Judge
upholds landmark California water pact [Imperial Valley Press]
A
California judge has upheld the nation’s largest farm-to-city water transfer.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly ruled Tuesday that authorities
properly weighed the environmental impact of the landmark 2003 Quantification
Settlement Agreement, a set of agreements on how to divide the state’s share of
Colorado River water. The centerpiece calls for the Imperial Valley to transfer
water to San Diego.…Imperial County, its air pollution control district and
some local landowners had sued the water agencies, questioning the procedure
and legality of the environmental documents prepared for the QSA agreements. A
main concern of the environmental challenges is the impact the IID’s water
conservation and transfer actions would have on the Salton Sea, which is
primarily sustained by irrigation drainage from the IID and Coachella areas.
Agreement
on future of Russian River projects signed [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
The
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Tuesday signed an agreement intended to
bring together a broad array of government, farming and environmental interests
on science and stream restoration projects in the Russian River watershed. The
pact, which officials are calling the Russian River Compact, is largely a set
of principles spelling out how public agencies and private groups with a stake
in the river can best collaborate to improve it for wildlife while maintaining
its supply for drinking water and farms and preventing damaging floods.
Supporters called it a rare attempt at crafting a unified approach to dealing
with the river's key issues, including the crash of its once plentiful salmon
and steelhead trout runs.
Monterey
desal project: State water board hears spirited debate over pumping rights
[Monterey County Herald]
State
water board members received an earful Tuesday of the fierce debate over
California American Water's potential right to pump from the overdrafted
Salinas Valley groundwater basin for the Monterey Peninsula water project.
During a special meeting at the Monterey Institute of International Studies,
the State Water Resources Control Board heard from Salinas Valley growers,
their allies and Peninsula interests as part of a public workshop on the water
board staff's draft review of the sticky water rights issue….Coalition member
Nancy Isakson said growers "want to be good neighbors" and support
the Peninsula's quest for a new water supply, but any solution "can't be
at our expense." Isakson and Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey
County Farm Bureau, dismissed the notion that Cal Am could pump surplus water,
arguing that existing users were already prohibited from pumping the basin.
Immigration
bill set for senate floor next week [Wall Street Journal]
Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Tuesday that he intends to bring the
immigration bill to the Senate floor to start debate next week, saying the
legislation “is not a perfect bill, but we’ve never had” a flawless bill coming
to the Senate before. The Senate leader said that he hopes to conclude work
this week on a five-year farm bill reauthorizing a range of policies aimed at
the agricultural community and nutrition programs commonly known as food stamps,
as well holding votes on legislation to prevent a scheduled rate increase in
government-backed student loans. Work on those two matters could be slowed down
this week due to Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D., N.J.) funeral in New York City on
Wednesday. Mr. Lautenberg, the last surviving World War II veteran serving in
the Senate, passed away on Monday morning after a several month illness.
Watsonville's
Measure T defeated in a landslide [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
Watsonville's
Measure T lost in a landslide Tuesday, with more than 77 percent of voters
rejecting the annexation proposal. The initiative asked voters whether they
wanted the city to expand onto 95 acres of farmland near Riverside Drive and
Highway 1. With a strong lead in the early count, Chris Enright, past president
of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, said he was "feeling pretty
good" about the campaign's chances of defeating the measure. Opponents had
argued the land was too valuable for growing crops to pave over to solve Watsonville's
economic plight…."It feels good that the community is coming together to
set the direction they want the city to go," Enright said.
Sonoma
takes unexpected stand on Drakes Bay Oyster Co. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
Situated
about 50 miles from Drakes Estero in Marin County, the landlocked city of
Sonoma would seem an unlikely place to take a stand in an oyster company's
fight for survival. But colorful signs supporting the Drakes Bay Oyster Co.
have popped up all over town, and the Sonoma City Council on Monday unanimously
adopted a resolution calling on state and federal legislators to intervene on
the company's behalf.…Sonoma leaders consider the company a sterling example of
sustainable agriculture and the kind of environmental leadership the city of
10,000 residents promotes. Councilwoman Laurie Gallian said the case highlights
“what is being done to (a) small farmer without due process.”
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com.
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