Imperial
Irrigation District weighs benefits of water pact with Mexico [Imperial Valley
Press]
The
Imperial Irrigation District is concerned that it may not benefit from an
agreement that would allow Mexico to store water under Lake Mead and possibly
generate additional water for California. At issue is Minute 319, a five-year
pilot program between the U.S. and Mexico that would index Mexico’s water
allocations from the Colorado River to surplus conditions and droughts. The
pact is scheduled to be signed Nov. 20.…The pact would also have Arizona and
Nevada water agencies pay for improvements to Mexico’s infrastructure and to
implement water conservation measures that will generate about 100,000
acre-feet of water over five years. Those agencies would split about half of
that water, with the rest going to the Metropolitan Water District. IID
directors voiced concern that the district, holding senior rights to water from
the Colorado River, was left out of the equation. Although there is a
side-letter between MWD and IID that addresses those concerns, IID officials
said it does not necessarily guarantee that the IID will actually get any of
this water.
Supes
OK Klamath River agreement amendments; vote advances two-year extension; all 42
stakeholders must approve [Eureka Times-Standard]
Passionate
public comment was the order of the day at Tuesday's meeting of the Humboldt
County Board of Supervisors, where people voiced their opinions about
amendments to the Klamath River restoration agreement. After hearing comments
from 29 people, 18 of whom opposed changes to the deal, the supervisors voted
unanimously to approve the proposed amendments, which would extend the
agreement's sunset date. Fifth District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said the
decision wasn't any easy one. ”It's tough because I've got friends on both
sides of this issue,” Sundberg said. “My decision to extend this for another
two years comes down to giving this thing some more time.” More than two years
ago, the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement was signed by 42 stakeholders in
tandem with the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which is intended
to remove four dams from the Klamath River. The two agreements were introduced
as proposed legislation to Congress about one year ago, but no action has been
taken.
Commentary: Ten years after
fish kill, California and Oregon must make salmon a priority [Sacramento Bee]
Ten
years ago thousands of adult salmon died in the Klamath River when extremely
low flows ordered by the Bush administration created lethal conditions for fish.
This year, as we celebrate the first good run of salmon since the fish kill,
let's remember the 10 years of advocacy that got us here, and consider possible
perils. Proposed projects like Gov. Jerry Brown's twin tunnels through the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta won't help. The water these tunnels will send to
Southern California could siphon supplies from the Klamath via diversions of
its largest tributary – the Trinity River.
Supervisors
back Santa Nella solar project [Merced Sun-Star]
The
Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 110-megawatt solar facility,
spanning 1,012 acres in the Santa Nella area, during last week's board
meeting.…The project will install 300,000 solar panels on eight parcels of
Santa Nella's agricultural land on the north and south sides of McCabe Road and
on the west side of Whitworth Road, according to Mark Hendrickson, director of
commerce, aviation and economic development for Merced County.…The land is
within an agricultural reserve, which is why the Board of Supervisors had to
take action. County officials said the land was not covered by the Williamson
Act, which restricts developing agricultural land…. As part of the project, 204
almond trees will be cut down and an estimated 21 farmworkers will lose their
jobs….Merced County assistant planning director Bill Nicholson said the project
is a "fully mitigated," which means the environmental impacts were
addressed by the applicants of the project. For example, they will build a
corridor for the kit foxes to move north and will also conserve a "2-1
agricultural mitigation." A 2-1 mitigation agreement means that for every
acre of "prime agricultural land" consumed in this project, two acres
will be preserved elsewhere in Merced County -- at the discretion of the
applicant.
Citrus
growers hope for a wetter winter [Visalia Times-Delta]
The
hotter-than-normal summer may have been unpleasant for many Valley residents,
but citrus growers aren’t complaining. “Just day-to-day, we had that really hot
weather, which really loaded that fruit up with sugar,” and now the citrus is
being harvested, said Jay Gillette, a Dinuba-based citrus grower and packer.
The result? Probably the sweetest fruit in years, he said.…On top of that, he
said, good weather resulted in little fruit scarring….But it will not be a
perfect citrus crop. Citrus growers normally want some rain in the South Valley
between September and early October, as the moisture helps the fruit grow
bigger by harvest time. But the minimal rain this fall came too late.…The
result is smaller fruit, with most fruit in the small- to medium-size range,
Bastian said.
Blue
Diamond offers sneak peek at new plant in Turlock [Modesto Bee]
The
new Blue Diamond Growers plant is mostly concrete today — about 27.5 million
pounds of it. Next spring, if all goes well, untold millions of pounds of
almonds will start going through the plant, bound for customers the world over.
The grower-owned cooperative provided a media tour Tuesday at the Fulkerth Road
plant, which will handle a good chunk of the state's booming almond
business….The Turlock plant will cut and blanch almonds in the first phase and
move into roasting and flavor coating in the second. The plant will help Blue
Diamond keep up with demand that has soared as people come to see almonds as a
healthy food, Jansen said.
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
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