DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: State has no idea how long to clean up Kern County oil spill; State says you can’t keep nutria as pets; Should CA insulate itself from federal rollbacks of environmental laws?; West wrestles with Colorado River “grand bargain”; and more …

In California water news this weekend, State Says It Has No Idea How Long It Will Take to Clean Up Chevron’s Kern County Oil Spill; The state of California regrets to inform you that you can’t keep Nutria as pets; Should California Insulate Itself From Federal Rollbacks Of Environmental Laws?; Trump admin proposes page limits for NEPA reviews; Climate Change: Where We’ll Have to Live and Where We’ll Need to Leave; West wrestles with Colorado River “grand bargain” as changing climate depletes water governed by 1922 compact; and more …

In the news this weekend …

State Says It Has No Idea How Long It Will Take to Clean Up Chevron’s Kern County Oil Spill:  “State regulators say they don’t know how long it will take for crews to clean up contaminated soil from a Kern County creek bed in the wake of the biggest California oil spill in decades.  While the massive release of crude petroleum from a Chevron oil well near the town of McKittrick seems to have ended, the timeline for hauling away soil contaminated by the spill is unclear.  “The full extent of the required site remediation is not known at this time and will be fully scoped with appropriate regulatory agencies,” Eric Laughlin, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in an email Thursday. … ”  Read more from KQED here: State Says It Has No Idea How Long It Will Take to Clean Up Chevron’s Kern County Oil Spill

The state of California regrets to inform you that you can’t keep nutria as pets:  “Nutria, a giant invasive rodent originally from South America, might be the size of a beagle, but unlike a beagle you can’t keep them in your home.  The California Fish and Game Commission is looking to correct a gap in the law that restricts what pets may lawfully be owned by including nutria among the list.  “Nutria affect the state’s wildlife by damaging wetland habitats, and put waterways, water supplies, water conveyance and flood protection infrastructure, and agriculture at risk from damage through their burrowing and herbivory of aquatic vegetation,” according to the commission. … ”  Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: The state of California regrets to inform you that you can’t keep nutria as pets

Radio show: Should California Insulate Itself From Federal Rollbacks Of Environmental Laws?  “State legislators have fast-tracked Senate Bill 1, the California Environmental, Public Health and Workers Defense Act of 2019. It is sweeping legislation that would lock current standards in place through January 20, 2025, the last day of Donald Trump’s presidency if he were to win a second term. Proponents see SB1 as an insurance policy against potential federal rollbacks of environmental and worker safety standards. But opponents say it could stall negotiations over water supplies and hurt farmers. Moderator Kathleen Schock spoke with advocates on both sides of the issue, John Harris of Harris Farms and Kim Delfino with Defenders of Wildlife. Dr. Lisa Bryant, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fresno State also joined the conversation.”  Listen to radio show from Valley Public Radio here: Should California Insulate Itself From Federal Rollbacks Of Environmental Laws?

Trump admin proposes page limits for NEPA reviews:  “The Department of Transportation today took steps to limit the scope of environmental reviews for infrastructure projects, drawing concern from environmentalists and praise from conservatives.  According to a notice in today’s Federal Register, DOT is releasing two interim policies on environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.  The first policy directs subagencies to limit the length of environmental impact statements to 150 pages, unless they’re “of an unusual scope or complexity.”  It further recommends that subagencies keep environmental assessments to 75 pages or fewer. … ”  Read more from E&E News here: Trump admin proposes page limits for NEPA reviews

How to Rebound After a Disaster: Move, Don’t Rebuild, Research Suggests:  “What should communities do as climate change escalates threats like sea-level rise?  Until now, much of the focus has been on disaster response, with very little discussion of orderly, strategic retreat from areas at risk. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, for example, the New York State governor’s office ran a public service announcement that made clear the focus would be on rebuilding.  But a paper published Thursday in the journal Science makes a case that, sometimes, retreating from nature instead of fighting it can actually open up new opportunities for communities. ... ”  Read more from the New York Times here:  How to Rebound After a Disaster: Move, Don’t Rebuild, Research Suggests

Climate Change: Where We’ll Have to Live and Where We’ll Need to Leave:  “As climate change becomes more and more of a reality, people are naturally thinking more about how it is going to impact them directly.  Stronger hurricanes, melting ice sheets, and crippling heat waves quickly become the norm around the world, and people are starting to look for where they might have the best chance to weather the worst effects of climate change.  The bad news is that no place on Earth will be unaffected by climate change. Our climate is all-encompassing, so everything will undergo some kind of transformation in response to changes in the climate; the only question is how these changes will affect the life forms that live there. … ”  Read more from Interesting Engineering here: Climate Change: Where We’ll Have to Live and Where We’ll Need to Leave

