Mountain Counties Water Resource Association (MCWRA) members are invited to participate in a series of public workshops about the American River Basin Study. This study is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and participating local agencies to evaluate the impacts of climate change and water management in the American River Basin region. Participating agencies include Placer County Water Agency, El Dorado County Water Agency, City of Folsom, City of Roseville, City of Sacramento, and the Regional Water Authority.

The postcard contains detailed workshop information, including the workshops dates, times, locations, and descriptions. Please note that the first workshop will be an interactive webinar.

Click here for the ARBS Webinars and details

To participate, please RSVP and pre-register at the following link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7833015795860306445.

As printed in Mavens Notebook:

TUD to hold ribbon cutting ceremony for the completion of the Jamestown Water Tank Project

Contact: Lisa Westbrook, Public Relations, (209) 532-5536, x501

JAMESTOWN, CA: Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD/District) is holding a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 10th to celebrate the completion of the Jamestown Water Tank Project.

The newly constructed Jamestown Water Tank replaces the former Jamestown Reservoir, a 1-million gallon underground reservoir originally constructed in 1937 that suffered from structural concrete cracking and a floating plastic cover no longer supported by state regulations. The new tank will improve water quality and reliability to the community of Jamestown.

In 2016, the District was awarded up to $1.4 million through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in partnership with Tuolumne County to construct the project. In April 2018, the District’s Board of Directors awarded the construction of the new tank to Paso Robles Tank Inc. in the amount of $884,865. TUD engineers designed the project and the District’s construction crew performed the site grading and underground work. The District’s local match of $300,000 was funded from the District’s Capital Improvement Plan budget. The project was completed on time and under budget.

For more information on the project and ribbon cutting, click this link: Jamestown Tank Ribbon Cutting_09192019

RSVP: Please RSVP by Monday, October 7, 2019 to Lisa Westbrook, by email:
lwestbrook@tudwater.com or by calling 209-532-5536, ext. 501

Federal Agencies Repeal Obama- Era Rule Defining Waters Regulated Under the Clean Water Act, Recodify the Pre – Existing Rule—and Signal How They May Redefine Such Waters

September 17, 2019  |  David Ivester

In the latest twist in a decades- long struggle to determine the reach of the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Corps of Engineers, now run by appointees of President Trump, announced they are repealing controversial regulations, adopted in 2015 under the Obama administration, that defined— and expanded— “waters of the United States” regulated under the Act. The agencies are simultaneously recodifying the regulatory definition that had long prevailed before then. Having thus taken the first of two planned steps, the agencies contemplate advancing yet this winter to the next step— deciding on their proposal announced in December 2018 to, as they put it, “clearly define where federal jurisdiction begins and ends in accordance with the Clean Water Act and Supreme Court precedent” and thus clarify “the difference between federally regulated waterways and those that rightfully remain solely under state authority.” That proposal, also swirling in controversy… Read More

Ninth Circuit Places Burden on Dischargers to Prove Clean Water Act Agricultural Return Flow Exception Applies

September 10, 2019  |  Written by Brenda C. Bass

The Ninth Circuit recently held that dischargers bear the burden of showing a court that their discharges meet a statutory exception to the permitting requirement in the Clean Water Act (CWA).  In Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations v. Glaser, No. 17-17130 (9th Cir. Sept. 6, 2019), the Ninth Circuit held that the defendant dischargers, as opposed to the plaintiffs alleging that an unpermitted discharge was occurring in violation of the CWA, must demonstrate to the court that their discharge fits the exception by being composed entirely of return flows from irrigated agriculture.  In addition, the Ninth Circuit defined the terms “irrigated agriculture” and “entirely.”

CONTACT: Steven Palmer, P.E., General Manager  spalmer@gd-pud.org, (530) 333-4356

Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD) will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Auburn Lake Trails Water Treatment Plant

DATE:  Thursday, October 3, 2019

The Board of Directors of the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially mark the completion of the new Auburn Lake Trails Water Treatment Plant.

This event is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, 2019, at the treatment plant located at 3650 Sweetwater Trail, in the town of Cool. It will begin at 9 a.m. for check-in and 9:15 a.m. for the
ribbon cutting ceremony which will be followed by a tour of the new plant.

GDPUD Board President Dane Wadle stated, “This state-of-the-art plant replaces the aging water treatment facility that was built in 1972. Through many years of dedicated effort by current and past Board members and District staff, this project is finally complete. The Board is grateful for the willingness of our ratepayers to invest in this important capital project. The District is now able to meet the State’s criteria for water quality and watershed protection.”

