[CPEO-BIF] Schwarzenegger vetoes bill to compile California vapor intrusion list

[Lenny Siegel]

On September 29, 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed 
Assembly Bill 2092, which would have required Cal-EPA to compile and 
maintain a list of sites with known or potential vapor intrusion 
problems. The bill, authorized by Berkeley Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, 
passed both houses of the California legislation, but it was opposed by 
redevelopment agencies, the California Center for Land Recycling, and 
other development interests.

Schwarzenegger wrote:

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 2092 without my signature.

Brownfield sites can pose a threat to public health and the environment. 
I have strongly supported prior brownfield legislation and initiated 
administrative efforts to expand and improve brownfield site cleanups 
including AB 389 in 2004. Under my Administration, the California 
Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board, 
Regional Water Quality Control Boards and Department of Toxic Substances 
Control have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to improve coordination of 
regulatory activities at these site.

This bill is unnecessary and may inadvertently stigmatize a site, 
delaying clean up and reuse. This bill assumes that vapor intrusion is a 
major undetected and unaddressed problem. Although vapor intrusion has 
been a problem at some specific sites, there are already effective 
measures to address this issue. The current site characterization and 
cleanup processes address all possible exposure pathways, including 
human health risk from vapor intrusion.

Additional, this bill does not provide for the removal of sites from the 
summary list once it has been cleaned up or determined not to pose a 
public health risk. As a result, the bill is likely to result in 
unnecessary public concern and could result in sites not being cleaned 
up in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel at cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org