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Trump Administration Opens California to New Oil Drilling; Possibly Bay Area, Too

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

The Trump administration’s latest effort to dramatically boost oil and gas production is landing in California, with the Interior Department on Friday opening up 720,000 acres between the Bay Area and Fresno to potential drilling.

The move gives an immediate go-ahead to 14 drilling leases in San Benito, Monterey and Fresno counties, mostly projects near existing drill sites, projects that have been pursued for years by fossil fuel companies looking to expand.

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California Must Defend Its Environmental Protection Laws

/in , /by /Capitol Weeklyby Garry Brown

The governor of California delivered a blow to the environmental community recently by vetoing a bill that would have ensured that laws protecting water, as well as air, climate, worker safety and endangered species, could not be weakened by future federal government rollbacks.

At Orange County Coastkeeper, we are disappointed that Gov. Gavin Newsom chose to veto SB 1 because of pressure from water interests, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley.

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Protecting California’s Clean Waters

/in , /by /San Gabriel Valley Tribuneby Grace Napolitano

Water is life. It is essential to the survival of all living things and has been at the center of my work for over three decades as a public servant. I did not select this cause arbitrarily, but because our communities were suffering, and no one was speaking out about safe, clean water supplies for residents of the San Gabriel Valley and greater east Los Angeles County.

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The Next Big California vs. Trump Fight is Over Water and Endangered Species

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

Just how far will Gov. Gavin Newsom go in his high-profile fight with the Trump administration over environmental protections?

The next few months will provide an answer, as Newsom is forced to take a stand on Trump rollbacks in a long-contested battleground — the Northern California delta that helps supply more than half the state’s population with drinking water and fills irrigation canals on millions of acres of farmland.

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Stored Water Provides Strong Start to Water Year 2020

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

A year ago, at the start of Water Year (WY) 2019 water storage in the State Water Project’s (SWP) largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, was at just 62 percent of average. Although many of the state’s other large reservoirs were posting better averages, water managers and state and federal agency staff were concerned that California may be headed into another drought.

Whereas the next California drought is not a matter of “if” but rather “when,” the concerns of a year ago have been put to rest for the short-term. California began its WY 2020 on Tuesday with significantly more water in storage than the previous year thanks to above-average snow and precipitation.

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California Dam-raising Project Favored by Trump Stumbles After Water Agency Retreats

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Opposed by California officials, the Trump administration’s $1.3 billion plan to raise Shasta Dam and increase reservoir storage has run into a roadblock that could delay the project or even kill it.

The state has called raising Shasta Dam a potential environmental disaster for the nearby McCloud River — and has succeeded in bottling up the project by obtaining court rulings that prevent Westlands Water District from preparing an environmental review required by state law.

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River Flows All Across the Globe Are Dropping

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Eric Roston

Another slow-motion, man-made environmental disaster has been discovered, and it’s underneath your feet.

About 70% of the water pumped out of underground aquifers worldwide is used for agriculture while much of the remainder quenches the thirst of cities. As industrial development spreads at a speedy clip, the rate at which those critical reservoirs are emptied is far outpacing the rate at which they are naturally replenished.

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Paso Completes Water Treatment Facility

/in , , /by /Paso Robles Pressby Mark Diaz

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, Paso Robles Wastewater Division Manager Matt Thompson informed the City Council of the completion of the City’s Tertiary Treatment Facility, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the City’s history. 

“The City has a master plan to capture wastewater it has disposed to the Salinas River for many decades and turn it into a new supplemental source of water we call recycled water,” Thompson said in his presentation to the City Council. 

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Newsom Signs Dodd’s Water Management Bill

/in , /by /Daily Republic by Daily Republic Staff

Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, announced Monday that Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed his legislation to help California oversee its water.

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Army Corps of Engineers Speaks On Dam Failures

/in , /by /Kern Valley Sunby Kathe Malouf

The history of dam safety and the lessons learned from previous failures was the topic of a presentation to the Kern River Valley Historical Society during their monthly meeting last week.

Anthony Burdock, Project Manager for the Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project, presented a program outlining catastrophic dam failures and how those failures were used to mold the dam safety regulations that now govern the nation’s dams, including Isabella Dam.

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