Officials are shoring up water systems infiltrated by the golden mussel. Dogs and human inspectors are checking boats at some California lakes, but a patchwork of oversight leaves many lakes unprotected. “There’s just too many boats and too many people out there,” one warden said.
Rachel Becker / CalMatters
Posted inHousing & Development
In a boon to developers, California budget includes sweeping rollback to CEQA environmental laws
Major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act include an exemption for high-tech industrial plants and other projects. The move, fast-tracked under pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparked fierce pushback from environmental, community and labor groups.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
These 4 million acres of California forests could lose protection. Here’s what Trump’s ‘roadless rule’ repeal could do
The land at stake ranges from dense, remote coastal forests in the far north, to alpine conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada, to Southern California’s great expanses of brush. Experts dispute whether revoking the two-decade-old rule would help prevent wildfires.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
EPA bans DCPA, dangerous herbicide used on California crops
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday banned a weed killer known as DCPA or Dacthal, a chemical used for decades. It can harm babies’ developing brains, and farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk.
Posted inLatest News
Hot, inland California cities face the steepest water cuts with new conservation mandate
Urban water agencies serving a third of Californians, including in Santa Cruz County, won’t need to cut use, while Central Valley and desert cities face the most cuts.
Posted inLatest News
Drinking water of a million Californians fails to meet state requirements
Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet California’s water safety and reliability standards. The report lists four water systems serving Santa Cruz County residents in the “failing” category, including the financially troubled Big Basin Water Company.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
California sets nation’s first water standard for cancer-causing contaminant
Water suppliers say the costs of the State Water Resources Control Board approving a standard for hexavalent chromium will be massive, with rates increasing for many consumers. Known as the “Erin Brockovich” chemical, hexavalent chromium is found statewide.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California acts to halt Kings County’s groundwater overpumping
State officials, for the first time, put a local groundwater basin on probation to stop overuse. The order triggers hefty fees for Kings County growers and mandatory reporting of well use.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California farmers depleted groundwater in this county. Now a state crackdown could rein them in
Kings County agencies and growers could face probation and millions of dollars in fines — which could be the first step toward the state wresting control of groundwater.
Posted inLatest News
California salmon fishing banned for second year in row
Federal officials moved Wednesday to cancel commercial and recreational salmon fishing off California as the fish still aren’t thriving. It’s another blow to the commercial fishing industry, which is still awaiting disaster aid from the canceled 2023 season.