Sunday podcasts …

Common Sense and an Honest Effort:  Steve Baker writes, “Although a lot of rain falls in Jacksonville, Florida, it just doesn’t fall where you want it. The topography is so flat that the only possible reservoir for storing all that rainfall is the underlying groundwater aquifers. The value of water is Jacksonville has changed in twenty years. To be sustainable, they are now charging conservation rates for water and people are responding. Today, consumptive water use has dropped 30% to 40%, clearly a success for a community of  850,000 people. Water is a Many Splendor’ed Thing brings you another water relationship that has a personally significant impact to your life.”

In regional news and commentary this weekend …

North Coast: Still no progress seen on Pebble Beach erosion plan:  “Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore expressed the shared frustration of the collective City Council when it felt required to vote Monday night for another delay in the Pebble Beach Drive Bank Stabilization Project.  “I don’t like the process, I don’t like the risk it puts upon us,” Inscore said. “This project has already almost tripled in cost since it was introduced. ... ”  Read more from the Del Norte Triplicate here: Still no progress seen on Pebble Beach erosion plan

Butte County: ‘Anything to speed up the process’: Local forest experts like Forest Service’s plan to expedite tree removal:  “Local and professional foresters say they support a new proposal by the U.S. Forest Service that would speed up logging and cut some environmental review processes.  The Forest Service is proposing a sweeping amendment of The National Environmental Policy Act. The amendment would quicken the process for tree removal, in part by cutting out public participation in most logging operations as well as prescribed burning processes, road and pipeline building and other projects. … ”  Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record here: Butte County: ‘Anything to speed up the process’

A Seat at the Table: Effort to Untangle the Eel From the Potter Valley Project Left Some Tribes Feeling Unheard:  “A demand issued by tribes in late July caught politicians off guard as the complexities of dam removal at the headwaters of the Eel River and its associated water transfer continue to unwind.  Currently, tribes in the Eel River are working to make certain all the people in the Eel River have a voice on Congressman Huffman’s ad hoc committee in the wake of PG&E abandoning its license to operate the Potter Valley Project (PVP) while regional groups including Sonoma County Water, Inland Water and Power Commission. … ”  Read more from the Redheaded Blackbelt here: A Seat at the Table: Effort to Untangle the Eel From the Potter Valley Project Left Some Tribes Feeling Unheard

Russian River watershed protection campaign focuses on keeping storm drains for rain only:  “Most people pass by storm drains day in and day out, giving little thought to them as conduits to local waterways — and ultimately, the Russian River in much of Sonoma County.  An alliance of local cities, special districts and the county wants to change that.  The coalition has launched a regional campaign to raise public awareness about the link between surface streets and local creeks in hopes people will think again about allowing litter, pet waste and other pollutants to escape down the drain and into the Russian River watershed, home to salmon and steelhead trout and a wide range other aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. … ”  Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Russian River watershed protection campaign focuses on keeping storm drains for rain only

Less Snow, More Rain: How Tahoe’s Climate Balance Could Be Shifting:  “The iconic image of Lake Tahoe is of a clear, blue lake surrounded by stunning snow-capped mountains. But that picturesque sight could look very different by the end of the century due to climate change.  Those snowy mountains we’re used to seeing could lose their white tips. And this would mean a major transformation for life in Tahoe and beyond.  It may seem obvious, but for water to fall from the sky as snow, it needs to freeze first. This means that as temperatures warm, more rain will fall than snow in Tahoe, according to a draft climate vulnerability assessment of the Lake Tahoe Basin. … ”  Read more from Capital Public Radio here: Less Snow, More Rain: How Tahoe’s Climate Balance Could Be Shifting

Kern quickly rises to become California’s top hemp-producing county:  “Minimal restrictions, ample land and a strong farming tradition have made Kern the state’s No. 1 hemp-growing county in the four months since California began registering growers of the non-psychoactive form of cannabis.  As of Friday afternoon, the county’s Agricultural Commissioner’s Office had registered 33 different entities planning to grow hemp on 76 sites comprising 6,864 acres, a county-wide total the agency said eclipses every other in the state. … ”  Read more from Bakersfield.com here: Kern quickly rises to become California’s top hemp-producing county

