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Arnolds epa pick critical bush healthy forest initiative { November 14 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/14/BAG5U321AS1.DTLIn his remarks, Tamminen also criticized President Bush's so-called Healthy Forests Initiative. The policy, he said, fails to remove underbrush in the residential and wildlands interface where fires cause the most damage, a view widely held by environmental groups.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/14/BAG5U321AS1.DTL
State EPA pick critical of Bush
Federal policies for gases, foresting misguided, he says
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Friday, November 14, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's pick to head the state's environmental protection agency on Thursday criticized the Bush administration for failing to curb greenhouse gases or prevent forest fires.
In his first public remarks since his appointment, Terry Tamminen, executive director of Environment Now in Santa Monica, said a federal decision earlier this year "undermines our ability to control greenhouse gases.''
"We can't just stick our head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist,'' said Tamminen, referring to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision earlier this year not to regulate carbon dioxide, a contributor to global warming.
Tamminen, who must be confirmed by the state Senate as head of the California EPA, made his remarks at an Oakland conference of the Bay Planning Coalition, which includes representatives from business and industry, environmental groups, unions and other associations.
His comments suggest that the Schwarzenegger administration could challenge several Bush administration environmental policies, including the EPA's ruling that the federal Clean Air Act doesn't apply to carbon dioxide, the main culprit in global warming.
Davis administration officials had taken the position that the EPA decision would make it harder to enforce a state law passed last year requiring the reduction of carbon dioxide and other gases.
While environmental groups applaud the appointment of Tamminen, a self- proclaimed environmentalist who calls himself "a tree hugger,'' they have been sharply critical of the appointment of James Branham, an executive at Pacific Lumber, the Humboldt County timber company, as his deputy.
Environmental groups say Branham, who worked on environmental issues for Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, won't be tough enough on pollution issues. But Tamminen defended the selection, saying it was his decision. "He was my first choice. He's not a zealot.''
In the end, the administration will have "strange bedfellows,'' Tamminen said. "The governor listens to a lot of people, reads a lot of material and decides for himself.''
In his remarks, Tamminen also criticized President Bush's so-called Healthy Forests Initiative. The policy, he said, fails to remove underbrush in the residential and wildlands interface where fires cause the most damage, a view widely held by environmental groups.
He also attacked a federal spending bill amendment authored by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., that would gut California's rule limiting emissions from small engines, such as lawnmowers and other garden equipment. Tamminen called the threat of lost jobs from the rule "a red herring."
Asked whether holding these views might cause conflict with the Bush administration, Tamminen said, "If we have differences of opinion with President Bush, we have to voice that. It's not about partisan politics, it's about the environment.''
As a Republican, Schwarzenegger believes he will have better luck than did Gov. Gray Davis in trying to get the federal government to buy back 36 undeveloped oil leases off the coast, Tamminen said. The United States bought back leases near Florida where the president's brother governs.
Tamminen, 51, has lived in California for 40 years. He's worked as a sheep rancher in Wisconsin, real estate developer in Florida and pool contractor in Santa Monica. He met Schwarzenegger through Robert Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer in Washington D.C., who runs the national WaterKeeper Alliance.
Tamminen founded Santa Monica BayKeeper and helped start programs in San Diego, Orange County, Ventura and Santa Barbara. He will remain on the group's national board.
E-mail Jane Kay at jkay@sfchronicle.com.
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