Ninth Circuit to reconsider ordering EPA to ban pesticide

■The Hill - February 6

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is reconsidering its 2018 decision ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos. In its request for reconsideration EPA contended that the order conflicts with Supreme Court precedent dictating that the issue should have been returned to the agency for reconsideration, without “directing specific action.” Environmental and labor advocates point to the EPA’s own science showing a link between chlorpyrifos and health problems including neurological disorders, particularly in children, in arguing that the pesticide should be banned.

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Bureau of Reclamation solicits comments on Colorado River plan

■U.S. News & World Report - February 6

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation published a notice on Wednesday in the Federal Register that would let western governors weigh in on how to manage the shrinking Colorado River. The public comment period will start March 4 unless all seven states that rely on the river approve drought contingency plans. Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said she prefers that the states reach consensus, but the federal government will take over if that doesn't happen soon. Burman called out Arizona and California last week for missing a previous deadline she set to complete drought plans.

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California lawmakers push for oversight of Delta tunnels project

■Courthouse News Service - February 1

A group of Northern California lawmakers seeking more sway over the $17 billion Delta tunnels project, known as California WaterFix, introduced legislation last Friday that would require new private construction contracts to be reviewed by the Legislature. Proponents of the bill seek greater transparency, and an opportunity for the public and lawmakers to scrutinize the scope and expenditures for the project now that former Gov. Jerry Brown has left office. The WaterFix project calls for the construction of two 30-mile tunnels that would funnel water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to aqueducts that supply farmers and cities farther south. The project still faces a number of obstacles, including environmental lawsuits and audits.

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Ventura County edges closer to building safe passageways to protect wildlife

■Huffington Post - February 4

The Ventura County Planning Commission last week unanimously voted for a resolution backing a network of protected “wildlife corridors” and other limits on land use in the Santa Monica Mountains and Los Padres National Forest to protect the area’s populations of black bears, coyotes, mule deer, foxes, badgers, and mountain lions. The proposed ordinance would include limits on fencing, reduced use of lighting at night, and constraints on development along streams, which are used by wildlife. The Planning Commission’s 5-0 vote was advisory only. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to take up the issue in March.

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California wildlife agency denied in bid to delay lawsuit over whale, sea turtle entanglements

■The Mercury News - February 4

A San Francisco judge has rejected the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (DFW) bid to delay a lawsuit filed by Center for Biological Diversity that claims the agency has fallen short in preventing the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery from entangling whales and sea turtles. U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney on January 25 denied DFW’s motion to delay the case by 2 1/2 years while it secures a federal “incidental take permit” that would allow the agency to operate in a way that addresses and minimizes the threat to whales and sea turtles. The court is expected to consider a motion on February 22 regarding the agency’s liability and required actions to prevent entanglements.

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