VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Helping Coastal Conservancy Address Climate Change is Goal of Senate Bill 1066

By Ted W. Lieu, Senator, 28th Senate District
If you’re curious about the devastating
effects of rising sea levels, think back to the
televised footage about what happened a
year ago in Japan on March 11, 2011. The
rolling tsunami tidal wave killed thousands
of unsuspecting Japanese residents off the
coastal city of Fukushima. Climate change
has the effect of a slow-motion earthquake,
eventually resulting in catastrophic consequences
The threat of rising sea levels is real – and
inevitable if the alarming climate change
trend continues, according to decades
of near-unanimous scientific evidence.
Global warming also causes more extreme
weather events to occur. Helping to protect
our precious coast from the potential
devastating effects of climate change and
rising sea levels is why I introduced Senate
Bill 1066.
SB 1066 corrects an ambiguity in law to
ensure that the California Coastal Conservancy,
as part of its mission to use innovative
entrepreneurial techniques to protect,
restore, and enhance coastal resources
and urban waterfronts, can engage in projects
that address climate change impacts
in these areas. Specifically, this bill would
clarify that the Conservancy may fund and
undertake projects to address climate
change and may award grants to public
agencies and nonprofit organizations for
these purposes, and would require that the
Conservancy prioritize projects that maximize
public benefits.
SB 1066 is needed because rising sea
levels and storm-driven waves pose direct
risks to the state’s coastal resources. With
the coastal economy contributing $46 billion
annually to the state and with 80 percent of
California’s 38 million residents living within
30 miles of the coast, we must take steps
now to ensure the coastal economy and environment
survives. Underscoring the need
for SB 1066 is a review of recent recordhigh
temperatures, changing weather patterns,
and rising ocean levels.
According to Louis Blumberg, climate
change program director for the Nature
Conservancy, “SB 1066 will help ensure
that our coastal communities, economy
and the critical natural resources that we
rely on are prepared and protected against
the impacts of a changing climate.”
For more than 30 years, the California
Coastal Conservancy has worked with public
and private entities to protect, restore
and enhance coastal resources and habitats,
including deteriorating urban waterfronts
and poorly-designed coastal development.
SB 1066 would explicitly authorize
the Conservancy to address the impacts of
climate change and how we can adapt to a
hotter earth.
It’s in all our interests to help ensure the
Coastal Conservancy can continue to work
on addressing climate change, especially
those projects that maximize public benefits.
Any costs of SB 1066 would be paid
with non-state funds.
The bill will next be assigned to a policy-
review committee, which is expected
to occur by April. If you agree this issue
is important, I welcome your support. For
more, visit Sen. Lieu’s Web site at www.
senate.ca.gov/lieu.

Ted W. Lieu chairs the Senate Labor and
Industrial Relations Committee and represents
nearly 1 million residents of Senate
District 28, which includes the cities
of Carson, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach,
Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach
and Torrance, as well as portions of Long
Beach, San Pedro and Los Angeles,
including Venice. For more, visit www.
senate.ca.gov/lieu.