Tuesday, October 1, 2013

News articles and links from October 1, 2013

Bay Delta Conservation Plan

From: Editorial Staff, LA Daily News 
From: Editorial Staff, Whittier Daily News 
From: Editorial Staff, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin 
From: Editorial Staff, Long Beach Press Telegram  
From: Editorial Staff, Torrance Daily Breeze 
From: Editorial Staff, Pasadena Star News
From: Editorial Staff, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

John Garamendi, in the main an excellent statewide leader as insurance commissioner and lieutenant governor, has so often represented all Californians well. He has served a Sacramento-area district in Congress since 2009.

But it seems the politician has now lost his statewide focus. In a letter last week to the Interior Department about the proposed Bay Delta water project, Garamendi, along with six other Northern California members of Congress cosigners, takes our state back to the perennial North-vs.-South rivalry over water and other matters.

From: Maven, Maven's Notebook

Lest you think all the correspondence is negative, here are two letters of support for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.  The letters are from the Los Angeles Business Council and the Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties Chambers of Commerce Alliance, and they begin by applauding Governor Brown for recognizing that it's time to abandon the status quo by advancing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) which will restore and protect the Delta and provide water supply reliability.

From: Maven, Maven's Notebook

Friends of the River has sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and others saying that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is "not a permissible project under the Endangered Species Act because it would adversely modify critical habitat for five endangered and threatened species."

Water Bond 

From: Ashley Bailey and Shirley Jahad, KPCC-89.3 Radio

A new survey finds support for the state's ambitious water plan dries up when the talk turns to money and that only half of voters think Gov. Jerry Brown is doing a good job in office.
The USC/LA Times poll released Monday asked voters about two proposals to change the way California transports water. Voters supported both plans until they found out how much they cost, said Dan Schnur, who teaches politics at USC and directed the poll.

From: Dan Walters, Fairfield Daily Republic 

(This article was previously printed in the Sacramento Bee.)
There is simply nothing more important to California's future than an adequate and dependable supply of clean water.

Accordingly, there is simply nothing more complex than its water politics, as we are beginning to see as Gov. Jerry Brown, legislators and water stakeholders attempt to write a 2014 bond issue.

Fisheries

From: Press Release, USBR

The Bureau of Reclamation today released the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact to fund operations and maintenance of the Interim San Joaquin Salmon Conservation and Research Facility by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Interim Facility is a pilot-scale hatchery facility adjacent to the San Joaquin River Fish Hatchery, about one mile downstream of Friant Dam in the town of Friant in Fresno County. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is coordinating with the National Marine Fisheries Service for enhancement of species permits to begin establishing a spring-run Chinook salmon population to be reintroduced into the San Joaquin River.

Transfers

From: John Holland, Modesto Bee 

The Oakdale Irrigation District board could vote today on a possible one-year water sale to San Francisco.

Under the tentative deal, the city would pay $112,000 for the option to buy up to 2,240 acre-feet, about 1 percent of the OID supply from the Stanislaus River. The price for the actual amount of water delivered has not been set.

People

From: Zachary K. Johnson, Stockton Record

A San Joaquin County elected leader is now the chairman of the Delta Protection Commission, a state agency charged with protecting and restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Larry Ruhstaller, a member of the county board of supervisors, has been steeped in state and local water issues for years, including as a member of the Delta Protection Commission since 2007.

Meetings 

From: Announcement, Western Farm Press

The University of California Cooperative will conduct an Irrigation and Water Management Workshop Oct. 9 at the University of California Desert Research & Extension Center in El Centro, Calif. For more information, contact Bali at (760) 352-9474 and kmbali@ucanr.edu.

No comments:

Post a Comment