Oxnard: Planning Commission receives report about programmatic water master plan:  “The Oxnard Planning Commission held a public hearing on Aug. 15, to receive comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Public Works Integrated Master Plan. The Public Works Department oversees the water, wastewater, recycled water, and stormwater utilities throughout Oxnard and faces challenges managing its services and future water resources.   Assistant Public Works Director Tien Ng presented the item and said the city wants to integrate the water, wastewater recycled water and stormwater while looking for opportunities to align projects on the same street. ... ”  Read more from the Tri-County Sentry here: Planning Commission receives report about programmatic water master plan

Santa Clarita: State tightens contamination levels; SCV Water sets up testing: “SCV Water Agency officials are expected to begin testing their wells for smaller amounts of a non-stick chemical suspected of being carcinogenic, after state officials announced Friday they were lowering the allowable levels set for that chemical.  Over the last few months, the State Water Resources Control Board has been trying to figure out what constitutes a safe level for a chemical called PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water, since one of its component chemicals is a suspected carcinogen. … ”  Read more from the Santa Clarita Valley Signal here: Santa Clarita: State tightens contamination levels; SCV Water sets up testing

Eastern Municipal Water District water banking project to begin in San Jacinto in September:  “The 40-acre site on the northwest corner of Mountain and Esplanade avenues in San Jacinto is owned by Eastern Municipal Water District and may soon see some major construction underway.  The EMWD board of directors announced recently that they had received a $13.8 million construction grant for the water banking and associated pipelines and extraction wells. The grant to be used in the San Jacinto water banking project will be voted on Sept. 4, with construction expected to start soon after that at the site. … ”  Read more from Valley News here: Eastern Municipal Water District water banking project to begin in San Jacinto in September

Deadly algae blooms contaminate Big Bear Lake:  “If you’re planning on visiting Big Bear Lake, avoid the water, the state warned Friday.  State and regional water quality boards both urged dog owners, fishers and everyone else to avoid direct water contact while visiting areas of Big Bear Lake due to a harmful algae bloom.  The areas affected by the bloom include North Shore Drive, extending about a half-mile west of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, and the west side of Stanfield Cutoff. Toxins produced by harmful algae blooms were detected in the water near the shore. These toxins can make people sick and kill animals. ... ” Read more from the Hi-Desert Star here: Deadly algae blooms contaminate Big Bear Lake

City of Capistrano Approves Framework for Potential Water Transfer Agreement with SMWD:  “The city’s plans to annex its utilities department took another step forward Tuesday, Aug. 20, as councilmembers approved a framework that will be the basis for a potential agreement to have Santa Margarita Water District take over water and sewer services in San Juan Capistrano.  With Councilmember Derek Reeve absent from the meeting, the council unanimously voted in favor of certifying the Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the major deal points of what will eventually be part of an official annexation agreement and application for approval by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). ... ”  Read more from the Capistrano Dispatch here: City Approves Framework for Potential Water Transfer Agreement with SMWD

Along the Colorado River …

West wrestles with Colorado River “grand bargain” as changing climate depletes water governed by 1922 compact:  “Rocky Mountain water managers worried about climate-driven depletion across the Colorado River Basin are mulling a “grand bargain” that would overhaul obligations among seven southwestern states for sharing the river’s water.  This reflects rising concerns that dry times could turn disastrous. An enshrined legal right of California and lower-basin states to demand more Colorado River water could imperil half of Denver’s water supply. ... ”  Read more from the Denver Post here: West wrestles with Colorado River “grand bargain” as changing climate depletes water governed by 1922 compact

Utah audit shows millions to go to proposed pipeline costs:  “Washington County is expected to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to build and operate a proposed water pipeline, according to a Utah legislative audit.  The audit found it will require a large fee, rate and tax increases for a southern Utah county to pay for a proposed pipeline that would pull water from Lake Powell and cost at least $1.4 billion over the next 50 years, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday. … ”  Read more from the AP via SF Gate here: Utah audit shows millions to go to proposed pipeline costs

Also on Maven’s Notebook this weekend …

Sunday video …

Imagine California is a series of 3 time-lapse videos, each made of thousands of individual photographs that I took around the state. It took almost a full year to take over 300,000 photos, and to edit these videos together.”  From Killackey Media.  Enjoy!

Imagine California from Killackey Media on Vimeo.

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.

Maven’s Notebook
where California water news never goes home for the weekend

no weekends

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