FDA
begins implementing sweeping food-safety law [Washington Post]
The
Obama administration, moving ahead with the first major revamping of the
nation’s food-safety system in more than 70 years, Friday proposed requiring
that the produce industry meet new safety standards and food manufacturers
craft detailed plans to ensure their products are safe to eat. The proposed
rules stem from landmark food-safety legislation that President Obama signed
into law two years ago. Many lawmakers, consumer advocates and industry
officials say it has taken far too long to implement the law….The proposed
regulations released Friday focus on two key portions of the broader
legislation, but FDA officials and consumer advocates say the rules are
essential to laying the groundwork for the first major revamp of the country’s
food safety system since 1938. If adopted, they would for the first time put in
place a set of enforceable standards to prevent contamination during the
growing and harvesting of produce on farms throughout the country. In addition,
they would require U.S. foodmakers to develop formal plans to prevent their
products from causing foodborne illnesses and to test those plans frequently.
Farm
bill extension evidence of lost clout [Associated Press]
A
patchwork extension of federal farm programs passed as part of a larger
"fiscal cliff" bill keeps the price of milk from rising but doesn't
include many of the goodies that farm-state lawmakers are used to getting for
their rural districts. House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders who spent
more than a year working on a half-trillion-dollar, five-year farm bill that
would keep subsidies flowing had to accept in the final hours a slimmed-down,
nine-month extension of 2008 law with few extras for anyone. With the new
Congress opening Thursday, they'll have to start the farm bill process over
again, most likely with even less money for agriculture programs this year and
the recognition that farm interests have lost some of the political clout they
once held.
White
House pushes forward on immigration ahead of bigger reform fight [Washington
Post]
The
Obama administration’s decision this week to ease visa requirements for
hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants represents its latest move to
reshape immigration through executive action, even as the White House gears up
for an uncertain political fight over a far-more-sweeping legislative package
in the months ahead.…For President Obama — who has called the inability to
achieve comprehensive immigration reform among the biggest regrets of his first
term — the new policy is among a series of steps his administration has taken
over the past year aimed in part at easing the pace of deportations, which have
surged during his tenure.…Still, administration officials emphasize that such
administrative actions are not intended as a substitute for broader
legislation, which would be aimed at providing a path to citizenship for the
nation’s 11 million undocumented workers.…Although Obama has pledged to push
for comprehensive legislation early in his second term, the White House’s
timetable has been complicated by the prospect of another round of fiscal
negotiations over the debt ceiling in February and the president’s pledge to
support a gun-control bill in the wake of the mass school shooting in Newtown,
Conn.
Reduction
in Tuolumne, Merced river diversions proposed [Modesto Bee]
A
state board proposes to help fish by reducing average annual diversions on the
Tuolumne River by 15 percent and on the Merced River by 13 percent. The idea
drew protest Thursday from water suppliers, including the Modesto and Turlock
irrigation districts, which argue that the reductions would be especially tough
in dry years.…The proposal came from the State Water Resources Control Board,
which aims to improve conditions for salmon and other life in the lower rivers
as well as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta….The state board said the increased
flows would cut farm income in the region by just 1 percent. Reduced water
supplies would likely mean that farmers turn from lower-value crops such as
corn to higher-value crops such as almonds, the board said. The irrigation
district group said fish would benefit more from nonflow measures such as
restoring streambeds, reducing predation by non-native striped bass, changing
ocean fishing rules and improving hatchery practices.
Delta
rebound for fish cut short [Stockton Record]
Fragile
fish species in the Delta returned to near-record lows last year, evidence that
a promising bump in 2011 was merely a short-term gain. The notorious Delta
smelt - the 3-inch fish whose dramatic downfall forced water cutbacks to cities
and farms during the most recent drought - suffered through its seventh-lowest
year on record in 2012, according to data released this week by the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife. The striped bass, a popular choice among
fishermen, didn't fare much better with its eighth-worst year dating back to
1967. And a third fish, the threadfin shad, sank to an all-time low, with a
population less than 1 percent of the shad's best years barely a decade
ago….Terry Erlewine, general manager of the State Water Contractors coalition
of water agencies, said pumping was, in fact, curtailed about 12 percent last
year to protect smelt and salmon. He said it's telling that fish populations
have not improved overall despite court-imposed pumping restrictions dating
back several years.
Report:
Tapping Salinas Valley groundwater won't 'injure' other users [Monterey County
Herald]
A
draft analysis by state water board staff suggests California American Water
could legally use Salinas Valley groundwater for its proposed desalination
project under certain conditions, a finding which could play a key role in
resolving a major potential obstacle.
The
draft report, issued Dec. 21, concludes Cal Am's use of brackish water from
shoreline slant wells north of Marina as source water for its proposed Monterey
Peninsula Water Supply Project desal plant was unlikely to result in
"injury" to other Salinas Valley groundwater users despite a
predicted lowering of groundwater levels within a two-mile radius of the
wells….Basin water users, led by agricultural interests, have argued use of the
basin's water is managed through cooperative agreements that would be disrupted
by the proposed project and lead to a costly adjudication process.
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
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