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On the calendar today …
- MEETING: Central Valley Flood Protection Board beginning at 9am. Agenda items include U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Levee Inspection Results for Reclamation District (RD) 1001 – Nicolaus, Feather River levee system, Sutter and Placer County; Approve the use of the “breach analysis” methodology to develop the boundaries of State Maintenance Area (MA) 20; and Updates on the upcoming release of the Public Draft of the Yolo Bypass Cache Slough Master Plan. Click here for the agenda.
- VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: Flood MAR Network from 10am to 12pm. This virtual workshop aims to reflect on the progress made in 2024, re-energize our collective efforts, and collaboratively shape priorities for 2025. Key objectives include: Showcase recent impactful work from Network Members; Advance collaborative initiatives for Flood-MAR implementation in California; Encourage active participation in the Network’s activities; and Engage members in the planning of the 2025 Biannual Network Forum. Click here for the full agenda and registration link.
- PUBLIC MEETING: Drought Resilience Interagency & Partners (DRIP) Collaborative, Cross-Cutting Themes Workgroup from 1pm to 2:30pm. The Department of Water Resources established a standing drought and water shortage interagency task force in coordination with the State Water Board and other relevant state agencies to facilitate proactive state planning and coordination for pre-drought planning, emergency response, and post-drought management, consistent with Senate Bill 552 (Chaptered in 2021). The Task Force, called the Drought Resilience Interagency and Partners Collaborative (DRIP Collaborative), will serve as a public forum with state and non-state agency members to advance our drought strategies and continue building resilience to the increasingly arid conditions California faces. For more information visit the DRIP Collaborative’s webpage. Remote participation will be conducted via a Zoom platform. Register here.
In California water news today …
Kern County Water Agency board approves additional funding for the Delta Conveyance Project
“The Kern County Water Agency (Agency) approved funding for the planning and design of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). This decision, made during the Board’s meeting on March 27, reflects a collective vote by the Agency’s Member Units. This investment supports efforts to modernize California’s water infrastructure and ensure a reliable water supply for Kern County and California. The DCP is a critical initiative aimed at climate adaptation, reducing vulnerability to sea level rise and earthquakes and protecting water quality. By participating in the pre-construction planning, public water agencies like the Agency will continue to move the DCP closer to the construction phase into design and continued permitting. … ” Read more from the Kern County Water Agency.
Reclamation further increases Central Valley Project water supply allocations for 2025; Central Valley Project contractors respond water year
“In support of ongoing efforts to provide maximum water supplies in California, the Bureau of Reclamation announces an increase in Central Valley Project 2025 water supply allocations that will provide farmers and other CVP contractors greater water supply certainty throughout the growing season. Initial allocations for the 2025 water year were announced Feb. 25 and are updated today. “While most of the Central Valley Project contractors are at 100% allocation, we are very pleased to announce an increase in allocations for our South-of-Delta and Friant Division contractors,” said Acting Regional Director Adam Nickels. “Consistent with the intent of Executive Order 14181, we are able to increase South-of Delta agriculture to 40% and Friant Division Class 1 to 100%.” … ” Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Dead fish stink up the Newsom-Trump water truce
“The Chinook salmon has upset a quiet truce in the California water wars between Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump. Last week, when the winter-run Chinook got caught in pumps that funnel water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farms and cities, California officials dialed down water deliveries in line with the state’s endangered species rules. Their federal counterparts didn’t restrict the flows — at least not at first. The fishy foul-up started when officials with the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation didn’t immediately agree on what to do when the salmon got caught up in the pumps beyond an allowable limit. State officials argued their joint rules warranted an immediate ramping down of pumping, while Reclamation staff pushed for more analysis of whether the changes would actually help the fish population, according to two people granted anonymity to protect sensitive conversations. … ” Read more from Politico.
