Biden administration to restore clean-water protections ended by Trump [New York Times]
The Biden administration intends to revive federal environmental protections for millions of streams, marshes and other bodies of water across the country that had been eliminated by former President Donald Trump in his quest to please home builders, farmers and ranchers. The Environmental Protection Agency made the announcement Wednesday after it said it had found that the changes under Mr. Trump caused “significant environmental degradation.” … It marked the latest in a series of decisions by President Biden to restore environmental protections that Mr. Trump had weakened or repealed, and it sets the stage for a regulatory and legal battle over an issue that has pitted environmental groups against agricultural interests for decades.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/climate/biden-clean-water-wotus.html
State knocks ‘deficiencies’ in Cuyama Valley groundwater plan [Santa Barbara Independent]
Siding with Cuyama Valley conservationists, the state Department of Water Resources this month sent a local agency back to the drawing board to revise its 20-year plan for replenishing the groundwater basin, now severely depleted after decades of water-intensive, industrial-scale farming. … It was a victory of sorts for the community organizations and small-scale farmers who have long argued that a 20-year plan was too little, too late. They have invoked the specter of Dust Bowl conditions if the GSA does not crack down on the global carrot corporations that dominate the valley, their sprinklers running full-blast in 100-degree summer heat.
https://www.independent.com/2021/06/10/state-knocks-deficiencies-in-cuyama-valley-groundwater-plan/
Hoover Dam reservoir hits record low, in sign of extreme western U.S. drought [Reuters]
The reservoir created by Hoover Dam, an engineering marvel that symbolized the American ascendance of the 20th Century, has sunk to its lowest level ever, underscoring the gravity of the extreme drought across the U.S. West. … As of 11 p.m. PDT Wednesday (0600 GMT Thursday), the lake surface fell to 1,071.56 feet above sea level, dipping below the previous record low set on July 1, 2016. … Farmers are abandoning crops, Nevada is banning the watering of about one-third of the lawn in the Las Vegas area, and the governor of Utah is literally asking people to pray for rain.
Opinion: They’re ’moo-ving’ from California as drought continues to tighten its grip [Manteca/Ripon Bulletin]
… Cattle are the canaries in the proverbial coal mine when it comes to California droughts. … The fact off-stream reservoirs and groundwater recharging is helping urbanized coastal Southern California weather being in extreme drought is a scathing indictment of the slow moving process to increase off-stream water storage in Northern California in the form of the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County that could have provided 1.5 million plus acre feet of water capture from previous wet years from the most productive precipitation basin in California — the Sacramento River Basin.
Opinion: Water board choice is key to providing clean water for all [Bay Area News Group]
California’s drought highlights the importance of an appointment sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk – filling the final seat on the State Water Resources Control Board. … California’s water regulators face tough challenges, including inequitable water policies, lingering pollution – particularly in disadvantaged communities — and collapsing fish species, all of which are exacerbated by climate change. To give the board a fighting chance to successfully tackle them, the governor should appoint a new board member with demonstrated commitment to equity and deep experience working directly with disadvantaged communities, not a business-as-usual candidate who consults with polluters more than with California’s most vulnerable residents.
Regulators withdraw controversial California work mask rules [Associated Press]
California’s workplace regulators have withdrawn a controversial pending mask regulation while they consider a rule that more closely aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise that the state will fully reopen from the pandemic on Tuesday. … The board’s decision late Wednesday to withdraw that worksite rule before it goes into effect allows the board to consider changes at its June 17 meeting and potentially have them go into effect by month’s end. … Pressure on the board built before the meeting when a dozen business groups including the California Retailers Association and organizations representing manufacturers, farmers, tourism interests and other industries sent a letter to Newsom asking him to rescind the board’s regulations.
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