air and water, and roll back progress on urgently needed climate and environmental protections.
Like many in California, we are appalled but not shocked by these actions. They reflect the administration’s assault on the rule of law and underscore a broad and hurtful strategy to remove legal protections for the most vulnerable in our society. Cuts to environmental protections and programs don’t just harm wildlife but have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of communities that, in many cases, have long suffered from discrimination and disinvestment. In the Bay Area, local community groups have organized for years to get attention from the EPA to address long-neglected legacy pollution and the impacts of natural hazards like flooding. Without dedicated support from the federal government, those efforts will now face steeper hurdles.
We are grateful that many of our state leaders and the Bay Area’s federal representatives are working hard to prevent the worst impacts from this administration. Despite President Trump’s efforts to limit the EPA’s ability to enforce federal laws and restrict funding for projects that improve community and environmental health, we continue to work with our allies and local leaders on ways to reinforce protections and fund projects that will make the Bay and its communities healthier and better protected from climate change.
Progress on New Federal Authority
Save The Bay advocated for the creation of a program at the EPA dedicated to funding climate adaptation, water quality, and environmental health projects in the San Francisco Bay. Since its creation, the EPA’s SF Bay program has invested in projects to restore wetlands, eliminate pollution, and green our cities. We are now working with Rep. Huffman on a limited “technical correction” bill HR 1382 to provide additional authority in how the program uses its funding to be as efficient and effective as possible. Despite the challenging legislative environment in Washington, we were encouraged to see this bill pass through the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in February, and will continue to support Rep. Huffman and California’s senators to get this bill passed this year. If we’re successful, that program will have more tools to invest in both large scale watershed projects and community-led local projects. That’s one way Save The Bay is working to support communities impacted by climate change and pollution.
California Steps Up
The Bay itself also faces growing threats from the Trump Administration’s proposal to limit the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. That could remove protections for critical habitats like wetlands if they are no longer subject to federal oversight. We saw a similar effort by the first Trump administration when the EPA tried to exempt former salt ponds on historic tidal marshes from federal jurisdiction. In the face of that attempt, Save The Bay and partners sued the EPA and the Trump Administration and eventually won. But the stakes are higher this time after the Supreme Court took action last year to limit the Clean Water Act, and now a hostile administration is doubling down on that effort.
That’s why we are supporting SB 601, the Right to Clean Water Act, in the state legislature this year. Sponsored by the California Coast Keeper Alliance and Defenders of Wildlife, this bill will ensure that if the Clean Water Act is undermined, California’s waters like the San Francisco Bay and its watershed will be covered by equivalent protections in state law. SB 601 is in line with a growing effort in Sacramento to ensure that California is acting as a backstop against federal environmental rollbacks. We are grateful to Sen. Ben Allen for his leadership in authoring this bill.
The reality is that the Trump Administration will continue to target environmental protections and vulnerable communities and that many in the Bay Area are feeling threatened in an overwhelming number of ways. Save The Bay’s advocacy will focus on supporting policies at the state and federal levels to limit the impact of these harmful actions where we can and making progress when possible – as we’re doing with these two bills. We know that the task ahead is daunting, but we also know that we and the many allies working to support our communities can succeed because we’ve done it before. That work this time around is just beginning, and we remain committed to fighting for a healthy and resilient Bay Area.
