You are now in California and the U.S. Home Headline Media Coverage category.

State Attorneys Want Biden to Further Undo Trump’s NEPA Rule

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Law by Jennifer Hijazi and Stephen Lee

The Biden administration’s proposal to bolster environmental permitting review is a good first step but doesn’t go far enough towards scrapping Trump-era rules, according to a coalition of Democratic attorneys general.

The changes included in President Joe Biden’s National Environmental Policy Act proposed rule fall short of undoing Trump-era regulations that undermined the environmental review process, the attorneys general said in their comment letter submitted Tuesday.

 

 

Full Story

California Drought Unlikely to End This Winter

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

Don’t hold your breath for California’s drought ending with this winter’s rains. Instead, you’d do well to hold your shower time to a minimum.

There’s less than a 40% chance of water supplies getting back to normal after this winter, with a slightly better than 50% chance that the state’s drought will worsen, according to forecasters at a Monday, Nov. 22, drought webinar hosted by the National Integrated Drought Information Center. The center is led by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Full Story

Cloud Seeding Gains Steam as West Faces Worsening Droughts

/in , , /by /The Seattle Timesby Maddie Stone

As the first winter storms rolled through this month, a King Air C90 turboprop aircraft contracted by the hydropower company Idaho Power took to the skies over southern Idaho to make it snow.

Flying across the cloud tops, the aircraft dropped flares that burned as they descended, releasing plumes of silver iodide that caused ice crystals to form and snow to fall over the mountains.

Full Story

Calif.’s Central Valley Groundwater May Not Recover From Droughts

/in , , /by /Water World

Groundwater in Calif.’s Central Valley is at risk of being depleted by pumping too much water during and after droughts, according to a new study in the American Geophysical Union journal Water Resources Research.

The study finds that groundwater storage recovery has been dismal after the state’s last two droughts, with less than a third of groundwater recovered from the drought that spanned 2012 to 2016.

Full Story

Supreme Court Hands Win to Tennessee in Water Resource Fight

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Bobby Magill

The U.S. Supreme Court found that Tennessee didn’t steal groundwater from Mississippi, in a dispute with wide-ranging implications for how states manage natural resources.

The justices in Mississippi v. Tennessee said in a unanimous decision that interstate groundwater is covered by equitable apportionment, which is the standard process by which water resources are shared.

It’s the high court’s first use of the equitable apportionment doctrine related to interstate groundwater.

Full Story

Denver Officially Breaks Snow Record That Has Stood Since 1934

/in , , /by /AccuWeatherby Brian Lada

Denver officially broke its all-time record for the latest first measurable snow when the Mile High City reported no snowfall on Sunday, surpassing a record that had stood since Nov. 21, 1934. AccuWeather meteorologists say that it could be weeks before the next chance for significant accumulation in the city.

Full Story

Now It’s San Francisco’s Turn to Ask Residents, Suburban Customers to Cut Water Use

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

San Francisco’s robust water supply, long unruffled by the severe dry spell now in its second year, has finally begun to feel the pinch of drought, and city water managers are recognizing it may be time to cut back.

Officials at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission plan to ask city residents and businesses to reduce water use by 5%, compared to two years ago, and ask the more than two dozen communities that buy water from the city to reduce water use nearly 14%. The goal is a cumulative 10% savings.

Full Story

Adjusting Past Hydrology for Changes in Climate

/in , , /by /California Water Blogby Jay Lund

Segal’s Law: “Someone with one watch knows what time it is. Someone with two watches is never sure.”  Time is certain, but its estimation and measurement are uncertain, yet we are not in total ignorance. Many water management and regulation decisions require an understanding of current and future hydrology.

Full Story

La Niña: Is California Heading Into Another Dry Winter?

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

You may have seen it on social media or heard it while talking to a friend: This is a La Niña year, so California won’t get any rain this winter and the severe drought is only going to get worse. Right?

Maybe not. Although that’s a common belief, it’s not supported by past history. The reality is that a lot depends on where you live.

 

Full Story

Rush Is on to Drought-Proof California’s Archaic Water System

/in , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Nick Cahill

Caught in one of the driest two-year stretches in state history and with long-range weather forecasts coming up mostly empty, the key players battling California’s drought have plenty to be concerned about.

Whether it’s plunging reservoir levels, crumbling canals, empty wells or salmon die-offs, the water woes that have plagued the state for decades have returned forcefully during the pandemic.

Full Story