Learning to embrace risk to save California’s freshwater species
“California experienced its hottest year on record in 2024. That’s having a huge impact on California’s agriculture, its water system, wildfires, and so much more. “It’s pretty clear that climate change is hitting every corner of the state in a whole lot of dangerous ways,” said PPIC-CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow Ted Sommer in an event last week. And while the impacts are evident in increasingly extreme weather, Sommer said one affected area typically gets less attention: the state’s freshwater ecosystems. California, he said, is a biodiversity hotspot: “We have over 1,700 aquatic species.” These species and the ecosystems that nurture them provide innumerable benefits to the state, including clean water, recreation, and economic growth. But Sommer says we risk losing a lot of that biodiversity because of long-term environmental issues and now climate change. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
More to explore: Enhancing recreation in California’s Delta
“The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region has long been known for its abundant recreation opportunities both on water and on land. The Delta’s recreational opportunities contribute to the Delta as an evolving place, a key component of the state’s coequal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem health. On April 3, 2025, the Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee (DPIIC) will gather to emphasize the critical role of Delta recreation. Leaders from state and federal agencies will convene to learn about and tour the Delta Meadows Park Property located near the communities of Walnut Grove and Locke. Attendees will also discuss how DPIIC agencies can collaborate around the rollout and implementation of funds from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, also known as Proposition 4. Members of the public are invited to attend! We will begin our day at the newly restored 1883 Clarksburg Schoolhouse, a physical embodiment of the north Delta’s sense of community and rich cultural resources. Participants will then tour the Delta Meadows Park Property and visit the Locke Boarding House guided by State Parks staff. … ” Continue reading at the Delta Stewardship Council.
Federal government restores funding for Delta smelt captive breeding program
“The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday said it will keep funding a captive breeding program for Delta smelt run by U.C. Davis, despite the antipathy towards the fish displayed by Donald Trump and his agribusiness allies on social media and in press conferences. The five year contract for the Fish Culture and Conservation Laboratory (FCCL) that raises Delta smelt in Byron, California expired on Feb. 28 — and 17 staff members were laid off. The laboratory focuses on providing “a safeguard against extinction of the Delta smelt and maintaining a population in captivity that is as genetically close as possible to the wild population,” according to UC Davis spokesperson Bill Kisliuk. It’s primary source of funding has been a five-year grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. … ” Read more from the Daily Kos.
SEE ALSO: Feds give Delta smelt a 5-year lifeline at UC Davis despite Trump’s rhetoric, from Stocktonia
Northern California prepares for a powerful storm cycle and return to active weather
“Weather conditions forecast for the Sacramento region starting Friday are calling for periods of moderate snow for the Sierra with lighter valley showers turning to rain next week. The warm, dry weather is shifting to a long-range unsettled wet and cooler pattern. The Climate Prediction Center keeps much of California in a cooler than average and wetter than average outlook through April 9. Each approaching weather system will be bringing different focus areas and weather impact elements. … ” Read more from Channel 10.’
Revived California snowpack leaves water agencies well-positioned for summer
“California is on track to finish the winter season with nearly as much snow as average, a notable achievement after a sluggish start and weeks of dry January weather. That leaves the state’s water fortunes bright — for the third straight year. The April state snow survey, the critical end-of-season measure that typically reveals the peak snow accumulation in California’s mountains, is expected to show a healthy snowpack, particularly in the north, as the results start coming in on Friday. Such conditions ensure at least a decent amount of runoff into rivers and reservoirs where snowmelt provides about a third of the water used by Californians. And more snow is likely on the way next week. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
California’s water reservoirs on track as winter storms may boost snowpack
“The water in California’s mountain snowpack is just shy of average as spring begins, but a winter storm set to hit the Sierra Nevada in the coming days will offer a boost. Nearly all of the state’s reservoirs are above their historic capacity and the biggest ones, including Shasta and Oroville in the north, are more than 80% full, state data shows. Three storms are poised to hit Northern California this week and next after an already wet winter and the state also has been able to count on water stored up during the past two years of ample rain and snow, experts said. “Because the last few years were reasonably good, the state’s major reservoirs started off with a decent amount of water and today are all starting the dry season with stored water at, or above, normal for this time of year,” said Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Oakland-based Pacific Institutes. … ” Read more from the Associated Press.
Google announces four sustainability partnerships aimed at water stewardship, farming
“Google announced a spate of sustainability-focused partnerships on Saturday, also recognized as World Water Day by the United Nations. One of the projects will be based in California, with the others anchored abroad in France, Chile and Taiwan. The tech giant said it is backing a range of projects across the globe, including developing innovative irrigation systems to support California’s dairy industry; boosting water infrastructure like irrigation canals and storage reservoirs in Chile’s Maipo Basin; backing an irrigation efficiency pilot project in Changhua, Taiwan; and using artificial intelligence to improve irrigation systems on potato farms in the Seine River basin in France. The quartet of water preservation and sustainable farming projects build on Google’s target to restore 120% of the volume of freshwater consumed across its offices and data centers, on average, by 2030. … ” Read more from ESG Drive.
