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Sunshine Week, Day 3
Keeping Doors Open For Citizens

Charlotte Hsu, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:03/13/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

McKee has spent years as an activist fighting for transparency in government. He is a former president and current board member of Californians Aware, a nonprofit group that advocates for open government. In recent years, McKee, a chemistry professor at Pasadena City College, spearheaded efforts to convince governing bodies, including the Redlands City Council and the Fontana Unified School District board, to comply with open-meeting laws.

Question: What sparked your interest in the First Amendment, and how did you get started in your activism?

Answer: About 14 years ago, I lived in the city of Glendora, and there was an issue about a new police contract that was taking about 11 months to resolve. A police officer friend of mine & made me promise to go with him to a City Council meeting.

It was the first I'd ever been to in Glendora, and the place was packed. What I saw was Glendora Mayor Bob Kuhn simply talking for 30 minutes about what had gone on with the contract, the negotiations, his perspective of what the police officers were demanding, his knowledge of what the city residents wanted.

And everybody just sat there and listened and at the end, he said, "You know, I know there are a lot of you here to speak on this issue, but we have a lot of other business. We should get this (other business) out of the way."

& About 20 minutes after 11 in the evening, finally the mayor returned to (the contract) issue, and of course by then, (with) people having to drop off their kids at school and having to go to work the next day, only three people remained to speak on the issue.

I thought, "My gosh, this can't be the way city government is supposed to be run."

Q: How well do government agencies, in general, adhere to open-information and open-meeting laws?

A: They do vary. On average, mediocre. When elected, officials quickly seem to forget that it's the public's agency and their obligation really is twofold: To inform well the public they serve of what government has done and what it's contemplating. And secondly, to invite the public to come in and share their perspective.

It is supposed to be a government of, by and for the people, and often the elected representatives get the idea that it's just their perspective, that they don't need any outside information. And that's where government fails.

Q: If a citizen suspects a government agency or official violated open-information or open-meeting laws, what steps can she take to ensure her concerns are heard?

A: The short answer is, sue them. That's the only remedy provided in the Brown Act (the state's open-meeting law). If somebody violates the law and you call them on it and they say, "No, no we did everything correctly," the only thing you can do is sue them.

Practically speaking, I would say that my first approach is to try to get somebody like Californians Aware to forward an opinion to that agency that makes clear the violation.

Q: What are some of the most unusual violations of open-information laws that you have encountered?

A: To be honest, most of them are fairly usual, and that's the difficulty. You see agencies not learning from past experience. I guess the classic examples are those where a city manager or school superintendent is given a raise in closed session. I think that's the most common abuse.

Q: Why do you continue to fight for freedom of information?

A: The easy answer is, you know, as my kids were growing up there were people who spent unbelievable amounts of time to teach them soccer. There were people who spend years and years on PTA improving the educational opportunities of our kids.

This is something where I've been able to develop both a knack and an interest, so I consider this a way that I'm giving back to my community.

Sunshine Week, Day 4
Tracking the use of toxic chemicals
Public access to data on local businesses available

Andrew Silva, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:03/14/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

In 1984, at least 3,800 people died and tens of thousands were injured and disabled when toxic gas escaped from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India.

Two years later, the U.S. Congress decided people in this country living near facilities that handle dangerous chemicals are entitled to know what's next door.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act forced companies to disclose what they handle, how much is stored on site and, in some cases, the possible consequences of a catastrophic failure.

The law also led to the creation of the Toxics Release Inventory,

There are similar California laws.

In San Bernardino County, the most common dangerous chemicals in use are chlorine gas, used mainly for treating wastewater, and ammonia, often used for refrigeration.

To find out if a business nearby uses dangerous chemicals, drop by the office of the San Bernardino County Fire Marshal. The type and amount of chemicals used on site are available.

The office is located at 620 S. E St. in San Bernardino.

The file will not include a map or the exact location of where the chemicals are stored, said Marilyn Kraft, hazardous materials specialist in the fire marshal's office.

Providing information on a possible worst-case scenario from a chemical release would take longer to process, she said.

Officials would first need to make sure the location of storage vessels is withheld, and home phone numbers of company officials are redacted.

"We would encourage people to make appointments" before coming in for the more detailed information, Kraft said.

There are fewer than 200 businesses in the county that have to file such risk-management analyses, she said.

Separate from that, the Toxics Release Inventory, available online at www.epa.gov/tri, provides details about how much of each chemical is released to the environment.

For example, in 2004, Cemex California Cement in Victorville released 184,832 pounds of pollutants into the air, including 309 pounds of mercury and 15 pounds of lead, according to the data.

There was a dust-up when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December changed the reporting requirements.

The reporting threshold for most chemicals was raised from 500 pounds to 2,000 pounds, despite thousands of letters in opposition.

The original proposal had been to raise the limit to 5,000 pounds, but the agency compromised at 2,000 pounds.

Any amount of lead, mercury and other chemicals that can build up in the body still must be reported. If a business recycles fewer than 500 pounds of those chemicals, it can use a simpler reporting form.

That still doesn't sit well with advocates of open government.

"Less information is available now than used to be," said Joseph A. Davis, editor of the watchdog newsletter for the Society of Environmental Journalists.

