For decades, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) has worked alongside our community to safeguard clean water, restore degraded river and meadow habitats, build wildfire resilience, and pass on a thriving ecosystem to future generations. Our strength as a grassroots advocacy organization relies directly on an engaged membership ready to speak up when foundational environmental protections come under threat. 

Today, we are reaching out to explain why SYRCL urges our members to vote NO on Proposition 45 on the upcoming ballot. 

CEQA: A Tool That Makes Projects Better and Empowers Communities 

Enacted in 1970, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) serves as California’s bedrock environmental protection law. CEQA is a practical planning tool designed to make projects better. By requiring project proponents to thoroughly evaluate potential impacts on water resources, air quality, forest health, and local wildlife before ground is broken, CEQA ensures that decision-makers identify risks early, consider less damaging alternatives, and integrate effective environmental safeguards into project designs. 

Crucially, CEQA is the primary mechanism that has enabled local communities to actively engage in projects that impact our region. Through public tools like environmental impact reports and water quality plans, CEQA guarantees everyday citizens and regional organizations a voice in the process. Over the past five decades, this tool has empowered residents across California to participate directly in local planning decisions, helping shape infrastructure, forestry, and water management proposals so that clean water, public health, and local community interests are protected. 

How Proposition 45 Threatens Local Oversight and Project Review 

Proposition 45 is structured to dismantle these essential public safeguards by fast-tracking high-impact developments including data centers, new dams, energy facilities, highway expansions, and commercial logging operations, without adequate public participation and environmental review. 

By limiting public comment periods and streamlining approvals, Prop 45 stifles community voices and transfers decision-making authority away from local residents and into the hands of project developers. Furthermore, an independent analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office determined that Proposition 45 could cost California taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. While supporters claim the measure is necessary to solve housing challenges, state legislation passed last year already established CEQA exemptions for urban infill housing. In truth, Proposition 45 is backed and financed by the California Chamber of Commerce, oil and gas companies, electric utilities, and corporate PACs. 

What Is at Stake for Our Watersheds 

California’s rivers and streams are vital to our environment, economy, and public health. Statewide, these waterways supply drinking water to more than 3 million people, irrigate 480,000 acres of Central Valley farmland, and sustain over 600 wildlife species.  

CEQA is at the heart of and embedded into nearly every campaign to protect these shared natural resources from industrial contamination, unnecessary damming, and destructive forest clear-cutting. Weakening CEQA risks undermining decades of hard-won progress in restoring fish populations, improving forest resilience, and defending clean water across the Sierra Nevada and beyond. 

Stand With Us Against Corporate Fast-Tracking 

SYRCL is proud to stand with a statewide coalition of more than 300 conservation, environmental justice, labor, and public health organizations united to defeat Proposition 45. The effectiveness of our advocacy depends on our members staying informed and taking action when our watershed needs a voice. 

How You Can Help: 

• Vote NO on Proposition 45 to preserve community input and keep corporate fast-tracking out of California’s environmental planning process. 
• Spread the word. Share the facts about Prop 45 with friends, neighbors, and family members across Nevada County and California. 

Together, we can ensure that California keeps the legal tools that make projects safer, protect our local communities, and keep our rivers free-flowing and healthy. 

For more information visit: No on Proposition 45 | Corporate Loopholes for “Certain Projects”