Posts

Central Coast Project Would Raise Water Bills, Endanger Aquifer, Opponents Say

/in , /by /CalMattersby Kate Cimini

Activists and local government officials across Monterey County have banded together to fight a proposed desalination plant that could double the cost of water for some residents and endanger an aquifer that serves low-income communities.

Opponents say the plant could cause saltwater to seep into the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin, the aquifer that provides freshwater to much of Monterey County.

California American Water (CalAm), an investor-owned public utility, however, says the plant is needed to fulfill the Monterey Peninsula’s water needs, and that the effects on other communities will be minimal, if any.

Full Story

OPINION: Gov. Gavin Newsom Should Sign Senate Bill 1 Into Law. Without Its Environmental Protections, Californians Will Suffer

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jerry Butkiewicz

At least 85 different federal laws and regulations affecting California have been weakened or undermined by the Trump administration since January 2017.

Vital clean air, water, and endangered species standards have been weakened or eliminated, while federal agencies that are supposed to protect worker health and safety are now being run by people with strong industry backgrounds.

That’s why I, along with many proponents, believe that Senate Bill 1 would safeguard our state from the anti-science, anti-environment and anti-worker deregulation derby taking place under the Trump administration.

Full Story

Demise Of Key Environment Bill Could Escalate California’s Water Wars

/in , , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Julie Cart

The smoke has (partly) cleared from the legislative battlefield, in the aftermath of a struggle pitting the leader of the California Senate against not only powerful water and agricultural interests but also Gov. Gavin Newsom. And California’s two largest water-delivery systems may soon be operating under rules that differ ever more significantly.

Newsom has said he won’t approve Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ bid for a legal backstop against environmental rollbacks by the Trump administration. And Washington is poised to reduce protections for endangered fish species in the state’s largest watersheds.

Full Story

OPINION: California Has A Chance To Make Water History

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jeffrey Kightlinger

California’s contemporary effort to modernize the water system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta officially began in 2006.

George W. Bush was president Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor. Their administrations signed a planning agreement. And the search for a solution was on.

Thirteen years, two governors and two presidents later, we are all still at it.

We have yet to find ways to stabilize important water ecosystems or the reliability of water supplies for the state economy. And we are going to reach a point where we either collectively fail to achieve these two important goals despite years of efforts, or we move forward in historic and meaningful ways that undoubtedly will not please everyone.

Full Story

OPINION: California Must Not Fall For Marketing Scheme That Falsely Claims To Protect Tropical Forests

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Katie Valenzuela and Leila Salazar-Lopez

Imagine we were presenting you with an investment opportunity. It would cost a lot, and similar programs have failed miserably.

Human rights violations would very likely occur. There are more viable alternatives available with similar (or lower) costs, but we’re asking you to invest anyway because we are certain we could figure out a way to make a failed program work this time.

Full Story

OPINION: Farms, The Environment, And The Future Of Water

/in , , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Maurice Hall

In the middle of July, I was surprised to find myself trudging through a couple feet of snow while hiking south of Lake Tahoe. It was a striking contrast to the long walks I took on the dry lakebed of Folsom Reservoir near my home during the historic drought just five short years ago.

That crisis led our state leaders to approve the most sweeping change in water law in a century: the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Gov. Jerry Brown signed it into law on Sept. 16, 2014.

Full Story

OPINION: Hot Politics In The Cul-De-Sac

/in , /by /CALmattersby Dan Walters

San Diego has been trying for decades to wean itself from water supplied by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which is dominated by Los Angeles. The feud between San Diego and The Met, as it’s known, has been waged in the Legislature and in the courts.

Full Story

OPINION: In Going After Trump, California Is Going Too Far With Environmental Legislation

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Adam Gray

Senate Bill 1 by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins would require that California ignore new scientific findings on natural resources and water issued after January 19, 2017, the day before the Trump took office. That’s not an exaggeration. The date is actually listed in the bill 21 different times.

We cannot advance the fight for environmental quality by declaring that all science stopped on a specific date. If it’s dumb for the President to close his eyes to science, it’s dumber for us to follow him down that rabbit hole.

But SB 1 is not just dumb, it’s dangerous

Full Story

Newsom’s Labor Dispute, Pay Equity, PG&E’s Lobby Fight, Death On The Streets, And Delta Tunnel

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Dan Morain and Adria Watson

After months of virtual silence, the California Department of Water Resources revealed via its blog on Tuesday that it is pursuing work on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s scaled-back Delta tunnel project. Newsom announced in February that he was dropping former Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to bore two tunnels to transport water from the Sacramento River 30 miles south across the Delta to massive pumps near Tracy.

Full Story

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins Couldn’t Have Orchestrated It Better If She Tried

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento, Calif.)by Dan Morain

Her Senate Bill 1 is the year’s most far-reaching environmental legislation. It declares that the state would adhere to laws governing clean air, water, endangered species and labor that were in place in January 2017, when President Trump took office, and before he set about trying to unravel environmental law. Farm groups mounted a major campaign to sway legislators to amend or kill the bill, and seemed to be gathering momentum.

Full Story