Rim of the Valley | Clean Air and Clean Water | Wilderness Protection | Local Preservation Initiatives | National Parks and Forests

I have long been committed to protecting our environment at the local, state, and national level. We must ensure that our natural resources can be enjoyed by future generations. As a federal prosecutor, I cracked down on toxic dumpers and those discharging waste into the ocean. As a State Senator, I voted to limit the use of toxic pesticides at local schools and to set air quality standards at levels that protect children.

As a U.S. Representative, I am leading the fight to get Chromium 6 out of our drinking water, and pursuing preservation initiatives in the Verdugo Mountains, Arroyo Seco, the Rim of the Valley, and other local areas. I have introduced legislation, the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act, that will study the feasibility of expanding the Santa Monica National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, a unique ecosystem and one of the last precious open spaces in an increasingly developed area.

I have recently joined the bipartisan Green Scissors Caucus, an organization promotes legislation that eliminates wasteful, environmentally harmful projects, along with fiscal responsibility.

Protecting our environment includes encouraging greater production of traditional fuels in an environmentally responsible way, and greater emphasis on conservation measures. Our first priority should be to draw on our technological know-how to solve our energy challenges using renewable sources of energy, such as solar, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, and fusion, and to expand the use of fuel-saving technologies like hybrid vehicles already dotting our roadways.

I have great confidence in America's technological ability to overcome our dependence on fossil fuels. Our national energy policy should aim to create research and development incentives for the private sector to bring promising technologies to market.

Protecting The Rim of the Valley

I introduced legislation entitled The Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act, H.R. 704 (108th) , as part of my open space preservation initiative. This legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly study the feasibility of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the mountains and canyons that are part of the Rim of the Valley Corridor. The Rim of the Valley Corridor contains a rare Mediterranean ecosystem and includes the mountains above the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, and Conejo valleys as well as the famed Arroyo Seco Canyon, home of Pasadena's Rose Bowl. Our mountains can and should be places where city-dwellers can easily enjoy activities such as hiking, camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, and observing wildlife.

I am pleased that the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act has bipartisan support. All Members of Congress whose district includes portions of the Rim of the Valley Corridor have cosponsored this legislation. This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Resources. Senator Diane Feinstein introduced companion legislation, S. 2571, which passed the U.S. Senate in the spring of 2003.

To learn more about the Rim of the Valley, click here.

Clean Water

Chromium 6
One of my first actions in Congress in 2001 was to urge a top federal government laboratory, the National Toxicology Program (NTP), to conduct a definitive study to determine whether hexavalent chromium (also known as Chromium 6) poses a health risk in our drinking water. The NTP agreed to my request and an extensive federal study is now underway. This project is on a fast track and is expected to be completed in 2005. The results of the NTP study will be useful in establishing safe limits for our drinking water.

In addition, I urged the House Appropriations committee to allocate $3 million to the City of Glendale to determine the most appropriate technology for removing chromium 6 from water. I secured $900,000 in 2003 and $750,000 in 2002. This funding will help launch an evaluation and development of technologies for removing Chromium 6 in our community and provide a model for other municipalities and water suppliers nationwide.

Further, I urged EPA to determine whether a new, lower national public health standard is needed for hexavalent chromium in drinking water. The national public standard is 100 parts per billion (ppb); California has established a standard of 50 ppb, and some health experts believe 2.5 ppb levels are necessary to further protect public health.

To learn more about Rep. Schiff's efforts to rid Chromium 6 from drinking water, click here.

Elimination of Perchlorate

I cosponsored H.R. 2123 (108th), the Preventing Perchlorate Pollution Act. This bill would require EPA to set a legally enforceable maximum contaminant level (MCL) drinking water standard for perchlorate by July 1, 2004 (under EPA's current schedule, 2006 is the earliest date for finalization of a standard). The bill also contains certain community right to know and retroactive disclosure requirements for the transport and discharge of perchlorate.

Removing Arsenic from our Water

I supported H.R. 1413 (107th), the Get Arsenic out of our Drinking Water Act, which required lowering the maximum standard for arsenic to 10 parts per billion. In October, 2001, the EPA adopted a new arsenic standard based on the recommendations of H.R. 1413. According to the EPA, the new regulation will be 10 parts per billion (ppb) and will be fully implemented by 2006. This standard complies with the Safe Drinking Water Act by protecting public health based on the best available science and ensures that the standard is achievable.

Clean Air
Power Plant Emissions

I support H.R. 2042 (108th), the Clean Smokestacks Act, which strengthens EPA regulations regarding sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and mercury emissions from power plants. This bill also requires power plants, on either 30 years after the power plant commenced operation or five years after the bill's enactment (whichever is later), to comply with the most recent new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act.

Defense Authorization

I opposed an amendment in the Defense Authorization bill that would have provided the Defense Department with sweeping, permanent exemptions from environmental laws at military bases. The set of proposals, which had been sought by the Pentagon and dubbed the "Range and Readiness Preservation Initiative," would change critical provisions of the Clean Air Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act. These changes would remove federal and state authority to require the Department of Defense to clean up its thousands of contaminated sites nationwide.

Wilderness Protection
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

I strongly oppose drilling and development within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 770 (108th), the Morris K. Udall Arctic Wilderness Act, which would set aside the Coastal Plain as a fully protected unit of the Wilderness Preservation System. This bill is an important step towards ensuring that the Refuge remains a unique and timeless wilderness free of development.

