Governor Newsom cuts red tape to accelerate new zero-emissions ferry project in San Francisco Bay
California presses ahead with clean transportation future, while House Republicans vote to choke port communities with dirty air
What you need to know: Governor Newsom cut red tape to fast-track a new pier in Berkeley for a zero-emission ferry connecting Berkeley, San Francisco, and Larkspur. This comes after House Republicans voted twice this week to let diesel-burning ships and boats emit much more toxic pollution over California’s port and harbor communities, a handout to an oil industry that posted $85.2 billion in profits last quarter.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today certified the San Francisco Bay Ferry and City of Berkeley’s Water Transportation Pier Ferry Project for judicial streamlining under Senate Bill 149 (Caballero, 2023), clearing a faster path for a new zero-emission ferry route connecting Berkeley to San Francisco and Larkspur. his comes after House Republicans voted this week to advance two resolutions that would let diesel-burning ships and boats spew much more toxic pollution over California’s port and harbor communities, a handout to an oil industry that just posted $85.2 billion in profits last quarter.
California is moving full speed ahead on our clean transportation future, even as the federal government clings to 19th-century polluting technologies. Berkeley’s new ferry pier will host a zero-emission ferry that cuts pollution, cuts health costs, saves families money, and spares commuters the headache of sitting in traffic. We’re the fourth largest economy in the world, and we’re not going to stop building the economy of the future that brings good-paying jobs to our shores and cuts costs. Meanwhile, House Republicans just voted twice to try to stop California’s efforts to clean up boats and ships in California — a giveaway to Big Oil while Americans pay more for gas, diesel, back-to-school clothes, groceries, and more thanks to Trump’s disastrous Iran war.
Governor Gavin Newsom
“This project shows what’s possible when multiple benefits work in sync to create something exceptional to meet community needs for a healthier environment and greater resilience to a changing climate,” said Samuel Assefa, Director of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI). “The CEQA judicial streamlining certification is a demonstration of California’s innovative approach to delivering needed infrastructure more expeditiously while protecting resources.”
The project, a partnership between the City of Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Ferry, will replace the long-shuttered Berkeley Municipal Pier with a new dual-purpose pier supporting public recreation and an all-electric ferry service linking the Berkeley waterfront to the San Francisco and Larkspur ferry terminals. At full buildout, the project is projected to remove roughly 19,000 vehicle miles per day from Bay Area roads.
The Governor certified the project utilizing tools to build more faster that were extended in the historic infrastructure package passed with the support of the Legislature. The certification means a streamlined process for legal challenges that can otherwise cause long delays.
House Republicans choose Big Oil’s profits over our kids’ health
Instead of voting to make life more affordable and healthy for Americans, House Republicans this week — in their last legislative push before vacation — voted to choke port and harbor communities and harm our children with dirtier air. The two resolutions, advanced by two of California’s most well-known petroleum puppets (Rep. Vince Fong and Rep. James Gallagher), claim to roll back California’s At-Berth and Commercial Harbor Craft clean air protections—even though a federal court has already ruled that this Trump Administration rollback effort is illegal. Those protections keep large ships and working boats from spewing dirty diesel pollution at California’s docks and into the neighborhoods that breathe that air every day.
This is a Big Oil giveaway, plain and simple. Last quarter, the oil industry profited roughly $39 million an hour thanks to Donald Trump’s gas price crises driven by his reckless Iran war. House Republicans just voted to hand them more.
The kicker? Neither of these Republican resolutions produces a drop of new oil, expands refinery capacity, or lowers gas or diesel prices by a cent, in California or anywhere else. Today, Americans nationwide have spent more than $107 billion in extra fuel costs, and it’s wreaking havoc across the U.S. economy. According to a Groundwork Collaborative analysis, Big Oil is taking windfall profits and delivering them to shareholders, not American drivers. This past Labor Day weekend, the average nationwide price for a gallon of gas topped $4 a gallon — the most expensive in the history of the holiday, according to AAA. Last week, average diesel fuel prices reached $6 per gallon for the first time ever.
California’swaivers build on decades of bipartisan Clean Air Act leadership — under both Republican and Democratic administrations — to reduce deadly pollution and protect public health. Analysis found that California’s 2020 At-Berth updated protections are expected to reduce potential cancer risk in California portside communities by approximately 60%, with health benefits estimated at $2.31 billion.
Building California’s clean future, faster
Governor Newsom, in partnership with the legislature, signed SB 7 and SB 149 to help California build critical clean-energy, water, housing, and infrastructure projects faster, while maintaining California’s nation-leading environmental protections and meaningful public participation. By establishing a faster, more predictable process for resolving CEQA litigation, the program helps prevent years of delay for projects that are essential to meeting California’s climate, clean-energy, water-resilience, and affordability goals.
The program is already delivering results: major projects have been certified for judicial streamlining under the current framework, including the Cornucopia Hybrid Project in Fresno County, the Easley Renewable Energy Project in Riverside County, the Sites Reservoir Project, and the Fourth & Central housing project in downtown Los Angeles. Together, these projects demonstrate how California can expand clean power, strengthen water security, create good-paying jobs, and build more homes in the places people want to live.