Dry Water Year 2014 Ends, Conservation Critical as New Water Year Begins: “Water Year 2014, ending [today], is going into the record books as one of California’s driest ever with no promise that the new water year beginning Wednesday will be any wetter. As the calendar turns after three years of drought, reservoirs are low, vast tracts of farmland lie fallow and some communities are scrambling for drinking water. In January, normally California’s wettest month, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a drought emergency and followed up with statewide water conservation goals. On September 19, the Governor streamlined the delivery of water to families in dire need. ... ” Read more from the Department of Water Resources here: Dry Water Year 2014 Ends Tomorrow: Conservation Critical as New Water Year Begins
Governor signs bill to meet disadvantaged communities’ infrastructure needs: “Today Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., signed into law legislation by State Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to provide local governments throughout California with a tool to finance desperately-needed infrastructure in disadvantaged, unincorporated communities. “SB 614 helps ensure that local planning responds to the unmet needs of California’s poorest communities, which are frequently left out of local planning,” said Wolk. “An estimated one million people live in hundreds of disadvantaged, unincorporated communities throughout the state. These Californians lack basic necessities, such as clean drinking water, sewage lines, and other critical infrastructure. SB 614 provides local governments with an important tool to address this lack of investment in infrastructure, which threatens residents’ health and safety and fosters economic, and social inequality.” ... ” Read more from Senator Wolk’s office here: Wolk Press Release Gov signs bill to meet disadvantaged communities’ infrastructure needs
New Law Requires Formal Consultation with Native American Tribes During CEQA Process: “Assembly Bill 52, signed yesterday by Gov. Jerry Brown, seeks to protect a new class of resources under CEQA: “tribal cultural resources.” It requires that lead agencies undertaking CEQA review must, upon request of a California Native American tribe, begin consultation prior to the release of a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration or environmental impact report for a project. AB 52 does not go into effect immediately, but will apply to those projects for which a lead agency has issued a notice of preparation of an environmental impact report or notice of intent to adopt a negative declaration on or after July 1, 2015. … ” Continue reading at BB&K here: New Law Requires Formal Consultation with Native American Tribes During CEQA Process
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About News Worth Noting: News Worth Noting is a collection of press releases, media statements, and other materials produced by federal, state, and local government agencies, water agencies, and academic institutions, as well as non-profit and advocacy organizations. News Worth Noting also includes relevant legislator statements and environmental policy and legal analyses that are publicly released by law firms. If your agency or organization has an item you would like included here, please email it to Maven.