In 2003, I voted for an amendment to H.R. 6, the House Energy Bill that would protect the ANWR from oil drilling. Unfortunately, this amendment failed in the House. I am hopeful that the final energy bill will include protections for ANWR as well as programs for the research and development of renewable and efficient energy sources.

To read Rep. Schiff's floor statement on drilling in ANWR, click here.

Alaska Rainforest Conservation

I support H.R. 979 (108th), the Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act, which designates specified lands in the Chugach National Forest as National Wilderness Preservation sites and specified lands in the Tongass National Forest as wilderness areas. Stretching over 1,000 miles of coastline from Ketchikan to Kodiak, Alaska boasts the largest intact temperate rainforest remaining in the world. Most of this rainforest lies within the 22 million acres of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests. Sadly, clear-cutting, logging roads, and other harmful activities threaten this global treasure. This legislation will safeguard Alaska's ecological treasures for the future.

Red Rock Wilderness

I support H.R 1796 (108th), America's Red Rock Wilderness, which designates ten pieces of federal land in the State of Utah as wilderness areas subject to environmental protection. These unique areas display a rich mosaic of biological, archaeological, and scenic diversity. In addition, many threatened species are also found within this region. By declaring them National Wilderness Areas, we will be able to protect and manage these environmental treasures for future generations.

Local Preservation Initiatives

Oakmont Property

I continue to work on the preservation of the Oakmont property in Glendale. Located in the Verdugo Mountains, the Oakmont area is the site of an incredible oak forest where a developer is seeking to build 572 homes, one of the largest housing tracts in the history of Glendale. While in the State Senate, I helped secure $5 million in state funding for the preservation of this area. The battle to preserve Oakmont illustrates the importance of bringing federal resources back to our mountains to assist in land conservation and recreation efforts.

California Coastline

In early 2003, I urged the Appropriations Committee to continue the longstanding moratorium on opening the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and gas drilling in sensitive coastal and marine areas off Florida, California, Oregon, Washington, and the entire east coast.

Similarly, I supported Rep. Capps’ amendment to the Energy Bill (H.R. 6 in 108th), which maintained the current moratorium against new oil and gas drilling off large portions of the U.S. coastline.

I also urged passage of H.R. 4750 (107th), legislation to permanently designate 57,000 acres of Federal land along the California Central Coast as wilderness. Located within or adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest, Fort Hunter-Ligget and Pinnacles National Park, this biologically diverse land is known for its incredible geological features and vistas of the CA coast. This legislation was enacted in November 2002.

Arroyo Seco Watershed

In April of 2003, I requested $500,000 from the House Appropriations Subcommittee Energy and Water to go toward the completion of the Arroyo Seco Watershed Management Plan. The funds will be used by the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a watershed management plan based on restoration of the hydrologic functioning of the watershed, the management of water quality, ecosystem restoration, and improved recreational opportunities and open space. I was proud to secure $100,000 in the 2002 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for this important effort.
For more information on Schiff’s efforts to secure funding to restore the Arroyo Seco Watershed, please click here.

National Parks and Forests

I strongly believe in the preservation and protection of our national parks so that their beauty may be enjoyed by future generations.

Receiving the Friends of the National Parks Award

I am a recipient of the National Parks Conservation Association "Friend of the National Parks" award. The award recognizes members of Congress who actively work to preserve and protect the integrity of our national park system. I am honored to have received this recognition from this bipartisan organization devoted to educating citizens about the environmental voting records of federally elected officials.

Logging in National Forests

As an original cosponsor of H.R. 2169 (108th), the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, I am committed to protecting our forests from excessive logging. This legislation prohibits commercial logging and timber sales (with specified exceptions) on Federal public lands, with a two-year phase-out for existing contracts. It also directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to establish a National Heritage Restoration Corps to restore such lands to their natural pre-logging condition.

National Park Snowmobile Policy

I am a cosponsor of H.R. 1130 (108th), the Yellowstone Protection Act. This bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to phase out snowmobile and/or snowplane use on John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway and in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Snowmobile and plane use in parks causes danger to wildlife and creates damaging air and noise pollution.

Opposing the Adventure Pass

National Forests are a shared American heritage protected and maintained by taxpayers. I am opposed to the Adventure Pass, a $5 entry fee for use of Southern California forests, which represents a form of double taxation on forest users. I cosponsored the Forest Tax Relief Act to eliminate the $5 Park Service Fee in Southern California's National Forests. This legislation would have terminated the participation of the Forest Service in the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. While I oppose the Adventure Pass, I am acutely aware that National Forests rely on Adventure Pass funds for needed forest improvements. National Forests should be funded at an adequate level to eliminate the need for revenue from the Adventure Pass. However, for the last ten years, Forest Service funding levels have been relatively stagnant. While annual appropriations have increased by 3-5% per year, these increases have not kept up with rising contract and equipment costs.

Filming Fees in the Angeles National Forest

Through my inquiries into Forest Service funding levels in 2002, I learned that the National Forest Service barred the Angeles Forest from accessing over $20,000 in filming fees it had collected the year before. After repeated requests from my office, the National Forest Service relinquished its hold on the fees, thereby allowing the Angeles to use this ongoing revenue source for forest improvement efforts.