New multicampus consortium looks to expand solar-over-canal projects statewide
“A groundbreaking initiative led by faculty from seven top research universities aims to accelerate the deployment of solar arrays over California’s extensive canal network. According to a 2021 UC Merced study published in Nature Sustainability, covering large sections of the state’s 4,000 miles of canals with arrays of solar panels could help conserve water, reduce air pollution, save land, and generate clean energy using existing land and infrastructure. A pilot effort, Project Nexus, is being built over Turlock Irrigation District canals to test the theory. The pilot is funded by the state of California and is a public-private-academic partnership between Turlock Irrigation District, Solar AquaGrid, UC Merced and the California Department of Water Resources. At a solar summit in Sacramento on Monday, TID General Manager Brad Koehn said the panels on the initial phase of Project Nexus have started to generate electricity. … ” Read more from the University of California.
List shows 62 California grants the EPA wants to terminate
“Sixty-two California grants are on a list of 400 the Environmental Protection Agency has targeted for termination, according to an internal filing obtained by Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday and reviewed by the Chronicle. If terminated, grantees including several Bay Area nonprofits and local governments could lose access to millions in funding previously authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, passed by former President Joe Biden. That could mean laying off staff and canceling projects, which include a program to provide air purifiers to kids with asthma in East Palo Alto and an initiative to plant trees at an East Bay elementary school, grant recipients told the Chronicle. In a Tuesday letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, a group of nine senators, which includes California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, condemned the terminations and called on Zeldin to rescind them immediately. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump administration sued over inaction for California salamander species
“The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday for dragging its feet in granting environmental protection to two salamander species. The center and the federal government fought a decadelong legal battle over whether Kern Canyon slender salamander and relictual salamander qualify as endangered species. The agency finally proposed adding the pair to the list in 2022 but has yet to finalize their protection. According to the center, the delay violates the Endangered Species Act’s one-year deadline from the time of proposal to the listing of the species. The agency extended the comment period by one year, and the deadline for that extension and publication of the final rules came and went in 2024. … ” Read more from the Courthouse News Service.
Earth’s soil is drying up. It could be irreversible.
“The amount of water stored on lands across Earth’s continents has declined at such staggering levels that changes are likely irreversible while humans are alive, a study published Thursday found. The losses in soil moisture — a result of the planet’s climate conditions and prolonged droughts — already pose issues for farming, irrigation systems and critical water resources for humans. But it also affects sea-level rise and Earth’s rotation — datasets the research team used to better track water storage for decades longer than previous studies. “What we were looking for was evidence of changing hydrology around the world,” said Jay Famiglietti, co-author of the study published in Science. “What we found was this unprecedented decrease in soil moisture in the early part of the 21st century, which took us by surprise.” … ” Read more from the Washington Post (gift article).
SEE ALSO:
- Earth’s land masses are drying out fast, scientists warn, from Inside Climate News
- Earth’s storage of water in soil, lakes and rivers is dwindling. And it’s especially bad for farming, from the Associated Press
In commentary today …
The Sáttítla Highlands National Monument was a victory for California’s water future, don’t roll it back
Matt Freitas with American Rivers writes, “I’ve witnessed firsthand the effects and the legacy of unbridled land use on California’s headwaters in the Sierra Nevada. The streams and meadows from which these headwaters feed rivers like the Tuolumne, Merced, American, or Yuba are the lifeblood of California. Despite their importance, many of these water sources are still recovering from more than a century of exhaustive mining, grazing, and logging that left them degraded, vulnerable, or polluted. … On January 14th, 224,000 acres of California’s Sierra Nevada range were designated under the Antiquities Act as the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. The designation was a great advance in preserving the land, the headwaters, and the vital underground aquifer beneath them — securing a major source of California’s clean water and the heritage of our communities for generations to come. … ” Read more from American Rivers.
