On October 1, 2026, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) conducted a hearing regarding water quality in the Scott River and Shasta River. The Regional Board considered a five-year extension of conditional waivers for the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) issued under the Waste Discharge Requirement program.  The Regional Board gave…

California is world-renowned as an environmental leader. Yet agencies are reluctant to enforce laws that ensure people and fish have clean water. Those who advocate for salmon recovery and track agency performance on reversing damage to aquatic ecosystems can attest: the enactment of environmental regulations does not guarantee that those laws will get enforced. Enforcement…

On July 22, 2026, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) held a workshop about Draft Guidance on designating Tribal Beneficial Uses (TBUs). The phrase “designating TBUs” means the State will officially identify and recognize specific tribal uses. The State will also call out specific water bodies in which those uses are explicitly…

This summer, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump Administration’s attempt to subordinate the needs of keystone species to private water contracts. The Court issued a summary judgment on June 17, 2026. Its opinion, authored by Justice Ronald M. Gould, stated that the Klamath Project operator, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), must enforce the…

Co-written with Amber Jamieson, Water Advocacy Director of the Environmental Protection Information Center Siskiyou County has rescinded approvals for two proposed irrigation wells in the Shasta Valley. It has also withdrawn the associated Public Trust findings, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption, and determinations of no significant impact. The County made these decisions after a coalition…