Sacramento judge makes precedent-setting ruling on groundwater [Capital Public Radio, Sacramento]
A
Sacramento Superior Court judge issued a ruling Tuesday requiring regulation of
groundwater pumping to protect a river in Siskiyou County. Attorneys on both
sides say it's the first time a California court has ruled the "public
trust doctrine" applies to groundwater. The doctrine says the State of
California holds all waterways for the benefit of the people. The lawsuit
claimed groundwater pumping in the Scott River Basin is partly responsible for
decreased river flows - limiting the public's use of the river and harming fish
habitat….Attorney Rod Walston represents Siskiyou County….He said the trial
court ruling will likely be appealed and the final decision may be made by the
California Supreme Court.
Valley
districts blamed for ignoring water conservation law [Center for Investigative
Reporting]
After
largely ignoring a conservation law passed during the last drought, some of
California's largest agricultural water districts are facing a lawsuit that
would force them to measure how much water farmers use. The 2009 law was
designed to push the state's biggest water users to conserve by closely
monitoring their use. Then, the state's agricultural water districts are
supposed to charge the farmers, at least in part, based on that use….The
Environmental Law Foundation, an Oakland nonprofit, sent letters Friday to
managers of nearly two dozen districts that the state listed as not following
the law….Water managers at the agricultural districts in question say they're
already using water efficiently and the drought is forcing them to be even more
careful. "We comply with the vast majority of what the law requires. We
just haven't filed some paperwork to document it," said Robert Kunde,
engineer-manager for the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District in
Bakersfield.
Editorial: Overwatering is a
crime – except for state’s biggest water user [Sacramento Bee]
California
hasn’t quite come to threatening unrepentant water wasters with time in the big
house. But emergency rules adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board
Tuesday do take the state a lot closer to criminalizing the squandering of a
precious resource. It’s an unpleasant but necessary measure….But it is
frustrating that agriculture has been let off the hook…In fact, the ag industry
has put an even greater burden on the state’s dwindling water supplies by
overdrafting groundwater to sustain water-sucking permanent crops like almonds
and growing alfalfa for export. Many water-conscious farmers have adopted
voluntary conservation measures and should be commended, but they are the
exceptions.
Court
documents reveal probe into complaints by Mexican forest laborers [Sacramento
Bee]
The
alleged, two-year-old agreement between the workers in Hidalgo, Mexico, and an
Oakley, Idaho, firm called Pure Forest LLP is outlined in federal court
documents filed in Sacramento and unsealed Tuesday. The documents – search
warrant affidavits compiled by investigators from the departments of Homeland
Security and Labor – reveal a criminal probe unearthing evidence that the men
allegedly ended up as virtual prisoners in forests north of Sacramento, where
authorities contend they were forced to work seven days a week, sleep in tents
on the ground, subsist on rotten food for which they were charged as much as
$120 a week, and left to drink tainted water from a nearby creek….Lawyers for
the owners of Pure Forest sharply dispute the allegations, saying they are
untrue, came from “a few disgruntled former employees” and ballooned into a
federal probe in which the company is cooperating.
57,000
Reasons immigration overhaul may be stalled for now [New York Times]
The
crisis on the border with Mexico is rapidly overtaking President Obama’s plans
to use executive action to reshape the nation’s immigration system, forcing him
to confront a new set of legal, administrative and political complications. The
influx of 57,000 migrant children from Central America is leading Mr. Obama to
crack down on deportations at the moment he was preparing to allow more people
who are in the country illegally to stay. Although White House officials insist
that Mr. Obama has no intention of backing down on his public pledge to use
executive orders to “fix as much of our immigration system as I can,” they
acknowledge that the crisis has made it much harder….On Wednesday evening,
senior administration officials held a briefing on the border surge for all 100
senators as new polls showed large majorities of Americans disapprove of the
way Mr. Obama is handling the border crisis, even as support grows for a
broader immigration overhaul.
What's
really behind the suit to overturn California's foie gras ban? [Los Angeles
Times]
Thirteen
states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review California’s ban on foie
gras, arguing that it is unconstitutional for the state to pass laws that might
interfere with agricultural practices in other states. But the only state that
still has foie gras farms -- New York -- was not among those complaining….A
closer look at the states involved in the suit might give some hints. Among
them are Iowa, Missouri and Kansas, which are among the top 10 pork-producing
states in the country; Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Montana, which are among
the top 10 beef-producing states; and Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina,
which are among the top 10 poultry producers….Supporters of the ban say that
while those states may not care so much about foie gras, they may be worried
that Golden State voters will next crack down on feed lots or some other aspect
of livestock production. They say the current suit is nothing more than a
preemptive strike against further animal rights legislation.
Ag
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