Governor Gavin Newsom’s suspension of two of California’s landmark environmental laws has created a rare opening for fire agencies in West Marin to fast-track long-delayed wildfire prevention projects.
In March, just two months after the destructive Palisades and Eaton fires tore through Los Angeles County, Mr. Newsom issued an executive order and emergency proclamation to suspend the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act for projects that protect communities against wildfire.
“We are going to take advantage of that exemption this year,” said Mark Brown, the executive officer of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority. “We’re only going to use the exemption to speed up the regulatory process. We are still going to adhere to our high standards of ecologically sound practices.”
The M.W.P.A. will direct an additional $500,000 this year to shaded fuel breaks near homes in Bolinas, Inverness and Stinson Beach. A regulatory exemption to begin that work is under review by the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Natural Resources Agency, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and the California Coastal Commission. Officials say crews could begin work by late summer or early fall, after nesting season concludes.
Anne Crealock, the program manager for the M.W.P.A., said all projects will still comply with a statewide environmental protection framework and the authority’s internal standards.
CEQA and the Coastal Act have long served as bulwarks against environmental degradation, requiring public input and careful review of development and land management in sensitive areas. But critics argue the laws can delay urgent fire mitigation, particularly along the coast.
A spokesman for the commission declined to comment on the governor’s order.
Fire chiefs in Inverness, Bolinas and Stinson Beach all welcomed the chance to expedite projects. “We have a lot more restrictions when it comes to the Coastal Act to do vegetation work in our zone, as opposed to other members of the M.W.P.A. over the hill and outside the area,” said Jesse Peri, Stinson Beach’s fire chief.
Although West Marin comprises more than half the county’s landmass—and has borne the brunt of nearly every major wildfire in Marin for the past century—funding for wildfire prevention is allocated largely by population. Under Measure C, the parcel tax that funds the M.W.P.A., 80 percent of funds must be spent in the zone where they are generated, with the remainder spent as needed. Just under 6 percent of the tax’s roughly $20 million annual revenue comes from West Marin.
“Knowing that we had the governor’s exemption this year, we decided to flex our resources into West Marin and into the coastal zone,” Mr. Brown said.
Bolinas Fire Chief George Krakauer said the state has now seen firsthand that wildfires “can and do happen on the coast—we’re not exempt. With Malibu and then the governor’s executive order, we have to strike while the iron is hot.”
The executive order doesn’t apply to federally owned land, limiting its impact in places like Stinson Beach, where much of the open space is under federal jurisdiction. “Fire knows no boundaries,” Chief Peri said. “If we’re trying to build a large-scale fuel break, doing it in isolated pockets without continuity is problematic.”
His agency is focusing where it can—roadside vegetation along evacuation routes, defensible space near homes, and larger-scale fuel breaks near Panoramic Highway and the school.
In Inverness, the proximity of unmanaged state and federal lands puts some residents on edge.
“We have the lowest population in Marin but the most wildland-urban interface,” said Felix Chamberlain, who helped build a shaded fuel break between his Seahaven neighborhood and the adjacent state park. “The park hasn’t done anything for decades, which makes our efforts all the more critical.” He hopes a portion of the $500,000 will be used to maintain the break.
In the long term, the M.W.P.A. will operate under a public works plan for fuel reduction projects in West Marin. The document will authorize vegetation removal in the coastal zone on a programmatic basis. A final draft is currently under review by the coastal commission and Graton Rancheria.
“We’re using the governor’s exemption to get the work started now,” Mr. Brown said. “Then we’ll follow through with the long-term regulatory process.”