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Sixth Circuit Rejects States’ Challenge in Obama Water Rule Case

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Ellen M. Gilmer

A defunct Obama-era water rule isn’t poised to spring back to life in Ohio or Tennessee, after the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday sided with critics of the regulation in an unusual appeal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot, and remanded the case to the district court. The appeals panel also vacated the district court’s order denying the states’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the 2015 Clean Water Rule, saying the mootness of the case precluded the panel from reviewing the merits of that order.

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Party Houses Defying COVID-19 Orders May Have Utilities Shut Off, Mayor Says

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Leila Miller, Richard Winton, Luke Money

Following reports of large parties that violate health orders aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that he will authorize the city to shut off water and power services to residents who hold such gatherings.

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Opinion: Dam Removal Plan for the Klamath River Hinges on Billionaire Warren Buffett

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Chronicle Editorial Board

Through three governors, California has set a path to tear down four aging dams on the Klamath River astride the Oregon border. It would be the biggest such removal project in the nation, done in the name of fish preservation, clean water flows and political consensus.

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Water Company to Pay $5 Million for Hazardous Waste Violations

/in , /by /AP News

A California company that produces Crystal Geyser bottled water was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation and ordered to pay $5 million in fines for illegally storing and transporting hazardous waste, federal prosecutors said.

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Santa Barbara Council Accepts $10 Million Matching Grant to Operate Desalination Plant

/in , /by /Noozhawkby Joshua Molina

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to accept a $10 million grant — with the understanding that it will run the plant at full capacity for at least 36 out of the next 40 years. Some environmentalists objected to the council’s decision, citing environmental concerns.

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Opinion: Poseidon’s Huntington Beach Desalination Plant Still In Choppy Waters

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

As Poseidon Water pursues the final government approvals needed to build one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants, the company still cannot definitively say who will buy the 50 million gallons a day of drinking water it wants to produce on the Orange County coast.

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Another Washington Dam Removal — and 37 More Miles of Salmon Habitat Restored

/in , , /by /The Seattle Timesby Lynda V. Mapes

PILCHUCK RIVER, near Granite Falls, Snohomish County — Washington’s dam-busting summer is still rolling, with two more dams coming down on the Pilchuck River, opening 37 miles of habitat to salmon for the first time in more than a century.

The $2 million dam removal project is a collaboration between the City of Snohomish and Tulalip Tribes, and will benefit multiple species of salmon, including threatened chinook salmon, crucial food for endangered southern resident killer whales.

It’s the state’s second dam teardown project in two months. In July, the city of Bellingham blew up its Nooksack Diversion Dam on the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River, opening 16 miles of habitat for salmon, including chinook.

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San Diego Reservoirs Open with Coronavirus Safety Guidelines

/in , , /by /Water News Network

All City of San Diego reservoirs previously closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic are now open to the public during regular business hours for walking, jogging, cycling, fishing and boating. Normal fishing and boating fees will apply.

“Overall everything is working well,” said Bryan Norris, the City’s reservoirs and recreation program manager.  “Several reservoirs are experiencing higher than normal visitation since the reopening.”

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Old Mines Contaminating Water, Soil at 5,000 California Sites

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. Dooley

California has about 47,000 abandoned mines and roughly 5,000 of those are contaminating water, soil, vegetation, and air across the state, according to a state report issued Tuesday.

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Climate Change Could Lead to More Incidents Like the Oroville Dam Spillway Failures, Experts Warn

/in , , /by /CapRadioby Ezra David Romero

Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated when the spillways failed at Oroville Dam in 2017, an infrastructure disaster that cost around a billion dollars to repair.

Three years later scientists say events that partially led to the incident could become more frequent. It comes down to how and when snow and rain fall.

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