May 9, 2019 the Honorable Anthony Portantino Chair, Senate
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May 9, 2019 The Honorable Anthony Portantino Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee State Capitol, Room 3086 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: Senate Bill 632 (Galgiani) – SUPPORT As Amended April 29, 2019 Dear Senator Portantino: On behalf of the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), I write to support Senate Bill 632, authored by Senator Cathleen Galgiani, which requires the Board of Forestry to complete its California Environmental Quality Act review of the draft vegetation treatment program environmental impact report by June 30, 2020. RCRC is an association of thirty-six rural California counties, and the RCRC Board of Directors is comprised of elected supervisors from each of those member counties. Over the last several decades, wildfires have grown larger and increased in intensity. This is troubling since high intensity fires are much more ecologically devastating and leads to the growth of fewer-fire-resistant species, thereby adding to future fire risk. RCRC member counties contain much of California’s forested lands and have suffered the vast majority of the State’s most catastrophic wildfire events in the last decade, including the Camp Fire, which completely devastated the City of Paradise and stands on record as the most destructive wildfire in California history with 85 lives lost, nearly 19,000 structures destroyed, and 50,000 people displaced. On January 29, 2019, CAL FIRE Director Thom Porter and Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Chairman Keith Gilless called for the speeding up of “logging and prescribed burns designed to slow wildfires.” They announced that they are starting anew on creating a single environmental review process to cover projects on private land, such as cutting back dense stands of trees and setting controlled fires to burn out thick brush.” CAL FIRE’s recent Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Report recommends certification of the VTP EIR and development of a streamlined permitting process for projects not covered by the VTP EIR. The Board’s VTP PEIR will serve as the overarching environmental review document for vegetation management projects that fall within its scope. 1215 K Street, Suite 1650, Sacramento, CA 95814 | www.rcrcnet.org | 916.447.4806 | Fax: 916.448.3154 ALPINE AMADOR BUTTE CALAVERAS COLUSA DEL NORTE EL DORADO GLENN HUMBOLDT IMPERIAL INYO LAKE LASSEN MADERA MARIPOSA MENDOCINO MERCED MODOC MONO NAPA NEVADA PLACER PLUMAS SAN BENITO SAN LUIS OBISPO SHASTA SIERRA SISKIYOU SONOMA SUTTER TEHAMA TRINITY TULARE TUOLUMNE YOLO YUBA The Honorable Anthony Portantino Senate Bill 632 May 9, 2019 Page 2 Over 2.7 million Californians live in areas at high risk of wildfire, with over 350,000 living in cities and towns that lie entirely within very high fire hazard severity zones. SB 632 facilitates vegetation management projects that will significantly reduce the risk of wildfire for those residents and communities by requiring the Board of Forestry to complete its CEQA review of the draft vegetation treatment program EIR by June 30, 2020. For the above reasons, RCRC respectfully requests your ‘Aye’ vote when this measure is heard before your Committee. Sincerely, JOHN KENNEDY Legislative Advocate cc: The Honorable Cathleen Galgiani, Member of the State Senate The Honorable Jim Nielsen, Member of the State Senate The Honorable Andreas Borgeas, Member of the State Senate The Honorable Bill Dodd, Member of the State Senate The Honorable James Gallagher, Member of the State Assembly Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Ashley Ames, Consultant, Senate Appropriations Committee Genevieve Wong, Consultant, Senate Environmental Quality Committee .