Growers appeal water quality rules to state board [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
Farm groups are asking a state board to overturn newly imposed water quality rules in part due to alleged improper contact between decision makers and an environmental advocate. Separate petitions were filed Monday with the State Water Resources Control Board by the California Farm Bureau and seven Central Coast farm bureaus and a coalition of grower-shipper groups. The rules on agricultural wastewater discharge were approved at the March 15 meeting of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board after more than three years of debate….But growers contend the rules are arbitrary, too costly to implement and will fail to improve water quality. They argue the regional board did not adequately consider their alternative plan, which calls for coalition-based projects, measurable improvements and independent monitoring and evaluation.
Sonoma County scales back frost-protection rules [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
Sonoma County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to scale back controversial rules designed to protect endangered fish and regulate how grape growers use water from the Russian River for frost protection. The board eliminated rules that would have required vineyard and orchard operators to monitor and report their water diversions from the river, its tributaries and nearby groundwater….The shift was spurred by state regulations approved last year that impose many of the same requirements, including monitoring and reporting, with stronger enforcement authority to back them up. The state rules are tied up in court after a coalition of grape growers sued and a judge postponed their enforcement. Many grape growers in Sonoma County and Mendocino County are complying with the rules in the meantime.
Osias updates Imperial Irrigation District directors, public on water transfer [Imperial Valley Press]
…Legal counsel updated the board and public at Tuesday’s IID Board of Directors meeting on the water transfer, the petition to stop mitigation water to the Salton Sea and why he thinks the district’s consulting attorney was wrong in a presentation last month….Litigation-wise in the water transfer cases “IID continues to win,” Osias said. Of the 15 Quantification Settlement Agreement cases filed against the IID and three cross-complaints, most have been dismissed, while a few still await trial. Overall for those challenging the IID it’s been an expensive and fruitless effort to undo the QSA that has been rejected by courts in three different counties and many different courts, he said. Now the district is awaiting a new court conference date to organize how much time will be needed before going back to trial at the Sacramento Superior Court, and IID is pursuing its petition to sell mitigation water that is set to go to the Salton Sea and use the money for mitigation projects, he said.
Threat to California citrus may finish backyard trees [New York Times]
…Citrus is an iconic part of California life. By some estimates, up to 70 percent of homeowners in the state have at least one citrus tree on their property….But all of these trees are now in danger….Commercial farmers have begun spraying their crops with pesticides to ward off the insect that carries the disease. But some experts fear that citrus greening could all but wipe out residential urban citrus growth in areas like this one….Farmers like John Gless, whose family has grown citrus in the region for more than 100 years, fear the disease could ruin them. And over the last several years, California citrus farmers have poured $50 million into detection and treatment programs, as well as efforts to find a cure. “This is the biggest all-time threat we’ve ever had,” Mr. Gless said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/us/citrus-greening-disease-threatens-california-trees.html?_r=1
Cherry trees linger in a late blooming season [Lodi News-Sentinel]
Cherry growers around Lodi say their trees survived last week's storms with few problems, though this year's harvest may yield less fruit than last year. "It's all across the board," said Bruce Blodgett, executive director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation. "Some growers got hail, some got rain. At least we're not in harvest." The biggest concern were scattered hailstorms, which can pit a green cherry. In Lodi, the hail was brief and short lived.
http://www.lodinews.com/business/article_f605870e-1221-5464-8908-9b06f488ce30.html
Stop California bullet train, state's top analyst urges [San Jose Mercury News]
The state's top analyst on Tuesday urged lawmakers to slam the brakes on California's $68 billion bullet train, cautioning that the newly overhauled plan simply isn't "strong enough" and relies on "highly speculative" funding sources. The report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office is especially significant as the state Senate and Assembly on Wednesday begin a debate on whether to start building the high-speed rail line, a decision officials revealed Tuesday will likely be delayed into the summer. The report could give a divided Legislature the political cover it needs to halt the biggest public works project in California history; otherwise, lawmakers would have to go against the advice of their own experts. It is the latest in a series of stinging critiques of the project by independent watchdog groups. But it's the first analysis since the Brown administration early this month unveiled a scaled-back version of the rail line that was intended to appease critics by trimming the cost by $30 billion, speeding up the start of service by five years and electrifying the Caltrain line by the end of the decade.
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