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More Delta Flow or Delta Tunnel? One Good Decision Will Stop the Next Bad Decision
On December 8, 2023, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued its Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for its Proposed “Delta Conveyance Project” (aka tunnel under the Delta). In thousands of pages of responses to comments, DWR affirms that its Draft EIR was right on just about everything. One thing DWR says it was right…
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Groundwater Gold Rush
The groundwater gold rush is on. New projects to divert rivers for groundwater recharge are popping up across the state. Most of these projects are temporary, but most also explicitly foresee long-term, permanent projects. These recharge projects threaten to divert still more water from already-depleted rivers, even as the State Water Resources Control Board (State…
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CSPA, Friends of the River, and Allies Protest Water Rights for Proposed Sites Reservoir
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) and Friends of the River (FOR) led a coalition of environmental groups and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in a protest of the water right application for the proposed Sites Reservoir. CSPA filed the protest with the State Water Resources Control Board on August 31, 2023. In addition to CSPA,…
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The View from under the Bus: Newsom Administration and Fish Agencies Sell Out Yuba River Flow for Fish Passage
With nary a mention that the center of the prospective deal is no flow increases on the Yuba River, two fish agencies, a water agency, and the Newsom Administration used glowing words to announce on May 16, 2023 “a restoration plan” for the Yuba River. The rollout at a press conference[1] featured the Director of…
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CSPA Legal Victory: Supreme Court Denies Appeal of State Regulation of Tuolumne River
The United States Supreme Court will not hear an appeal regarding California’s authority to add mandatory conditions in the new licenses for two hydroelectric projects on the Tuolumne River. The appeal was filed by Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District (Districts), owners of the Don Pedro and La Grange projects. The Districts sought to…
