State Legislature Should Appropriate the Prop 4 Funds ASAP

Last fall, millions of Californians voted in support of a $10 billion environmental bond measure. Officially titled the Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water bond measure, its broad popular support was a signal to our state leaders that Californians care about climate action. Here in Humboldt, 63% of voters supported the bill. But now, almost a year later, the funds for supporting our environment have yet to be appropriated by the State legislature. Projects across the State that have already been designed cannot be implemented because the funds have not been released. The list of projects is too long to go into, but here are a few important local examples. 

Proposition 4 will fund coastal resiliency projects around Humboldt Bay. These projects will include eel grass restoration, sea level rise adaptation, and clean-ups of contaminated sites. Humboldt Bay has a legacy of environmental contamination that is being aggravated by sea level rise. Former mill sites, contaminated with dioxin and other pollutants, are ticking time bombs that need to be cleaned up before sea level rise causes groundwater levels to rise and mobilize contamination. This work is incredibly urgent because, as climate change continues to cause sea level rise, we need to act to protect our bay now. 

The Great Redwood Trail is also slated to receive Proposition 4 funding. This trail will provide an important non-motor vehicle connection between North Coast communities, act as a tourism draw, and remediate brownfield sites along the former North Coast Railroad. We’re already seeing the local benefits of the segment of the Great Redwood Trail connecting Arcata and Eureka. Supporting non-motor vehicle forms of transportation is another important climate strategy, and this one comes with the added benefit of creating beautiful trails for us all to enjoy. 

Proposition 4 will also help fund the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District’s offshore wind heavy lift marine terminal project. This important project will help combat climate change and not just adapt to it by facilitating the construction of California’s offshore wind industry, adding a tremendous amount of renewable energy to our electric grid. The Harbor District was already awarded an $18 million grant by the California Energy Commission. The grant will fund enhanced technical studies so that the District can better understand the requirements and impacts of the project and public engagement, so that it can share that knowledge with the community. But the funds won’t be released until the California legislature appropriates the Proposition 4 funds earmarked for offshore wind port development. 

Funding is stalled in Sacramento. Without urgent action—the legislative session closes in less than three weeks—this money will sit for another year. The climate crisis is now. Voters have spoken.  So to our leaders in Sacramento, I simply ask that you appropriate the Proposition 4 funds that Californians approved last fall.