Tag Archive for: Water and Politics

Pendulum Swings in Clean Water Act Regulation

/in , , /by /Capital Pressby Mateusz Perkouwski

The regulatory pendulum is expected to swing toward stricter Clean Water Act enforcement, though experts say the Biden administration’s changes probably won’t be immediate. Farmers and environmentalists have been in a political tug-of-war over the law’s scope for years, largely due to ambiguous legal interpretations of the statute. While Democrats will now have power over Congress, their majority is too slim to make changes to the law, said Don Parrish, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s senior director of regulatory relations.

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Eastern Municipal Water District To Receive $25M In Federal Funds

/in , , /by /Patch.comby City News Service

The Eastern Municipal Water District will receive $25 million in federal funds over the next several years to expand its desalination program, increasing fresh water stocks and reducing dependence on water imports, the agency announced Tuesday. The Perris-based EMWD was selected to receive the additional funding under the recently approved federal Water Resources Development Act, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be responsible for distributing the funds.

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Water Authority and GSA To Settle On Sagging Friant-Kern Canal Resolution

/in , /by /The Sun Gazetteby John Lindt

The Friant Water Authority cleaned up some of the most important work in the last month of the year hashing out a legal settlement with farmers in southern Tulare County.

Represented by the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency farmers agreed to contribute at least $125 million to repair the significant subsidence-caused sag in the gravity-fed canal that has cut water deliveries by 60%.

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Incoming Interior Secretary Faces Many Issues in Arizona and Beyond, From Water Rights to Climate

/in , /by /Tucson.comby Tony Davis

If U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland is confirmed as interior secretary, the Native American from New Mexico could make a huge difference to Arizona and the West when her background and outlook are translated into policy. Experts in Native American affairs and Democratic Party congressional leaders including Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Tucson and Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico offer predictions for how Haaland’s tenure could affect federal lands and waters: Water rights.

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Ventura Water’s $104M Debt Refinancing to Minimize Rate Hikes for Customers

/in , /by /VC Starby Mike Harris

The city of Ventura has refinanced most of Ventura Water’s $104 million debt, resulting in nearly $16 million in savings that are expected to lower planned rate hikes for customers, city officials said.

Refinanced was $97.4 million of the debt total, said Michael Coon, the city’s finance and technology director.

The rate on the refinanced debt was lowered from 4.8% to 2.47%, resulting in the $15.95 million savings, he said.

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Around Kings County: Big Water News for Central Valley

/in , /by /The Sentinelby John Lindt

Water bills would help fix subsidence damage: A package of water bills passed Congress this week that could offer hundreds of millions to improve San Joaquin Valley water deliveries. Folded into the same bill that will be offering COVID relief was the government’s annual spending bill that included  funding approval for key local canals and dams. Significantly it includes $206 million to rebuild 33 miles of the Friant Kern Canal and monies for the repair of the westside’s California Aqueduct and Delta Mendota Canal — all facing reduced capacity due to subsidence- the sinking of land caused by vigorous water pumping nearby over the years.

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Colorado River Tribes Seek Approval From Congress to Put Water On the Market in Arizona

/in , /by /AZ Centralby Ian James

On the Arizona-California border, where the Colorado River pushes against Headgate Rock Dam, churning water pours into a wide canal and runs across the desert, flowing toward the farmlands of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

This tribal nation is the largest single user of Colorado River water in Arizona, with rights to divert about 662,000 acre-feet per year, more than double the amount of water diverted for the state of Nevada.

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Congress Appropriations Bill Includes $206 Million for Friant-Kern Canal

/in , /by /The Recorderby Charles Whisnand

Congress presented an early Christmas present that will go a long ways to providing much needed repairs for the Friant-Kern Canal.

Congress signed off on funding for the repair work to be done locally on the 33-mile stretch of the canal. The stretch is from Avenue 208 between Strathmore and Lindsay to north Kern County.

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Temperance Flat Dam Returns $171 Million to State. Still, Backers Swear It’s ‘Not Dead’

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Monica Vaughan and Danielle Bergstrom

Backers of a $3 billion project to construct the tallest dam in California swear the project isn’t dead, despite the Temperance Flat Reservoir Authority returning money and canceling applications. After it became clear that the reservoir project on the San Joaquin River west of Auberry would not reach upcoming deadlines for studies and funding, Temperance Flat Reservoir Authority declined $171 million designated by the California Water Commission and withdrew its application for additional funding, according to a resolution signed by the Authority on Oct. 30.

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Ramona Water District Board to Appoint New Member Before February

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

The Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors hopes to appoint a candidate early next year to fill a vacant Division 3 board seat for the next two years. The board is on a fast track to find a replacement for incumbent Director Thomas N. Ace, one of two candidates who was running for a four-year seat.

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