New environmental screening tool stirs debate [Riverside Press-Enterprise]
A state plan to rank communities by the cumulative effects of pollution on residents has raised objections among local business leaders, who say it would kill job development in areas identified as disadvantaged. The proposed California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool would use existing environmental, health and socioeconomic data to score areas by ZIP code. It would take into consideration such factors as ozone pollution, traffic density, pesticide use, the number of hazardous waste dumps and cleanup sites, cancer and asthma rates, and the number of seniors and children….A number of businesses and industries oppose the ranking system. They are fearful it would create a stigma for already struggling regions and would likely increase the amount of red tape for permits, driving more jobs to states with fewer regulations….Gayle Covey, executive director of the San Bernardino County Farm Bureau, was one of about 30 people to attend the public meeting on the assessment tool and voice concerns. Even though there are areas with landfills, hazardous materials storage and pesticide spraying, they must comply with strict environmental regulations and are therefore safe, she said.
Parts of ag-runoff rules to be delayed [Santa Maria Times]
The State Water Quality Control Board has agreed to “stay” or extend the deadline for some provisions of recently approved rules governing runoff from irrigated agricultural lands. Board members reached the decision in a hearing Thursday, but will not announce which portions of the provisions will be stayed or extended until Monday, said spokesman Tim Moran. “The board wants to explain the reasons for which provisions will be stayed, and they’re fairly complex,” Moran said.
Work to keep cattle away from creeks seeks to improve water quality in West Marin [Marin Independent Journal]
The Point Reyes National Seashore and West Marin ranchers are joining forces to build fences, crossings and other projects to keep cattle away from creeks in an effort to improve water quality. Heavy winter rains sometimes force pollutants — including animal waste and sediment — into creeks that flow into Tomales Bay and other areas. That muddies water and can send pathogen counts skyrocketing above state standards, hurting water quality and forcing closure of shellfish operations. Species such as coho salmon, steelhead trout and freshwater shrimp, along with harbor seals, brown pelicans, red-legged frogs and snowy plovers, thrive in the West Marin watershed and are affected by water quality.
Valley walnut crop remains robust [Modesto Bee]
The state's walnut growers can expect to shake the second-largest crop off their trees this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has projected the harvest at 940 million pounds, which would be second only to the record 1.06 billion pounds in 2010. "We look forward to this year's crop as demand for California walnuts continues to rise," said Solano County grower Carl Cilker, a member of the California Walnut Commission, in a news release. "The trees look to be in good shape."
http://www.modbee.com/2012/09/05/2359970/valley-walnut-crop-remains-robust.html#storylink=misearch
Wide area of nation still parched after storm [New York Times]
The remnants of Hurricane Isaac that blew through the middle of the country over the weekend softened the worst drought in decades in some areas, but a large portion of the nation remains desiccated with ponds still too shallow to water cattle, fields too dusty for feeding and crops beyond the point of salvage, meteorologists and agriculture experts said Wednesday.Conditions have, in fact, worsened in some rain-starved regions untouched by the hurricane’s gray clouds, meteorologists said. When the government’s drought forecasts are released Thursday morning, they will most likely show that the worst of the drought has shifted slightly west, to the Central Plains, stretching from the bottom of South Dakota to North Texas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/us/large-swath-of-us-remains-parched-despite-storm.html?_r=1
Editorial: Equal pay for an equal day [Stockton Record]
Gov. Jerry Brown almost had a chance to make right what former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left wrong. Assembly Bill 1313 would have brought pay parity to the state's farm workers. But on Friday, the last day of the legislative session, the measure was killed in the Assembly, falling eight votes short of passage.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120906/A_OPINION01/209060316
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