SCOTUS rules in favor of sewage: you can’t make this sh** up
Amanda Fencl, Director of Climate Science, Climate and Energy with the Union of Concerned Scientists, writes, “When I lived in College Station, Texas, I kept dreaming about a Gulf Coast beach weekend escape from inland Texas. Even though this was early in the pandemic and the need for outdoor escapes was high, ultimately, I never made the trip. Honestly, I was kind of nervous about water quality. What’s the point of a beach adventure if you can’t even go into the ocean? In 2022, ninety of Texas’ beaches tested positive for unsafe levels of fecal bacteria (poop!), local advocates in Houston kept regular Poo Reports, and eventually, after having too many sewer overflows, Houston was ordered make $2 billion in wastewater infrastructure improvements. Upgrading infrastructure is expensive! This is why the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investments provided a long overdue federal commitment to improving and protecting water quality (and why current threats to it and the agencies like EPA administering funds are so misguided). … ” Read more from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
California keeps poking holes in CEQA. A new bill could blow a crater through it
Columnist Joe Garofoli writes, “Gov. Gavin Newsom boasts that he has signed 42 separate bills altering the California Environmental Quality Act, colloquially known as CEQA, the state’s landmark environmental law. By continually carving out exemptions to the law, whose regulations are often blamed for worsening the state’s housing crisis, lawmakers have created what critics deride as “Swiss cheese CEQA.” Now a Bay Area lawmaker wants to carve the biggest hole in the law yet: A bill by Oakland Assembly Member Buffy Wicks would exempt most infill housing from the environmental reviews required under CEQA. There is no way to build more housing quickly in California unless CEQA is massively overhauled. Wicks, chair of the powerful Assembly Appropriations Committee, hopes this is the first of many ways to significantly rebuild and reimagine the 55-year-old law for today’s urgency. California is way behind its goal to build 2.5 million homes by 2030. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
In regional water news and commentary today …
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency takes action to strengthen boat inspections – Golden mussels a growing threat
“The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board on Wednesday approved a critical update to the Lake Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program to protect the lake from a new aquatic invasive species recently discovered just a few hours away from the Tahoe Basin. Invasive golden mussels were discovered for the first time in North America last October in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of California. TRPA and Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD), which manage the boat inspection program, strengthened inspection procedures to reduce the risk to Lake Tahoe. On Wednesday, the agencies enacted mandatory decontaminations for all visiting motorized watercraft entering Lake Tahoe. The TRPA Governing Board approved an updated fee structure to support the additional services. … ” Read more from South Tahoe Now.
SEE ALSO: Threat of invasive golden mussels prompts new rules, fees for boats at Lake Tahoe, from the Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Shasta Lake expected to reach full capacity by end of May
“A late surge of wet weather this winter is setting the stage for a promising summer at Shasta Lake, with predictions indicating the lake will be full by the end of May. Employees at Jones Valley Resort have already seen a spike in reservations as anticipation builds for the upcoming summer season. February’s heavy rainfall brought the lake to within 16 feet of its crest. However, water releases from Shasta Dam temporarily lowered the levels, causing initial concern among resort staff. … ” Read more from KRCR.
Snowpack levels trending above average in latest PG&E survey
“This year’s snow pack is trending toward average, or potentially, above average numbers, said PG&E spokesperson Paul Moreno. Each year, PG&E conducts four snow surveys at various locations to determine how much hydroelectric power will be available in the summer months. On Tuesday, PG&E hydrographers Dan Stephens and Duncan Drummond flew by helicopter from Rogers Field Airport in Chester to Lassen Peak. There they completed the energy company’s third survey of the year. By May 3, the surveys will be completed and then averaged to indicate the total amount of snow this year.
“Hydropower is clean, reliable and has no emissions,” Moreno said. … ” Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record.
Chico: Community Alliance with Family Farmers hosting workshop for local farmers about impacts of SGMA
“The Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) will be holding a workshop on Sunday to help farmers and small agricultural producers understand how the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) will affect their businesses and local communities. The workshop, which is free to attend, takes place at Lassen Traditional Cider on Entler Avenue in Chico from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 30. Food will be provided at the workshop, and beverages will be available for purchase. This event is funded by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Underrepresented Communities, California Tribes, and Small Farmers Groundwater Technical Assistance Program. … ” Read more from Action News Now.
BAY AREA
More rain is coming to the Bay Area. Here’s when showers could arrive
“Dry weather Saturday will be sandwiched between two wet days in the Bay Area this weekend as a series of storms kicks off across Northern California. Not everyone in the Bay Area will see rain Friday. A weak system is expected to clip the region and generate light showers along the coast and throughout the North Bay. There may be a rogue shower or two in the East Bay and South Bay but chances are slim. Enough sunshine should emerge for a nice sunset Friday evening. Saturday will be the best day this weekend to get outside, and it may be the only completely dry day over the course of the next week. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Staffing shortage puts office that forecasts weather for SFO in ‘uncharted waters’
“A National Weather Service office in the Bay Area that provides weather forecasts for major California, Hawaii and Nevada airports, including San Francisco International Airport, is critically low on staffing amid a federal hiring freeze. The Center Weather Service Unit Oakland, which is located within the Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control center in Fremont, is down to just one meteorologist, according to Dalton Behringer, a local steward for the National Weather Service employees organization. Typically, each Central Weather Service Unit has four meteorologists on staff. Two vacancies at the Oakland office were not filled before President Donald Trump ordered a federal hiring freeze Jan. 20. Another meteorologist has since retired, Behringer said. Behringer spoke to the Chronicle on personal time, after working his job as a weather service meteorologist. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
CENTRAL COAST
Grover Beach inches toward wastewater rate increase
“Amid the same threats that have plagued Grover Beach’s wastewater rate increase discussion since 2023, the city is trying a different approach this time around. On March 24, the City Council opted to continue the beachside berg’s steady march toward increasing wastewater rates. At the same time, council members also asked city staff to put together an informational mailer to send out to the residents before the April 14 meeting, when the council will consider what the rate increases will be and whether to start the required Proposition 218 rate protest process. … ” Read more from New Times SLO.
