Amid drought, California Democrats seek Republican votes on water plan [Reuters]
California
Democrats scrambled on Tuesday to win Republican support for a plan to improve
water supplies that has been mired in regional and party politics for a year,
even as the state suffers from a three-year drought that shows no sign of
ending. A day after voting for a two-day extension to put a proposal on
November's ballot to pay for reservoirs and other projects by selling bonds,
Democratic lawmakers enlisted the support and negotiating clout of Democratic
Governor Jerry Brown, a fiscal moderate who said previous plans were too
expensive. "We're very close," said Brown after meeting with
Republican leaders who want more reservoirs and Democratic holdouts who say
damming rivers and flooding canyons to build them is damaging to the
environment. "There's been a lot of compromise."…Lawmakers from both
parties say this may be the only year that tax-averse voters, aware of the
drought's impact, would be willing to pay for new water projects, yet they
continue to fight over which ones to include.
Delta
farmers accused of 'unlawful' water diversions [Stockton Record]
Delta
farmers have quietly sipped from rivers and sloughs for generations, but they
face increasing pressure this drought year from outside interests who argue
those water diversions are - or may be - illegal. State and federal officials
late last month asked regulators to use their emergency powers to demand
information from more than 1,000 of those farmers as to how much water they're
using. And the massive Westlands Water District, which relies heavily on water
exported from the Delta to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, argued in a
letter last week that "unlawful" Delta diversions are adding
"yet another crushing layer of stress" on the farms and communities
most harmed by the drought. The dispute over pumping within the Delta isn't
new, but in a year when there's not enough water to go around, old arguments
tend to resurface.
Tribal
members, Klamath River advocates address Interior Department head on fish-kill
preventive releases [Eureka Times-Standard]
A
coalition of local tribal members and Klamath River advocates gathered in
Redding on Tuesday during a press conference on California's widespread
wildfires to confront Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell about the recent
decision to cease pre-emptive releases to prevent fish kills on two North Coast
rivers….The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation announced
July 31 that it would not be making pre-emptive water releases from Trinity
Lake into the Klamath River and its tributary, the Trinity River, to prevent
fish kills brought about by low flows and warm water temperatures. The water
will instead go to the Sacramento River and its tributaries, where the bureau
said it would protect federally endangered salmon from gill rot disease and
other deadly conditions….During the brief meeting, Jewell assured the tribal
members and river advocates that the water and fish are being monitored, and
that emergency releases will take place if conditions get to an unhealthy
level.
Weather
woes cost California olive growers nearly half the crop [Fresno Bee]
The
drought, a hard freeze and windy weather have all contributed to a 45% drop in
California's 2014 table olive crop. Farmers expect to harvest 50,000 tons, down
from last year's crop of 91,000 tons, according to the National Agricultural
Statistics Service. Olive industry officials say the drop in production has
been so severe that some farmers may not have enough olives to harvest….Hardest
hit have been the growers in Tulare County, the leading olive oil grower. The
region produces about 60% of the state's black olive crop.
Record
corn, soybean crops predicted [USA Today]
U.S.
farmers will harvest a record haul of corn and soybeans this fall as fields
throughout much of the Corn Belt experience some of the best growing conditions
in years, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday. The abundant supply of the
grain and oilseed, the result of timely rains and moderate temperatures, has
sent prices for both commodities tumbling to their lowest levels since 2010.
The expected record production has caused a ripple throughout agriculture,
resulting in cheap feed for livestock producers and helping ethanol plants
increase production but at the same time squeezing the pocketbooks of some
farmers who are struggling to cover costs. Consumers could benefit from lower
food prices, especially for steaks and other meats, but the effect is not
expected to be felt for some time, analysts said….Record crops this fall are
expected to flood the market with supply, a major reason corn and soybean
prices are at multi-year lows….Corn and soybean prices hit their lowest points
since 2010 on Tuesday.
Ag
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