Water plan may shift Delta tunnels [Sacramento Bee]
California
water officials are proposing a dramatic redesign of two massive water
diversion tunnels planned for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a concession to
Delta residents who have complained the project would upend their lives. In
plans to be made public today, the California Department of Water Resources
proposes moving the 40-foot-diameter tunnels farther east, away from the towns
of Courtland and Walnut Grove. It also is shrinking a proposed water storage
reservoir, called an intermediate forebay. The initial design called for a
footprint of 750 acres and located the reservoir next to Stone Lakes National
Wildlife Refuge. Now it would be 40 acres and located 10 miles farther south,
near Twin Cities Road.
Lower
water release from Lake Powell likely [Imperial Valley Press]
A
soon-to-be-published report by the Bureau of Reclamation may reduce the amount
of water released from Lake Powell and increase the likelihood of a Colorado
River water shortage declaration. The Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month Study
Reports utilize hydrologic data from the National Weather Service to project
operations of the Colorado River’s system of reservoirs over a two-year period.
Additionally, the August report will explain how much water is released from
Lake Powell over the next water year. That report is expected to be published
Friday.…A shortage declaration on the lower Colorado River Basin would not
directly impact California, Shields said. Arizona, Nevada and Mexico would be
first to feel the pinch. However, California’s inadvertent overrun policy would
be suspended, putting a hard cap on California’s allocation. Under the Colorado
River Compact, California has an entitlement of 4.4 million acre-feet of water
per year.
Bill
advances creating new redevelopment in California [Los Angeles Times]
Denounced
by one property owner as a “communist land grab,” a bill is advancing in the
California Legislature that would allow local governments to spend tax money to
seize land from residents and provide it at a discount to private developers.
Dubbed by some as the “son of redevelopment,” SB 1 would replace redevelopment
project areas disbanded more than a year ago with new Sustainable Communities
Investment Areas.…Unlike the old redevelopment areas, government officials
would not have to show that an area is blighted to be targeted….The measure
would have a “chilling effect on the rights of property owners,” and result in
a “drastic loss” of farmland, said John Gamper, a lobbyist for the California
Farm Bureau Federation.
Farm
workers march for immigration reform [Marketplace]
Congress
is taking a break this month, but immigration activists aren’t taking time off.
Rallies are being staged around the country this month to try to influence
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to suport immigration
reform. Today, thousands of farm workers from across California gathered in
Bakersfield. They chanted in Spanish as they marched to the office of
Bakersfield Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the majority whip in the House. Farming
is big business around Bakersfield. Agriculture brought in around $6 billion in
revenues to Kern county last year. Many, if not most, of the crops are picked
by Latino immigrants….On the other side of the industry, the employers -- the
farmers -- also want to see immigration reform. Or, at least, some form of it.
I visited a grove of almond trees. This is harvest time, so machines shake the
nuts off the trees. The farm belongs to Greg Wegis. He’s with the Kern County
Farm Bureau and a fifth generation farmer. “Immigration reform is vital. We
want a supply of labor that is legal,” says Wegis.
Cereal
leaf beetle in Klamath Basin, may hamper hay shipments [Klamath Falls Herald
and News]
The
cereal leaf beetle has made its way to Klamath County. The pests’ larvae feed
off grains and grasses, and until now have been quarantined out of California.
But with the discovery of the beetle in Klamath County, it also appeared in
Modoc and Siskiyou County, likely changing the dynamic between the pests and
California.…Rich Roseberg, associate professor in grains and cereals at the
Oregon State University Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center in Klamath
Falls, said the cereal leaf beetle’s presence here may require growers to take
additional measures if they ship hay or grain to central California. Grain
growers may have to install a 30-day waiting period for their crop to ship
south.…Hay would either need to be fumigated or inspected. Roseberg said
fumigation of hay could be a “significant added expense and added hassle.”
Editorial: California's hen
pecking [Wall Street Journal]
…Animal-rights
activists have been lobbying Congress for years to adopt costly new food and
environmental regulations in the name of more humane conditions for farm
animals. Congress has repeatedly declined, and so groups like the Humane
Society of the United States took their campaign to California, land of green
salads and free-range chickens….Iowa Republican Steve King proposed the Protect
Interstate Commerce Act to bar states from enacting restrictions on
out-of-state agriculture producers. The amendment won overwhelming bipartisan
backing, 33-13, when opponents tried to kill it in the House Agriculture
Committee. The King provision passed as part of the House farm bill. The animal
activists are now trying to strip the provision from any House-Senate
conference by saying it violates state rights. They're joined by California
farmers who want to impose their new higher costs on every out-of-state
competitor….Congress does sometimes misuse the Commerce Clause to justify federal
power grabs, but the California egg roll is the sort of interstate trade
restriction the Commerce Clause was designed to block. The legal and economic
stakes are large enough that the House GOP ought to pass Mr. King's provision
by itself if the broader farm bill fails.
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