A proposal to require the reports every two years instead of annually was a non-starter after the agency informed Congress and members balked.

Wednesday's Sun Article



A Good Look at what the City Can DO
IF it wanted to Plan Green, and GO Green: What You Can Do Too

http://www.powerlight.com/solutions/publicsector.php



Update on the Solar Photovoltaic Incentive Programs
March 5, 2007


California solar incentives have changed: Please note the following updates to prepare your members, clients, and colleagues. As of January 1, 2007, the California Energy Commission's New Solar Homes Partnership will focus on solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for new residential buildings. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will provide incentives for all other residential and non-residential customers under the California Solar Initiative (CSI). Consumers seeking PV incentives should now apply as follows:

California Energy Commission New Solar Homes Partnership (New residential construction only)
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street MS-45
Sacramento, CA 95814-5512
Telephone: 1-800-555-7794
E-mail: renewable@energy.state.ca.us

California Public Utilities Commission Program Administrators (All other properties)
Apply to the program administrator in your area:

Southern California Edison
California Solar Initiative
2131 Walnut Grove Avenue
G03, 3rd Floor, B10
Rosemead, CA 91770
E-mail address: greenh@sce.com
Telephone: 1-800-799-4177
Fax: 1-626-302-6253

San Diego Regional Energy Office
(customers of San Diego Gas & Electric)
8690 Balboa Avenue, #100
San Diego, CA 92123
E-mail address: csi@sdenergy.org
Telephone: 1-866-sdenergy or 858-244-1177
Fax: 1-858-244-1178


Pacific Gas and Electric Company
PG&E Integrated Processing Center
P.O. Box 7265
San Francisco, CA 94120-7265
E-mail address: solar@pge.com
Telephone: 1-800-743-8300
Fax: 1-415-973-2510

New Solar Homes Partnership Resources
Now available on the NSHP web pages are the Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), steps on How to Apply to NSHP including a Reservation Application Checklist, all NSHP forms downloadable in PDF format, information on tax credits, and the NSHP PV Calculator. The NSHP PV Calculator page requests users to register their names and e-mail addresses (voluntarily) in order to alert PV Calculator users of updates and/or changes in the calculator. The list of eligible equipment for NSHP is also updated when needed to provide applicants with qualified modules, inverters, and performance meters.

New California Solar Initiative Resources
The CSI program has new tools and resources to help Californians understand the incentive changes. Please help us get the word out: It is crucial to the success of the program to begin training consumers, installers, marketers, and all other stakeholders now on the new program design.

California Solar Initiative Handbook
The CSI program changes the way California offers rebates for solar electricity. These changes are described in detail in the draft CSI Program Handbook, which is located on the www.GoSolarCalifornia.ca.gov website under "How PV and Efficiency Can Save Money" and "How to Apply." A final handbook will be posted by early March with highlighted textual changes that were required by the passage of Senate Bill 1.

Expected Performance-Based Buydown Calculator
Under the CSI, incentives for all systems less than 100 kilowatts will initially be paid a one-time, up-front incentive based on expected system performance (unless the applicant opts into monthly payments under the PBI path). This expected performance will be calculated based on equipment ratings and installation factors and is called Expected Performance-Based Buydown, or EPBB.

The new California solar incentives reward performance. Therefore, shading, tilt, DC rating, inverter efficiency, azimuth, location in California, and other factors can change the incentive. To help consumers see how much an installation will receive, the CPUC and Program Administrators developed an EPBB calculator, at www.csi-epbb.com or on the www.GoSolarCalifornia.ca.gov website under "How to Apply." Detailed assumptions and methodology are described in the calculator handbook and at www.GoSolarCalifornia.ca.gov/csi/performance_based.html.

It's important to start testing the calculator for your typical installations. The following examples illustrate how installation factors can impact the incentive level:


Orange,California:(ZIP 92866)
Orange,California:(ZIP 92866)
San Francisco,California:(ZIP 94117)
San Francisco,California:(ZIP 94117)
Size (kW CEC AC) 49.511 49.511 49.511 49.511
DC Rating (kW PTC) 51.5736 51.5736 51.5736 51.5736
Number of Modules 261 261 261 261
Number of Inverters 10 10 10 10
Inverter efficiency 96% 96% 96% 96%
Minimal Shading (yes/no) Yes No
(95% derate factor/month) Yes No
(95% derate factor/month)
Array Tilt (degrees) 14° 5° 20° 15°
Array Azimuth (degrees) 180° 135° 180° 135°
Annual output (kWh) 83,780 74,100 82,195 73,035
Incentive $123,632.49 $113,600.38 $119,910.61 $109,330.62


Please help us build awareness of the new incentives by working with your members, clients, and colleagues to test the calculator with sample locations and factors. For technical problems with the tool, please contact the Program administrators.

Online Application Tool
The CPUC and Program Administrators are developing a web-based application tool to aid requests for the incentives. Check the GoSolarCalifornia website later this year to use this new application resource.

Again, please help us get the word out by directing your members, clients, and colleagues to the handbook and calculator for early education on the CSI program. For more details on the program and continuous updates, visit http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/ and Go Solar!