[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6530451,"mediaKeyId","3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d","parentId",3657073,"title","San Francisco Environment Department warns budget cuts will constrain climate work; refuse-rate administrator recommends partial funding package","audioSeconds",2331,"startMs",4591000,"endMs",6922000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d&start=4591&end=6922","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d/thumbnail_4591000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6530451/San-Francisco-City/San-Francisco-County/California/San-Francisco-Environment-Department-warns-budget-cuts-will-constrain-climate-work-refuse-rate-administrator-recommends-partial-funding-package","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6530451-35d6f2c3697ce9e645a329a25e4c07b2/orig.mp4?Expires=1775904215&Signature=H6Lo-w0xH4XWUH0XtNyGnPnthm~AA89w5rd5oZGQKNYFVQiGfQDRNHw1wVlFQkVyiZOZrojISJhhpb45JSbdFmeH9f15EmtqxSG2k5FNRCwNLzbuBVgSLVPa3D7w-kGTTHDfbIo9EcLhAcja7FjTve0VsBA~5ScjSHke6L6tV5bsKvQWY1IHIwwFfCdnsuPEl4ccdtWCLQLG~kyednfDcUoiNvnT6a1J1j522tNTIOtgwgO-HWQ2MWbczLjVCPq7yJbA~-6GuiIckWNoPQQH7~oylvCEcHRV7-slkDBggs3zknVPyqvx5PMIOaPw1DCLpolF~xhIHOI24eQSGNSC4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of San Francisco","date","2025-06-03T00:00:00Z","article","The San Francisco Environment Department told the Commission on the Environment that proposed reductions in general-fund support and possible cuts to work-order funding from the Public Utilities Commission would reduce the department\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000 ability to perform climate and clean-transportation work.

Director Tyrone Joo briefed commissioners on the mayor\u0000s proposed budget and on recent refuse-rate board proceedings. Joo said the mayor\u0000s proposal reduced the department\u0000s general-fund allocation from prior-year assumptions and that the result is a drop to about $904,000 in the first budget year and $600,000 in the second year for general-fund support for the department\u0000the latter reduction was driven in part by omission of overhead in the second year, the director said.

Joo and staff explained the reductions would require shifting or curtailing grants, incentives, and contracts and could limit work on items such as the Climate Equity Hub and landscaping work that had previously received funding. Joo said staff do not anticipate immediate layoffs because of existing vacancies, but continuing cuts into the second year would force substantial program and staffing reductions.

The director also flagged a longstanding tension with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC): the PUC provides roughly $876,000 in work-order revenue to the department for climate and clean-transportation services, of which about $600,000 funds climate and clean-transportation activities. Joo said the PUC had signaled reluctance to continue that funding into the second budget year and that outcome would further constrain the department\u0000and require public transparency on priorities.

Separately, the refuse-rate administrator reviewed proposals for adjustments to the solid-waste impound account and recommended a pared package that included converting some one-time items to ongoing funding and adding personnel and pilots focused on enforcement, toxics and outreach. Staff said the administrator incorporated approximately $360,000 annually to continue landfill-contracting work, $150,000 for refuse and 0-waste policy contracts, and a two-year $200,000 allocation for trash-processing pilots; the administrator also recommended roughly $1.1 million in additional ongoing expenditures (personnel and associated outreach/contracting), including:

- one enforcement-focused position (to support SB 1383 organics-diversion compliance),
- one analyst position supporting policy and outreach work,
- fractional/partial positions for toxics-reduction work (including expanded work on lithium-ion battery outreach),
- outreach, grants and administrative costs linked to those positions.

Staff said the refuse-rate administrator reduced and prioritized the department\u0000s original $3 million request and is likely to present the administrator\u0000s proposal to the rate board later in the month. The administrator used one-time savings for some elements of the package to limit immediate rate impacts, department staff said.

Commissioners asked questions about coordination with state agencies and the effect on clean-transportation outreach. Director Joo said he would publicly present the department\u0000s budget at the Board of Supervisors budget hearing on June 13 and would press for clearer commitments from the mayor\u0000s office and other agencies. Several commissioners expressed concern that continual funding uncertainty risks undermining multiagency climate initiatives.

On a separate, procedural matter the commission approved minutes for the April 28, 2025 meeting on a unanimous recorded vote: the motion to approve was moved by Commissioner Pamejo, seconded by Commissioner Ahn; President Wong, Vice President Sullivan, Commissioners Ahn, Bermejo, Tompkins and Yuan voted Aye; Commissioner Hunter was excused.