EASTERN SIERRA
Mono Lake: This year’s water exports to conclude March 31
“The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) continued to export water from the Mono Basin as of this morning. The diversion of water away from Mono Lake has been continuous all winter and has lowered the level, and health, of the lake. The end of March marks the end of the runoff year and the end of the timeframe authorized for these unfortunately large diversions. DWP is expected to ramp down and conclude the water exports on Monday, March 31. The Mono Lake Committee’s tracking of exports for the runoff year shows a total of about 11,000 acre-feet, or about 250% of the amount promised by Mayor Karen Bass and set forth in the Annual Operations Plan DWP submitted to the State Water Board last year. DWP chose back in November to make an unexpected and unannounced break with the mayor’s voluntary commitment, causing the State Water Board to accelerate its schedule for holding a hearing in 2025 on DWP’s stream diversions. … ” Read more from the Mono Lake Committee.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Army Civil Works senior leader gets updates on LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project
“Robyn Colosimo, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, visited three reaches of the Los Angeles River Feb. 27, 2025, to receive a close-up look at the LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project. Colosimo’s LA River site visit was the final part of her three-day visit to the Los Angeles District area of operations in the last week of February, with much of her time dedicated to meeting with leaders and their teams taking on the California wildfire response mission. For the LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project site visit, Colosimo was joined by a group of leaders including Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy commanding general for Civil Works and Emergency Operations; Joseph Savage, senior executive and programs director with USACE South Pacific Division; Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander; Justin Gay, Deputy District Engineer, and Priyanka Wadhawan, project manager and deputy chief with the LA District’s Mega Projects Division, as she spoke with City of Los Angeles officials Edward Belden, LA River Ecosystem Restoration project manager, and Mara Luevano, capital projects delivery manager, about the status and direction of the project. … ” Read more from DVIDS.
Early bloom of toxic algae off Southern California sickens hundreds of sea lions and dolphins
“Harmful algae blooming off the coast of Southern California has poisoned scores of California sea lions and common dolphins that are stranding in large numbers on area beaches. West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network partners are reporting upwards of 100 calls a day reporting sea lions and dolphins affected by the algal toxin, domoic acid. Some animals experience seizures on the beach, or may appear to bob their head, while others have died. Beachgoers should remain a safe distance (a minimum of 50 yards) from affected animals—they can act erratically under the influence of the biotoxin. In some cases, teams from marine life care centers are bypassing animals with severe domoic acid poisoning and focusing on those that have the greatest chance of recovering. … ” Read more from NOAA.
SAN DIEGO
County urged to halt reopening of Tijuana River Valley campground
“A Los Angeles attorney sent a cease and desist letter to the county demanding it halt its planned reopening of the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground amid concerns that park rangers and visitors would be exposed to sewage pollution. In a Thursday letter to Jason Hemmens, San Diego County director of Parks and Recreation, attorney David W. M. Fujimoto said he represents SEIU Local 221, the union representing more than a dozen campground park rangers, and insists bargaining must be done before allowing workers and the public back to the site. “The County’s decision directly involves Local 221’s members’ health and safety and is therefore a mandatory subject of bargaining,” Fujimoto wrote. … ” Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Along the Colorado River …
PPIC Fact Sheet: The Colorado River
“The Colorado River is a critical source of water for California and the western United States. Nearly 40 million people in seven states depend on water from the Colorado River system. Water from the river and its tributaries irrigates 5.5 million acres of farmland and supplies 30 tribal nations and Mexico. The river is divided into two subbasins. The principal “upper basin” states are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and Arizona, California, and Nevada are the principal “lower basin” states. The 1922 Colorado River Compact allocates each basin 7.5 million acre-feet (maf) of water per year from the river’s mainstem, which the states share. The compact also allocates the lower basin an additional 1 maf per year to account for diversions from the Gila River and its tributaries in Arizona. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
Colorado and Bear rivers are no longer off limits for Utah’s water agent
“A new law signed by the governor this week lifts some of the constraints on Utah’s water agent, a relatively new position tasked with negotiating with other states, or even countries, to bring more water to the Beehive State. Now, water agent Joel Ferry — who also leads the Utah Division of Natural Resources — will be able to include the Colorado and Bear rivers in his negotiations. Sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, the bill frees up Ferry to work with neighboring states or entities that are currently governed by interstate compacts, like the Colorado River Compact, which divides the Colorado River drainage into an upper and lower basin and allocates water between seven states and Mexico — and the Bear River Compact, an agreement between Utah, Idaho and Wyoming that dictates how much water each state can use from the river. … ” Read more from the Utah News Dispatch.
