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Feinstein Gets Green Light to Proceed on Contentious Water Bill

/in /by /SFGate (San Francisco) by By Carolyn Lochhead

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s third effort to address California’s drought by expanding the water supply through dams, recycling, desalination and other methods, as well as tinkering with protections for endangered fish, received the go-ahead Tuesday from the federal Bureau of Reclamation at a Senate hearing.

Estevan Lopez, a bureau commissioner, called Feinstein’s bill, S2533, a “measured approach” that would “improve the water supply situation in California” while protecting the environment and endangered salmon. The bureau manages California’s Central Valley Project, a giant plumbing system of dams and canals that moves water from the state’s wet north to the dry

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Drought, Dead Trees Add Up to Big Fire Danger for California

/in /by /SFGate (San Francisco)by By Kurtis Alexander

Stubborn drought conditions and an epidemic of dead and dying trees mean California is facing a potentially catastrophic fire season, federal officials said Tuesday as they promised to send extra money and personnel to the state.

Similar circumstances contributed to record acreage lost to wildfires in the West last year, including three blazes that laid waste to Lake County, and top officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture said improved rain and snow totals during the winter did little to ease the threat.

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California Water Bill: Here’s Why it’s so Hard for Congress to Pass

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee by By Michael Doyle

Five years into California’s latest drought, a major water bill compromise can seem as far away as ever.

The perennial conflict, often summed up as fish vs. farms, subtly surfaced again Tuesday at a key Senate hearing. A Western growers’ advocate pleaded for relief, a Trout Unlimited leader urged caution and lawmakers insisted on optimism while conceding the tough road ahead. “This bill is the product of two years of work (and) 28 drafts,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., adding that her legislation “can produce real water in a manner consistent with the Endangered Species Act.”

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