Environmental and Policy Focus
Sacramento Bee - Jul 10
In a significant ruling that could hinder California's ability to order water cutbacks, a judge told state drought regulators Friday they cannot legally slash the water rights of four Central Valley irrigation districts until each has a chance to defend its water rights. In the wake of Governor Brown’s April 1 Executive Order instructing the State Water Resources Control Board (the “Board”) to bring enforcement actions against illegal diverters and those engaging in the wasteful and unreasonable use of water, the Board has issued a series of mass notices curtailing the rights of dozens of senior water rights holders in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. But the court, finding the notices were not merely informational because they included “coercive” language telling the users to “immediately stop diverting water,” issued a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement of the curtailment orders until the agencies are permitted a hearing to defend their rights before the Board.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Jul 15
The San Diego County Water Authority won two sweeping legal victories Wednesday in a mammoth rate case against Southern California's largest water wholesaler. According to a tentative ruling, the Water Authority is owed $188.3 million plus interest from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ("MWD") for its overcharges from 2011 to 2014. The disputed charges had been applied by MWD to water delivered from the Colorado River to San Diego using MWD's conveyance infrastructure under a landmark, multi-agency pact, the Quantification Settlement Agreement. Total projected savings in coming decades in refunds and avoided rate increases would amount to more than $2 billion if the decision is upheld, the Authority estimates. But MWD says it will appeal, meaning years will pass before a final decision. A second tentative ruling found that MWD had under-calculated how much water the Authority is allowed to purchase under MWD's system of preferential rights.
Chico-Enterprise Record - Jul 12
Governor Jerry Brown's $15 billion plan to build two tunnels to divert water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the south would be paid for by water users and, as envisioned, would not require a public vote. But in recent months, signature gatherers have started circulating an initiative to force large public works projects, such as the twin tunnels project, to go before voters for approval. Governor Brown has stated that the tunnels project is needed to stabilize water deliveries relied upon by millions of Californians and to restore the Delta's fragile ecosystem. Nevertheless, the project has received heavy criticism from Delta landowners and Northern California residents who are resentful of the water demands of Southern California's population centers. The measure is expected to qualify for the November 2016 ballot.
Los Angeles Daily News - Jul 14
After hearing pleas from more than a dozen Antelope Valley residents, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took preliminary steps Tuesday to ban utility-scale wind turbines in unincorporated areas of the county. The Board unanimously approved a draft Renewable Energy Ordinance that updated permitting and regulations on small-scale wind and solar projects and utility-scale solar projects, but prohibited large wind turbine projects. Residents complained that the wind turbines would destroy their vistas, impede aerial fire-fighting efforts, create fugitive dust and noise, and contribute to health concerns. Small-scale wind farms, which provide power to the site upon which they are built, are still allowed under the proposed ordinance and may be up to 85 feet tall depending on the size of the property. The county's Supervising Regional Planner said the prohibition against utility-scale wind turbines would not diminish the region's ability to produce renewable energy because the county has been receiving proposals for large-scale solar projects, not wind turbines. The supervisors will review a final ordinance before it is adopted.
KPCC - Jul 14
After An agency that oversees the safety of the nation's pipelines has failed to follow through on congressional reforms that could have made a difference in a May pipeline break that created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years, a House committee chairman said Tuesday. In a rare display of agreement on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats on the Energy and Power Subcommittee expressed frustration with inaction by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which has yet to complete more than a dozen requirements outlined in a 2011 federal law. Among the unfinished work was revising regulations to establish specific time periods for notification of authorities after an accident. The owner of the ruptured pipeline, Plains All American Pipeline, has been criticized for taking about 90 minutes to alert federal responders after confirming the spill near Santa Barbara.
Courthouse News Service - Jul 13
An independent study on hydraulic fracturing released Thursday called on California to limit operators' use of hazardous chemicals and ban others until scientists can prove they are safe for the environment. The report found there is not enough information available about the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing wells and that the toxicity of certain chemicals and their impact on drinking water have yet to be studied. To date, California's oil and gas operators have been subject to few restrictions on the chemicals they use, which, according to the study, include 316 chemical additives in hydraulic fracturing operations. The report comes just two days after the State Water Resources Control Board introduced some of the strictest reporting requirements for hydraulic fracturing operations in the country.