In national water news today …
On WOTUS Notice: EPA gives notice of yet another Clean Water Act rule
“From Obama to Trump to Biden, each of the last three administrations has directed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to conduct rulemakings to define the scope of what constitutes a Water of the United States, or WOTUS, under the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”). Many commentators anticipated the new Trump administration would embark on yet another WOTUS rulemaking in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023) (“Sackett II”). On March 12, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin confirmed those suspicions by announcing that EPA will work with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) to once again revise the definition of WOTUS and issued an interim guidance memorandum for EPA and the Corps. … ” Read more from Brownstein.
Why do we have NEPA?
“Reform, or even elimination, of environmental review for federal agency actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a hot topic in the policy world right now – particularly with the Trump Administration making a range of significant changes to try and reduce the scope of NEPA. But if we want to have a serious conversation about environmental review, it’s important for us to talk about what we think environmental review does, and what it should do, to help protect the environment. Unlike regulatory statutes like the Clean Air Act or Clean Water Act, the benefits of NEPA (if any) are more diffuse and indirect, since NEPA does not impose any substantive environmental standards on federal projects. Understanding what those benefits are or should be is important to thoughtfully assessing whether we should keep NEPA as is, reform it in important ways, or just repeal the law. In my discussion, I’ll draw on what we know about NEPA from some excellent work done by researchers (including this recent review article), as well as from how the statute has worked in practice. … ” Read more from Legal Planet.
Amid attacks on Endangered Species Act, Trump’s pick to lead wildlife conservation faces confirmation hearing
“Some big changes could be coming soon in the world of U.S. wildlife policy. On Tuesday, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee held a legislative hearing to discuss several proposed bills, including one that could undermine the Endangered Species Act—a bedrock environmental law that ensures federal protections for vulnerable animals and plants in the country. The next day, Brian Nesvik, former head of Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department, sat before members of the Senate for a confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump’s pick for director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If confirmed, he would play a key role in carrying out the mandate of the Endangered Species Act—and juggling industry interests and wildlife protection in an administration that’s prioritizing the former over the latter. … ” Read more from Inside Climate News.
Farmers need support to survive this economic squeeze
“In conversations with farmers in recent months, one word keeps coming up to describe their economic reality: “squeeze.” High farm input costs and loan interest rates are making it more expensive for farmers to grow crops. At the same time, low commodity prices mean they earn less money for the crops they grow. Farmers are caught in the middle of a bad deal with many asking whether it is even worth it to farm this year. Farmers are facing this dilemma while also navigating additional disruptions and uncertainty. Federal funds have been frozen or canceled, putting farmers with existing contracts at risk after they’ve already invested their own money with the expectation that government funding would cover the remaining cost of farm improvements. … ” Read more from Growing Returns.
As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans
“Long before the large-scale Earth Day protests on April 22, 1970 – often credited with spurring significant environmental protection legislation – Native Americans stewarded the environment. As sovereign nations, Native Americans have been able to protect land, water and air, including well beyond their own boundaries. Their actions laid the groundwork for modern federal law and policy, including national legislation aimed at reducing pollution. Now the Trump administration is seeking to weaken some of those limits and eliminate programs aimed at improving the environments in which marginalized people live and work. As an environmental historian, I study how Native Americans have shaped environmental management. Tribal nations are the longest stewards of the lands today known as the United States. My work indicates not only that tribal nations contributed to the origins and evolution of modern environmental management on tribal and nontribal lands, but also that they are well poised to continue environmental management and scientific research regardless of U.S. government actions. … ” Read more from The Conversation.
