Water interests are fighting California’s bid to block Trump’s environmental rollbacks [Los Angeles Times]
…Written by one of the most powerful politicians in Sacramento, state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Senate Bill 1 has strong support from some of California’s most influential environmental and labor organizations, including some that helped get Gov. Gavin Newsom elected. But several of California’s water suppliers and agricultural interests, which also flex ample political muscle, oppose the measure….The water agencies fear the state would cement into law endangered species protections and pumping restrictions that would add to uncertainties about pumping water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-07/california-trump-environment-federal-laws-water
Opinion: Best way to improve California’s water situation is Newsom plan, not Senate Bill 1 [Fresno Bee]
…Efforts to meet all of California’s water demands present complex issues that don’t lend themselves well to sound bites. The future management of California’s water system demands that we incorporate the best available science in making operational decisions that impact water supplies for California’s people and its environment. The voluntary agreements being advanced by Gov. Newsom’s administration and new biological opinions that provide greater operational flexibility and better protection for at-risk species are positive steps toward responsible water policy. SB 1, in its present form, is a step backward. This measure can, and should, be fixed.
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article234800777.html
There’s a silver lining to California’s wildfires: More snowpack and water storage, study finds [Sacramento Bee]
Wildfires in California leave behind acres of scorched land that make snowpack formation easier and more water runoff downstream from the Sierra Nevada to basins in the Central Valley, increasing the amount of water stored underground. That’s the finding from researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who discovered that blazes in some parts of the state could result in more water availability. Scorching the earth and killing a forest also can lead to changes the makeup of the snowpack, researchers said. Because wildfires usually burn through many tree canopies, there’s more room for snow to build up, said Fadji Maina, the lead author of the study.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article234766797.html
Salinas Valley Basin draft plan proposes millions in projects, management actions [Monterey County Herald]
More than $670 million in water projects and five priority management actions are options under a draft plan for helping get the Salinas Valley Basin to sustainability by 2040. A draft Salinas Valley Basin groundwater sustainability plan includes 13 projects ranging from Salinas River invasive species eradication such as arundo and improving existing water projects to a seawater intrusion barrier using a series of wells to head off saltwater contamination from migrating inland and possibly even a desal plant to use that brackish water. Management actions range from using incentives to retire farmland irrigation and groundwater pumping allowances to backing tighter restrictions on deep aquifer pumping.
Opinion: California lawmakers shouldn’t support anti-farmworker legislation [Bakersfield Californian]
…A clear example where some elected officials, and even organizations that were created to help farmworkers like the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, are on the wrong side of what is best for workers is Assembly Bill 1783. On its face, this bill may appear like it is on the side of workers, as it purports to create a “streamlined” process to build housing for farmworkers. In reality, this bill would reduce the funding for agricultural workers’ housing by using those funds to create a bureaucracy that would be unworkable. This bill would also result in the delayed construction of housing that workers desperately need right now.
Opinion: Migrant farmworkers deserve respect — and a path to citizenship [San Francisco Chronicle]
…The Agricultural Worker Program Act, a bicameral bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, would allow farmworkers who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days in the past two years to earn “blue card” status to legally work in the United States….By living in the U.S., paying taxes, and contributing to Social Security, these workers are investing in America. We believe that America should invest in them as well. Given that most our nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers are undocumented, this legislation is critically important to our nation’s food and agriculture system.