Department staff said they will continue to pursue refuse-rate funding for targeted staffing and pilots and to press the PUC and mayor\u0000s office for sustained funding for climate and clean-transportation priorities.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City of San Francisco - Video Open Video Only in Windows Media Player - Jun 03, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The San Francisco Environment Department told the Commission on the Environment that proposed mayoral and PUC funding reductions would curtail climate and clean-transportation work and that a refuse-rate administrator has recommended a prioritized package of personnel and pilots to partially offset losses.","taxTitle","San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California","taxId",5751,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6530456,"San Francisco frames circular economy in Climate Action Plan update, highlights targets and barriers",1503,3085000,4588000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d&start=3085&end=4588","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d/thumbnail_3085000.jpg","/articles/6530456/San-Francisco-City/San-Francisco-County/California/San-Francisco-frames-circular-economy-in-Climate-Action-Plan-update-highlights-targets-and-barriers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6530456-bfae3b4a68fd11a46995d6c057479be1/orig.mp4?Expires=1775904215&Signature=XPZCkGBp2bAeHtUz~a0PsBrCdTBeDzDPIG-HSpPyxyst04ny~J19gqBPk~AKDbqnGhIBcrkQeJWCtbm1crHPuZ6FOO8-IDeWSMpZgj1URU~QkPnjXPn3vClYrCrB4cAq7UGBs63w-oKzzSskPtPa-x2eX7OWJIKSomgpoFU64DkuHivGLiZKsxS74FO4Ot8D0IUhYVEv-gw2T3KUrcMZeTc2dDxp4i-jVQWle-7W3qGqVQlil0jvK9-eddaGbAqI~E9T1I9v8dEcDtVyqdA37sSgS~FR86KFChjO~mfqYfX34cTSryNligMkIP0r9Gvh5jDVu~97O3WVwwPUgVGcFQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","San Francisco Environment Department staff presented a reframed sector for the Climate Action Plan on circular economy, telling the Commission on the Environment that the update will fold upstream actions\u0000(reuse, repair, redesign, low-carbon procurement) into the plan and adopt new embodied-carbon targets for buildings.

The department said the shift from the prior \"responsible consumption and production\" language to a \"circular economy\" framing is intended to emphasize reuse, repair and design changes that reduce lifecycle, consumption-based emissions. Staff said the city already has sector-based emissions of roughly 4.1 million metric tons CO2e but that consumption-based accounting shifts the picture and highlights emissions tied to goods and food.

Cindy Comerford, climate program manager, described the vision: a regenerative system that prioritizes materials reuse and low-carbon, healthy materials in procurement and design. Brian Reyes, senior circularity coordinator, outlined five implementation strategies including construction and buildings (with a proposed goal that new construction, infrastructure and renovations achieve at least 40% less embodied carbon by 2030), food systems (reducing food waste and promoting climate-friendly diets), reuse and repair (expanding repair clinics and reuse programs), aviation/SFO (scaling airport circular practices) and developing a citywide circular economy roadmap.

Staff said the department is coordinating with infrastructure agencies such as Public Works, Port of San Francisco and SFO, and noted existing state frameworks including CalGreen building-code updates and SB 1383 organics diversion requirements as part of the policy environment.

Challenges identified by staff include reorienting the department\u0000and city stakeholders from an emphasis on end-of-life recycling to upstream design and procurement, high contamination rates in commercial and multifamily recycling streams, complexity and financial barriers to deconstruction and reuse of construction materials, and the need to modernize design and construction standards that date from decades-old playbooks.

Opportunities the department highlighted include expanding fix-it clinics with partners such as the Public Library and SCRAP, pilots for trash processing to extract organics from residual waste, and leveraging large upcoming capital projects (SFO terminal upgrades and port projects) where procurement and design standards could substantially reduce embodied emissions by changing materials choices at scale.

Commissioners asked about coordination with state agencies. Comerford and Reyes pointed to work with CalGreen and CalRecycle and said the department is exploring how state-level coordination can support the city's transition. Commissioners also urged staff to use plain-language framing for public outreach because \"circular economy\" can read as jargon for general audiences.

Public comment on the climate action plan and related food-system policy emphasized stronger language around animal agriculture and plant-based procurement; commissioners noted the comments were timely as the department refines consumption- and food-related actions.

