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Tunnel Vision: What’s Next for the Governor’s Plan to Replumb the Delta?

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

California water officials are poised to release the first environmental review of a controversial project to replumb the Delta — a plan in the works for decades that has alternately been called a water grab or a critical update to shore up state supplies.

Known as the Delta Conveyance Project, a tunnel supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom would take water from the Sacramento River and bypass the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, funneling the flows directly to pumps in the south Delta or straight to Bethany Reservoir at the northern end of the California Aqueduct.

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San Diego Border Sewage Plan Moves Forward

/in , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants the public to weigh in on a $630 million plan to fix the region’s cross border pollution problems.

Federal officials have completed a draft environmental impact review on a project that would treat sewage in the waters along the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego and they are looking for public comment.

The agency is recommending a sweeping plan to bolster the capture and treatment of sewage tainted flows on both sides of the international border.

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Some California Water Well Permits Require Environmental Review

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Maeve Allsup

Proposed water wells in California don’t all require environmental review under state and local permit laws, but state standards governing well location will sometimes require local governments to make discretionary decisions, triggering such a look, a state appellate court said.

The California Environmental Quality Act requires discretionary decisions—those that require an agency to exercise judgment in deciding whether to approve a project—to undergo an environmental review. Ministerial decisions made to determine legal compliance, however, don’t require such weighing.

 

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Scientists Affirm Adequacy of Kern Fracking Reviews

/in , , /by /Bakersfield.comby John Cox

Bay Area scientists have signed off on a series of fracking permits in western Kern County, allowing the well-completion technique to proceed after Gov. Gavin Newsom put in place new, time-consuming review procedures prompted by environmental concerns and regulatory conflict-of-interest accusations.

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