State cuts off hundreds of Russian River growers, ranchers and others in drastic bid to save water [The Press-Democrat]
A day long dreaded by hundreds of ranchers, grape growers, farmers, water providers and towns arrived Monday as the state ordered them to stop diverting water from the Russian River watershed or be fined $1,000 a day. State regulators issued orders effective Tuesday prohibiting about 1,500 water rights holders in the upper river — including the cities of Cloverdale and Healdsburg — from diverting water in an effort to preserve rapidly diminishing supplies in Lake Mendocino. The State Water Resources Control Board also announced plans to curtail another 310 claims in the lower river watershed as early as Aug. 9 to try to slow the drawdown of Lake Sonoma. Another 500 or so rights in the lower river region between Healdsburg and Jenner remain subject to curtailment as conditions deteriorate.
PG&E says its power equipment may be linked to another Northern California wildfire [The Sacramento Bee]
PG&E Corp. is being investigated for its potential role in another California wildfire. The utility told the Public Utilities Commission late Monday that a tree was found lying on PG&E transmission equipment in the vicinity of the Fly Fire, which ignited in rural Plumas County on July 22. The Fly Fire burned 4,300 acres over three days before it merged into the much larger Dixie Fire. PG&E is being investigated in connection with the 250,000-acre Dixie Fire as well. The fire, burning northeast of the notorious 2018 Camp Fire, is 35% contained. The Camp Fire was the latest in a series of megafires that drove PG&E into bankruptcy in early 2019. Last week, Shasta County’s district attorney said she believes PG&E is “criminally liable” for last fall’s Zogg Fire, which killed four people in a rural area west of Redding. Formal criminal charges are expected to be filed soon, and PG&E indicated it would fight the charges. The utility pleaded guilty to felony charges in the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people.
PG&E equipment linked to Fly Fire in Plumas County CA | The Sacramento Bee (sacbee.com)
Power shutoffs should be last resort, regulators warn [San Diego Union-Tribune]
The president of California’s utility regulator warned a top power company Monday that power outages to prevent equipment from sparking wildfires should only be used as a last resort.“We need specifics on where you have improved, where you are lagging and where you are focusing your resources,” California Public Utilities Commission President Marybel Batjer told representatives of San Diego Gas & Electric. SDG&E was the first of the state’s three major utilities to testify during the planned three-day hearing; Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, are scheduled to brief PUC commissioners on Tuesday. All three companies were criticized for their chaotic and unprepared handling of shutoffs in October 2019.
Tyson Foods to Require Covid-19 Vaccines for All U.S. Workers [The Wall Street Journal]
Tyson Foods Inc. said it would require Covid-19 vaccinations for its U.S. workforce of about 120,000, aiming for total vaccination of the meat giant’s employees by Nov. 1. The Arkansas-based company’s target, which includes both processing plant and corporate office workers, is partly subject to discussions with labor unions that represent around one-third of the company’s hourly workers, Tyson officials said. The company said it would offer a $200 bonus to its front-line workers as an incentive. Meatpacking workers were among the hardest hit as infections began to spread in the U.S. in spring 2020, with tens of thousands of plant workers infected and more than 130 deaths, according to labor union estimates.
Tyson Foods to Require Covid-19 Vaccines for All U.S. Workers – WSJ
Does a state drought regulation threaten local water rights? MID, TID weigh in [The Modesto Bee]
The Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts don’t expect an impact this year from an emergency drought regulation that could stop farmers from diverting water from the state’s major rivers. But they are concerned about precedent-setting and whether a state agency’s proposed drought orders will shrink the availability of water for Northern San Joaquin Valley farmers in 2022. The State Water Resources Control Board is considering the extraordinary drought regulation at a meeting Tuesday in Sacramento that’s expected to spur many hours of debate. The 9 a.m. meeting is being held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. Many farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are already faced with drastic cuts to their contracts for water allocations from the Central Valley Project and State Water Project.
MID and TID take issue with state drought regulation | Modesto Bee (modbee.com)
New program helps rescue animals, livestock during disasters [Chico Enterprise-Record]
A new emergency program designed to help rescue animals and livestock during disasters in California was established as announced by UC Davis on Monday in a press release. The California Veterinary Emergency Team is a program that will support and train government agencies, individuals and organizations to help domestic animals and livestock during emergencies. The teams will be managed by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. UC Davis’s Veterinary Emergency Response Team helped over 1,500 animals during the Camp Fire in 2018.
New program helps rescue animals, livestock during disasters – Chico Enterprise-Record (chicoer.com)
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