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Former Central California Water Manager Stole $25 Million in Water Over 23 Years, Prosecutors Say

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Gregory Yee

The former general manager of a Central Valley water district has been charged with stealing more than $25 million worth of water over 23 years, the latest development in a years-long saga of corruption and theft, federal authorities said Thursday.

A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against 75-year-old Aptos resident Dennis Falaschi, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California.

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Central Valley Water Districts Get OK to Sue Dow, Shell Over Groundwater Pollution

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Bob Egelko

A state appeals court has upheld California’s cleanup standards for a cancer-causing chemical that was added to pesticides and has polluted groundwater in the Central Valley, rejecting challenges by manufacturers that may have to pay the costs.

The State Water Resources Control Board’s 2017 mandate for removing nearly all TCP (1,2,3-trichloropropane) from drinking water was contested by the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, representing Dow Chemical Co. and Shell Oil, which included the chemical in worm-killing fumigants widely used by farmers through the 1980s. They argued that the board’s criteria were not “economically feasible,” as required by state law.

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