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Ruling Would Exempt Dams From Standards — Greens

/in , /by /E&E News (Washington, D.C.)

Environmental groups yesterday asked a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling that struck down part of a high-profile removal plan for four dams in California and Oregon, saying it set a precedent that would exempt dozens of dams nationwide from meeting water quality standards. If the ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stands, they wrote, “dozens of dams that are undergoing licensing would be exempted from compliance with water quality standards for the next 30- to 50-years.” The complicated case concerns four dams on the lower Klamath River in southern Oregon and Northern California owned by Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp.

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Trump Signs Major Public Lands, Conservation Bill Into Law

/in , /by /The Associated Press by Darlene Superville

President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging public lands bill Tuesday that creates five new national monuments and expands several national parks. The new law also adds 1.3 million acres of new wilderness and permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation and outdoor recreation projects nationwide. It’s the largest public lands bill Congress has considered in a decade, and it won large bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate.

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Warming Trend With Above Normal Temperatures Brings Concerns Of A Melting Snowpack

/in , /by /ABC30 (Fresno) by Reuben Contreras

After above average rain and snowfall in February, the sun is starting to shine more in the month of March with warmer temperatures. The spring-like conditions this early are a concern for the Bureau of Reclamation. “We think of the April through the July period as the snowmelt runoff period. At our basin in the upper San Joaquin River we get two-thirds of our run comes during the snowmelt season,” said Michael Jackson, Bureau of Reclamation.

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MWD Vote Moves Colorado River Drought Plan Forward

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Bettina Boxall

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday sealed California’s participation in a landmark Colorado River drought management plan, agreeing to shoulder more of the state’s future delivery cuts to prevent Lake Mead from falling to dangerously low levels. With California signed on, the plan can move to Congress, which must approve the multi-state agreement before it takes effect. The MWD board took the step over the objections of the Imperial Irrigation District, which holds senior rights to the biggest allocation of river water on the entire length of the Colorado.

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One More Day Of ‘Seattle’ Weather, Then Skies Will Quickly Clear In Rain Weary San Diego

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

The tail of a Pacific storm will spread sporadic rain across San Diego County until mid-afternoon. Then it will stop, only to return on Tuesday evening and last until about dawn on Wednesday, says the National Weather Service. “Now we know what it’s like to live in Seattle,” says Phil Gonsalves, a forecaster for the National Weather Service. The good news: the weather will turn dry on Wednesday and should stay that way through the weekend. Tuesday’s daytime high will reach 64 in San Diego. Wednesday will be slightly cooler. Then the weather will begin to warm up.

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New Project Takes Aim At Controlling Salton Sea Dust

/in , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

As the water pulls back from long-time shorelines along California’s Salton Sea, officials are working to keep dust from the exposed lake bottom out of the air. Bruce Wilcox of the California Resources Agency looked out at what is now the new normal on the 35-mile-long lake’s southeastern shore. “Fifteen years ago there was water right where we’re standing and it’s just receded that much,” Wilcox said as he stood on a spur of land that used to be part of a boat launch.

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SCV Water Officials Hear About Rising Temps, Dwindling Snowpacks

/in , /by /Santa Clarita Valley Signalby Jim Holt

Rising temperatures, rising sea levels and a disappearing snowpack were part of a scary story told to SCV Water Agency officials recently as they learned the effects of climate change over the next 100 years. Last week, members of the SCV Water board were presented data collected and interpreted by state researchers preparing California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment. The latest climate assessment was intended to advance “actionable science” that would serve the growing needs of state and local-level decision-makers from a variety of sectors.

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Water Authority Bill Aims To Boost Water Industry Jobs For Veterans

/in , /by /Water News Network

A new bill in the California Legislature would provide a path for veterans transitioning to civilian employment to receive credit for their military experience and education toward certifications in the water industry. Assembly Bill 1588 was introduced February 22 by San Diego Assemblymember Todd Gloria and Central Valley Assemblymember Adam Gray. The bill, which may be heard in committee this month, is co-sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority and the Otay Water District in hopes of helping the state’s industry replace a wave of retiring Baby Boomers.

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California Has A Giant Surplus—Of Ideas For New Taxes. What’s Up With That?

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Judy Lin

California is enjoying a projected $21.4 billion surplus. Three-quarters of the state believes any new revenue increase should be for voters to decide. By population and percentage of personal income, this state already has the nation’s 10th highest tax burden. And the leader of the California Senate, Pro Tem Toni Atkins, has pointedly cautioned against any more levies that take cash out of the pockets of working families. In short, California lawmakers needn’t look far for an excuse to avoid raising taxes. Whether Atkins’ fellow Democrats got the memo, however, isn’t clear.

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DWR Set To Appeal Oroville Funding Denials

/in , /by /Farm Progress (St. Charles, Ill.)by Tim Hearden

California’s state water agency is set to appeal a federal determination that some of the Oroville Dam’s reconstruction costs are ineligible for reimbursement. The Federal Emergency Management Agency last week approved an additional $205 million for the project, on top of the $128.4 million it sent last year, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

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