You are now in San Diego County category.

Under Court Order, San Diego County Releases Revamped Climate Plan — Proposes 90 Percent Green Energy Future

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

San Diego County released a draft climate plan on Thursday, pledging to dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emission by limiting backcountry sprawl and using at least 90 percent renewable energy by 2030. The proposed blueprint for fighting global warming comes five years after the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club first sued the county over an earlier version of the plan. Lawyers for the environment group argued in court that the county’s original vision lacked specificity on how it would realize deep cuts in climate-warming emissions.

Full Story

OPINION: State High Court Should Address Pivotal Water Issues

/in /by /The Daily Transcript (San Diego)

If California ratepayers were asked whether residents and businesses should be forced to pay more than the reasonable cost of delivering water to their taps, I’d bet my bottom dollar that virtually all of them would respond in the strongest possible terms: That’s not fair or legal. Essentially the same question is at the heart of the San Diego County Water Authority’s July 31 petition for review by the state Supreme Court: Can the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California charge San Diego County more than the cost of providing the services we purchase?

What You Can Do to Help Restore Mission Bay Wetlands

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Having access to nature is a gift these days. In a time when our environmental protections are being threatened at a federal level, it’s more important than ever to get involved locally and make our voices heard. That’s why I encourage community members to join the effort to restore the northeast corner of Mission Bay and its wetlands. I grew up in San Diego and I remember running like a mountain lion through the Mission Bay wetlands, surrounded by tall cord grass, pickleweed and California sunflowers.

Full Story

Under pressure from regulators, San Diego Cracks Down on Water Pollution from Construction Sites

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Developers in the city of San Diego are facing tougher government enforcement at construction sites that have the potential to pollute rivers and streams — including fines and even stop-work orders. That’s the result of a settlement San Diego officials entered into with water quality regulators that will require the city to pay $3.2 million and step up policing of development. The agreement was reached after the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board brought a civil liability complaint against the city for alleged violations of its stormwater permit last year.

Full Story

San Diego Gets OK to Continue Running Wastewater Plant

/in /by /The Associated Press (As published by US News & World Report)

Federal and state regulators will allow San Diego to avoid upgrading its outdated wastewater treatment plant as long as the city continues to pursue a $3 billion water recycling program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board on Monday approved the city’s permit application to operate the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant for another five years despite it being the only facility of its kind not to meet federal standards.

Full Story

Salton Sea: The Good, The Bad and The Algae

/in /by /Science Daily

Sandia National Laboratories is testing whether one of California’s largest and most polluted lakes can transform into one of its most productive and profitable. Southern California’s 350-square-mile Salton Sea has well-documented problems related to elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff. Algae thrives on these elements — a fact that causes environmental problems but could also be a solution to those problems.

Full Story

U.S. EPA Approves Plan for San Diego to Recycle Sewage Into Drinking Water

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Federal and state water-quality regulators have cleared the way for the city of San Diego to avoid costly upgrades to an outdated wastewater treatment plant, as long as local officials continue to pursue a $3 billion water recycling program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board approved on Monday the city’s permit application to operate the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant for another five years despite it being the only facility of its kind not to meet federal clean water standards.

Full Story

Drought May Be Over, but War on Turf Continues

/in /by /LA Daily News

For those interested in water conservation, it’s time to get tough on turf. That’s right. Douse it with earth-friendly herbicides, suffocate it with plastic, sheet mulch it to death with newspaper/cardboard or dig the whole thing up. Whichever deadly method you choose, turf removal is a great way to conserve water and save money. “Conservation is still the cheapest and best way to ensure our water viability,” said Ray Hiemstra, associate director of programs for Orange County Coastkeeper, one of several local agencies ready and willing to provide the how-to’s of the equation.

Full Story

New Study Traces Airborne Dust Back To Shrinking Salton Sea

/in /by /KPBS

As the Salton Sea shrinks — exposing land that was once underwater to desert winds — one concern has been that increased dust emissions will make already poor air quality worse for nearby residents. A recently published study out of UC Riverside confirms this is already starting to happen. “With drying up of the lake and exposing of the shoreline, we get an additional source of airborne dust,” said UC Riverside associate professor of atmospheric science Roya Bahreini, who led the study. “And exposure to these particles can have health impacts for humans.”

Full Story

VOSD Podcast: The Big SANDAG Report Came Out and Wowzer

/in /by /Voice of San Diego by Adriana Heldiz Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The investigation of the San Diego Association of Governments that came out this week is a doozy. On this week’s podcast, hosts Andrew Keatts and Scott Lewis read excerpts from the independent investigation of the regional transportation agency and break down its most shocking findings. The investigation of SANDAG was spurred by a series of stories by Keatts, who found that the agency knowingly misled voters by using a flawed economic forecasting model.

Full Story