Wildlife agencies are still writing the permits that would be required to build Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels, but bits and pieces of the draft documents have been posted online, along with a report from a independent peer-review panel of scientists. While the scientists’ job wasn’t to directly weigh the merits of the tunnels, they did examine the methods that the wildlife agencies are using to measure the project’s impact in a wide range of areas.

Congressman John Garamendi, D-Solano, and Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, who represent the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, introduced H.R. 1738, which would establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area. The legislation mirrors S. 731, introduced by California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris. S. 731 passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week.

Graphene-oxide membranes have attracted considerable attention as promising candidates for new filtration technologies. Now the much sought-after development of making membranes capable of sieving common salts has been achieved. New research demonstrates the real-world potential of providing clean drinking water for millions of people who struggle to access adequate clean water sources. The new findings from a group of scientists at The University of Manchester were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Previously graphene-oxide membranes have shown exciting potential for gas separation and water filtration.

State legislators aren’t getting answers about the Lake Oroville spillway. Neither is the federal government. Or the county government. Or journalists. Or interested citizens. It’s all coming to a head as two north state legislators whose districts include Lake Oroville are demanding answers. Well it’s about time. It all came to a head last week. On Thursday, Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, admitted at a public appearance in Chico that he had a lot of questions about the broken spillway — more questions than answers.