Senators insist on judicial review of water tunnels project E&E News » California’s two Democratic senators have committed themselves to opposing a controversial House provision that would block judicial review of the state’s WaterFix tunnel project. While backstage discussions have occurred, opponents of the $17 billion tunnel project recognize the judicial review ban is all but certain to pass the House as part of a fiscal 2019 Interior and EPA appropriations bill. Michelle2018-06-18T10:30:42+00:00June 15th, 2018|California, California WaterFix, Wastewater, Water|
DWR expands on response to spillway forensic report Chico Enterprise-Record » The state Department of Water Resources has beefed up its response to the independent forensic report on what caused the Oroville Dam spillway failure last year. A revised dam safety policy, which will “further define roles and responsibilities” of the executive-level engineer, the chief dam safety engineer and other related State Water Project divisions, should be released by the end of the year. Michelle2018-06-18T10:27:47+00:00June 14th, 2018|California, Dams, Oroville Dam|
Audit: $360M needed to fix New York dams Times Union » Dozens of dams in New York’s Capital Region are one superstorm from failure, according to a new report comptroller’s report, and pose a widespread danger should any collapse. Michelle2018-06-18T10:41:31+00:00June 14th, 2018|Dams, New York|
DWR may appeal judge’s ruling on Butte DA’s lawsuit Chico Enterprise-Record » The state Department of Water Resources says it may appeal a Butte County Superior Court judge’s ruling that allows the Butte County District Attorney’s environmental lawsuit to continue. This comes as Judge Stephen Benson overruled DWR’s demurrer, or objection to the lawsuit. Michelle2018-06-18T11:07:43+00:00June 14th, 2018|California, Dams, Oroville Dam|
California drinking water tax dies in budget compromise The Sacramento Bee » Lawmakers and Brown’s office scrapped the “Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Act,” which would have taxed residents 95 cents a month to raise millions for cleaning toxic wells. Instead, legislative leaders agreed to spend $5 million from the general fund to deal with lead in drinking water at child care centers. They also plan to allocate $23.5 million from the general fund for “safe drinking water actions later in this legislative session.” Michelle2018-06-11T11:14:04+00:00June 8th, 2018|California, Drinking Water|
Why Southern California is calling for a do-over on its vote to bankroll the Delta tunnels The Sacramento Bee » A historic vote on the Delta tunnels project is getting a do-over. Southern California’s powerful water agency — the Metropolitan Water District — said Thursday its board will vote again in July on whether to pay for the lion’s share of the project, known officially as California WaterFix. Michelle2018-06-11T09:03:31+00:00June 7th, 2018|California, California WaterFix, Drinking Water, Water|
