In a press release, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced the introduction of her Restoration of Essential Conveyance Act, a bill to authorize $800 million in federal funding “to repair critical canals in the San Joaquin Valley damaged by land sinking from overpumping of groundwater, known as subsidence, and for environmental restoration.” By Dan Bacher As I […]
While millions of people are under orders to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic, water is sitting in the pipes of empty office buildings and gyms, getting old and potentially dangerous. Discolored water can be caused by heavy metals, such as iron or copper. Iron can also act as a nutrient for organisms to grow […]
In the latest lawsuit to contest Trump administration water policies, three environmental groups have sued the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation over the granting of permanent federal water contracts to water users supplied by the Central Valley Project (CVP). By Dan Bacher The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, Restore the Delta and Planning and Conservation League, […]
On May 11, a federal judge ruled that a federal Bureau of Reclamation water diversion and pumping plan, lethal to Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead and other fish species in the Central Valley and Delta, must temporarily restrict water pumping from the Delta. The order blocks the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation until May 31 from increasing […]
On May 11, AquAlliance sued the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) in federal District Court over their long term water transfer transfer program that threatens Northern California farms, fish and communities. An environmental group that exists to defend northern California waters and to challenge threats to the hydrologic health of […]
A recent 6-3 ruling by the US Supreme Court went against the Trump administration and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by broadening the interpretation of waterborne pollutants covered in the Clean Water Act (CWA). By Emily Folk The EPA’s 2019 interpretation of the CWA excluded pollution moving through groundwater from requiring permits. In related news, the […]
These are extraordinarily challenging times. Many of us are grieving losses large and small, and are filled with anxiety about the future. But the Sierra Club continues to work for a future that includes everything we need to flourish — a stable climate, clean air and water, clean energy, and thriving wildlife and public lands […]
The Clean Water Act of 1972 was intended to do exactly what the name implies — protect the waters of the United States from pollution. Since the beginning, it was controversial. Precisely what waters were included? It obviously applies to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, but what about that pond on the back […]
The federal government’s Snowy 2.0 energy venture is controversial for many reasons, but one has largely escaped public attention. The project threatens to devastate aquatic life by introducing predators and polluting important rivers. It may even push one fish species to extinction. Schopier/Wikimedia By John Harris, UNSW and Mark Lintermans, University of Canberra The Conversation […]
As Coronavirus cases on the Navajo Nation reach 1,042 with 41 deaths, the Navajo & Hopi Families Coronavirus Relief Fund is building momentum to address a food and water crisis in the area with support from actor Jason Momoa, according to a press release from the Indigenous Environmental Network: By Dan Bacher “A massive truck […]
During the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) issued a controversial Incidental Take Permit (ITP) to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for long-term operations of the State Water Project (SWP). The permit covers four species protected under the California Endangered Species Act: Delta smelt, longfin smelt, winter-run Chinook […]
The Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) and allied groups have asked a federal court to immediately block a new Trump water diversion and pumping plan because it threatens imminent harm to salmon. The groups filed a motion for preliminary injunction on March 5, according to a news release from the GSSA. By Dan Bacher “The […]
40 million Americans depend on the Colorado River for drinking water and for growing crops. The deserts of Arizona bloom because of water diverted from the Colorado. The Imperial Valley in California — the source of much of America’s fruit and vegetables — is completely dependent on Colorado River water. The cities of Los Angeles, […]
One day after Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said they would sue President Donald Trump over his signing of revised biological opinions in Bakersfield, Becerra, the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday evening filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for failing to protect endangered fish […]
Northern California Tribal members, supporters, and members of the Hoopa High School water protector club traveled to Sacramento to ask the state of California to protect the Trinity and Sacramento Rivers, and to schedule meetings in Northern California on the Governor’s proposed Delta Conveyance Project, according to a press release from Save California Salmon. By […]