Staff said the circular-economy text will be advanced in the Climate Action Plan update through 2025 and ultimately inform a detailed circular economy roadmap.","Department staff briefed the Commission on framing circular economy as a sector of the Climate Action Plan, proposed embodied-carbon building targets and a multi-strategy roadmap, and identified coordination, funding and outreach as key challenges.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6530461,"UCSF program funded by San Francisco grant reported reduced exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals among pregnant patients",1764,1317000,3081000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d&start=1317&end=3081","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3657073-9143b82bb09df3d703251cc6deaf582d/thumbnail_1317000.jpg","/articles/6530461/San-Francisco-City/San-Francisco-County/California/UCSF-program-funded-by-San-Francisco-grant-reported-reduced-exposure-to-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-among-pregnant-patients","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6530461-985864740ce39fae66eb95e46fcdb69e/orig.mp4?Expires=1775904215&Signature=DGjp2zCtwV2N6ONJAZqALq2jmuKBssUKgnTCeyfo91VoWbM3zzBjLxLqh-ia~0DKnkDS~96Sp7WDbB9ZhP6ZmUobpjS5IWyKONUc4besrnAVrNetYeOm6lLYhr54SmKcjn8BZJDcHsUTwjahgF6u1~zV-QNjTdDJzNYCrFsEeQAzwy52zOGXfBpGqhGeI5hHCWKDsl57qUfnqqAMZF~Oe92IArgmCn1~eh5b70mgqxpBWREYmugV5vLXDOly4FsaMeEJzcK660kwYcweJ~A5PD~KfVzbHOuF6oPSLiLq8C3yHQgSN~YDXNHahdD2JN5W~6lx9Jn3YOSnAWXRz7vbYg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The San Francisco Environment Department awarded approximately $50,000 to the University of California, San Francisco, to fund a pilot that educated pregnant people and new parents on reducing exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, UCSF and its public-health partner told the Commission on the Environment.

The pilot targeted pregnant people served by UCSF clinics and aimed to combine short education sessions with distribution of sample product kits and an affordable buyers\u0000pathway for safer alternatives. Department staff said the grant came from a 2022 pollution-prevention request for proposals with $75,000 allocated for community-based projects.

The project team told commissioners the program enrolled about 160 people, with 104 completions, and exceeded its goal for participation from the city\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000 zip codes, reaching 45% from the top 30% of San Francisco\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000 environmental-justice burden ZIP codes (the project target was 30%).

Sandra Curtis, principal investigator with the Public Health Institute, said the program focused on exposures from food, food preparation and storage, which the presenters identified as the primary pathway for many endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Curtis said the program coupled a short informational session (in-person or a recorded video) with a kit of sample products and a buyers\u0000pathway to lower-cost safer options.

Katie Zhang of UCSF\u0000Office of Sustainability described the kit contents: glass mason-jar-based baby-bottle options, caps to adapt mason jars for feeding, beeswax wraps, stainless-steel food containers and a reusable water bottle. The team also provided a discounted membership and shopping pathway through Thrive Market to help participants buy safer products affordably; presenters noted Thrive Market had added SNAP acceptance for online purchases during the program period.

Presenters said pre- and post-surveys showed statistically significant increases in participants\u0000knowledge and intended behaviors. According to the project team, participants reported reduced purchases of single-use plastic water bottles and greater confidence in sharing the information with friends and family.

The team identified outreach and logistics as challenges: recruitment took longer than expected, some participants picked up kits but did not complete follow-up surveys, and staff turnover at UCSF temporarily constrained follow-up activities. The presenters recommended in-person outreach opportunities where a recorded session and kits can be handed out at community gatherings, and adding a small end-of-study incentive to improve survey completion.

Commissioners asked about scaling and strategic partnerships; the team said they are pursuing additional grants and partnerships with community organizations that run pregnancy-support groups in Bayview-Hunters Point and other neighborhoods. The presenters also said future work would emphasize training community accountability boards and clinic staff to be local experts who can continue outreach without heavy central staffing.

The Commission received no public speakers on this item.","San Francisco\u0000Environment awarded roughly $50,000 to UCSF to pilot education, product kits and a buyers\u0000pathway to reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals among pregnant people; presenters said the pilot met enrollment and knowledge goals and reached environmental-justice ZIP codes.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

San Francisco Environment Department warns budget cuts will constrain climate work; refuse-rate administrator recommends partial funding package

San Francisco frames circular economy in Climate Action Plan update, highlights targets and barriers

UCSF program funded by San Francisco grant reported reduced exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals among pregnant patients