L.A. Times - Environment

California Atty. General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that his office is seeking civil penalties and equitable relief against the operators of Castaic's Chiquita Canyon Landfill for allegedly mismanaging the operation, lawsuit says.

The City Council ordinance will halt new oil and gas drilling in L.A. and phase out production on existing oil wells over the next 20 years. It applies to some 600 active and 1,200 idle wells within city limits.

The U.S. was among countries voting against new international negotiations on rules for prosecuting environmental crime. The talks are set to take place anyway.

California Proposition 45, aimed at streamlining the state's environmental review process for "essential" projects, would bar tribes that are not recognized by the federal government from consulting in reviews, while maintaining the right for tribes with recognition.

A mix of astronomical and tidal events are converging with unusually warm waters off Southern California's coast to push the tides higher than ever before, sending surges of water into beach cities like Newport Beach and Redondo Beach.

A new global strategy launched at the U.N. biodiversity conference in Armenia aims to bring fungi — from mushrooms to yeasts — into international conservation efforts.

Exceptionally high tides are set to hit California as early as this weekend, sending officials scrambling to prepare for another onslaught along the state's already battered coast. Significant coastal flooding is expected in some areas.

Future federal funding of California's coastal management program is suspended, "unless and until the identified deficiencies are satisfactorily addressed."

California clean-air officials said they were disappointed by Los Angeles Times reporting on the state's Clean Bus and Truck Voucher Project.

California is only about halfway to its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goal, according to the state's latest inventory, released in September.

The rain falling across Southern California won't bring an end to the region's fire season just yet, experts say.

Southern California is on track to lose 30 to 70% of its beaches over the next several decades. Almost half of all beach cliffs are likely to retreat by 30 to 80 feet by 2100.

A reintroduced eastern lowland gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo has given birth and is successfully raising her baby in the wild, prompting plans to reintroduce more rescued gorillas.

California wildlife regulators have made the state's first 'underwater parks' in an effort spearheaded by tribes. It's a win for Indigenous stewardship but a loss for fishers who warn they'll suffer an economic hit.