Posts

Rural Valley Cities Secure Permanent Water Supply in Deal with Feds

/in , /by /The Sunby Daniel Gligich

Three rural Valley cities finalized deals with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to cement permanent access to water from the Central Valley Project on Monday, the Federal bureau announced. The cities of Avenal, Coalinga, and Huron converted their water contracts with Federal water authorities along with Firebaugh-based Pacheco Water District and Panoche Water District, and Los Banos-based San Luis Water District. The move signals an end to negotiations that took over a year and a half to complete.

 

Full Story

California Storm Winds Down After Deluge of Rain and Snow

/in , /by /AP Newsby John Antczak and Scott Sonner

A drenching storm that brought California much-needed rain in what had been a dry winter wound down Friday after washing out Highway 1 near Big Sur, burying the Sierra Nevada in snow and causing muddy flows from slopes burned bare by wildfires.

The atmospheric river weather system that barreled ashore in Northern California early in the week rolled quickly through Southern California overnight and was moving east before dawn. Remnants unleashed occasional downpours and hail.

Full Story

Salton Sea: Congressmen Ruiz and Vargas Reintroduce Bill to Address New River Pollution

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Mark Olalde

U.S. Reps. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, and Juan Vargas, D-San Diego reintroduced a bill this week that is aimed at cleaning up the New River, a highly polluted waterway originating near Mexicali, Mexico that flows north, emptying into the Salton Sea. The bill, HR491, would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create an organization to be called the California New River Restoration Program, which would coordinate funding and cleanup projects.

Full Story

Something was Killing Baby Salmon. Scientists Traced it to a Food-Web Mystery

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Susanne Rust

The biologists working in a fish hatchery near Shasta Dam grew increasingly concerned last year when newly hatched salmon fry began to act strangely — swimming around and around, in tight, corkscrewing motions, before spiraling to their deaths at the bottom of the tanks.

Certain runs of chinook salmon in California are imperiled; the hatcheries and the fry raised there are the federal government’s last-ditch effort to sustain these ecologically and economically vital fish populations.

Full Story

Record Low Lake Powell and Bad 2021 Drought Forecast Sets Stage For Water Cuts

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Jason Blevins

The dry 2020 and the lack of snow this season has water managers in seven states preparing for the first time for cutbacks outlined in drought contingency plans drafted two years ago. A sobering forecast released this week by the Bureau of Reclamation shows the federally owned Lake Mead and Lake Powell — the nation’s two largest reservoirs and critical storage for Colorado River water and its 40 million users — dipping near-record-low levels.

Full Story

DuPont, 3M Win Dismissal of California PFAS Lawsuit

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Peter Hayes

3M Co. and E.I. DuPont de Nemours Inc. shook off a California water utility’s claims that they contaminated the state water supply with PFAS after the Central District of California found the utility failed to establish jurisdiction.

Golden State Water Co. alleges that the companies “directed and instructed” intermediaries and end users of their products to dispose of them in a way they should have known may cause contamination.

Full Story

Environmental Turnaround — 8 Issues That Will Pivot in California’s Favor Under Biden

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

As wildfires, heat waves, water scarcity and threats to wildlife intensify in the West, California’s effort to confront these environmental crises now has support in Washington, a stark change from the past four years.

Even as former President Donald Trump spent his final days in office on the sidelines, lamenting his election loss, his administration continued to roll back environmental conservation and gut climate regulations.

Full Story

After Snow in Malibu, US Braces for Series of Wintry Storms in Coming Days

/in , /by /USA Todayby John Bacon

Days after a weather system brought snow conditions along stretches of the nation from Malibu, California, eastward for 1,500 miles, a new series of storms could lead to a wintry mess for much of the nation.

A storm tracking from the southern Plains to the Northeast will bring areas of heavy snow and ice from Kansas into the Great Lakes region Monday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service warned. Snow totals exceeding one foot are possible across parts of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Full Story

2020 Ties 2016 as Hottest Year on Record, Even Without Warming Boost from El Niño

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tony Barboza

Global warming pushed temperatures into record territory in 2020, in effect tying 2016 as the hottest year on record, according to data released Thursday by U.S. science agencies.

Last year’s average global surface temperature was 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit above the late 19th century average, according to NASA. It was the fifth consecutive year of more than 2 degrees above that base line. Indeed, the seven hottest years in 140 years of record keeping are the last seven. In descending record order, they are 2020 and 2016, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2018 and 2014.

Full Story

La Jolla Permit Reviewers Hear Safety and Environmental Concerns About La Jolla View Reservoir Project

/in , , /by /La Jolla Lightby Ashley Mackin-Solomon

About 30 people attended the Jan. 12 La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee meeting to discuss the planned replacement of the La Jolla View Reservoir, many with concerns about the project.

DPR did not vote during the online meeting but scheduled another hearing for Jan. 19 (after the La Jolla Light’s deadline). The project also is scheduled to be heard at the Feb. 4 La Jolla Community Planning Association’s online meeting.

Full Story