Click here for News Release

Click here for Ribbon Cutting Flyer Invitation

James Campagna,  Water Use and Efficiency Branch, Department of Water Resources

James.Campagna@water.ca.gov

916-651-9671

The fifth County Drought Advisory Group (CDAG) meeting will take place on October 1, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bonderson Hearing Room located at 901 P Street in Sacramento. The purpose of the fifth CDAG meeting is to:

• Present the final methodology for assessing drought vulnerability and identifying communities at risk of drought and water shortage and results.
• Present the draft recommendations (from the Water Shortage Contingency Plan Workgroup) for components to be included in an umbrella drought and water shortage contingency plan to cover rural communities (less than 15 service connections and self-supplied households).
• Present and discuss draft recommendations for components to be included in a drought and water shortage contingency plan for small water suppliers (3,000 down to 15 service connections).
• Present a summary of overarching recommendations proposed by stakeholders during the CDAG process related to implementing and improving drought and water shortage contingency planning for small water systems and rural communities.

To improve water conservation and water shortage planning, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 606 (Hertzberg) and Assembly Bill 1668 (Friedman) which then-Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law in May of 2018. Changes to existing law related to small water suppliers and rural community drought planning resulting from this legislation are in Section 8, Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 10609.40) and added to Part 2.55 of Division 6 of the California Water Code).

 These changes include directing DWR to:

• Identify small suppliers and rural communities at risk of drought and water shortage vulnerability
• Develop recommendations to the Governor and Legislature for improving drought contingency planning for those areas

The CDAG meetings are open to CDAG members, other interested parties, and the public. To help us plan appropriately for this meeting, RSVP to James Campagna.

Webinar Registration/Access Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6912360624988630285

View Parking Information for this meeting.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES NEWSLETTER

September & October 2019

Brown, Elissa@SNC  –Elissa.Brown@sierranevada.ca.gov

Upcoming Grants That Might be of Interest:

• Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E): Better Together Resilient Communities Grant Program: Building Local Climate Resilience (due September 6) helps communities prevent and prepare for increasing wildfire risk and build local climate resilience through collaborative, community-driven approaches and support for healthy and resilient forests and watersheds.
• The Wildlife Conservation Board’s (WCB) Stream Flow Enhancement Program (due September 10) funds multi-benefit projects that result in enhanced flows for streams that support anadromous fish; support special status, threatened, endangered, or at-risk species; or provide resilience to climate change.
• The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Food, Local Places Grant (due September 30) supports locally led, community-driven efforts to develop local food systems such as food hubs, markets which feature produce from local farmers, community gardens, etc.
• The Fund for Wild Nature Grant Program (due October 1) supports North American campaigns to save native species and wild ecosystems, with particular emphasis on actions designed to defend threatened wilderness and biological diversity.
• The Papoose Conservation Wildlife Foundation Children in Nature Grant (due October 1) supports opportunities for children to connect to nature, particularly in the natural environment and focused on lesser-recognized species or habitats.
• The US Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Program (due October 16) funds drought resiliency projects that increase the reliability of water supplies through infrastructure improvements, improve water management through decision support tools, or provide benefits for fish and wildlife and the environment.
• The Institute for Museum and Library Services Museums for America and the Inspire, Grants for Small Museum programs (due November 15) strengthen the ability of museums to serve the public through projects promoting lifelong learning, providing collections stewardship and lifelong access, and acting as community anchors or catalysts.

 Interested in Developing a Community Forest? The US Forest Service Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program provides funding for the establishment of community forests through fee simple acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller. The program seeks to protect forest land from conversion to non-forest uses and provide community benefits, such as sustainable forest management, environmental benefits, benefits from forest-based educational programs, benefits from serving as models of effective forest stewardship, and recreational benefits secured with public access. Eligible land must

• Be at least five acres in size
• Be suitable to sustain natural vegetation
• Be at least 75 percent forested
• Be threatened by conversion to non-forest uses
• Provide community benefits
• Allow public access

The due date is January 6, 2020, but this application requires a lot of planning, preparation, and consultation with state and federal land management agencies. Start early!

Your SNC Area Representative can help you set up an individual consultation with the SNC Funding Team to get advice about specific funding opportunities or general fund development strategies. To take advantage of this resource, contact your Area Representative.

Grant Writing Workshops are available to help build the capacity of organizations that serve the Sierra Nevada region. If you are interested in organizing or attending a workshop, contact your Area Representative.

Registration open for the November 8, 2019 MCWRA Water Symposium

A lawsuit filed on August 13, 2019, by a coalition of approximately two dozen state and local government entities petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final action repealing the Clean Power Plan, 80 Fed. Reg. 64,662 (Oct. 23, 2015).  The State of California, by and through Governor Gavin Newsom, the California Air Resources Board, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and the City of Los Angeles joined as petitioners.  At a press conference regarding the petition, both Governor Newsom and Attorney General Becerra told reporters that the repeal of the Clean Power Plan prioritized coal industry special interest over public health.

The Clean Power Plan, issued in 2015, set nationwide emission limits on existing fossil-fueled power plants.  However, an immediate judicial challenge led to the suspension of the plan in 2016 issued by the Supreme Court, and the Trump administration left the plan defunded.  In June 2019, the current administration issued a replacement plan, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which is the subject of the recently filed lawsuit.  A similar group of states, counties and cities, including the State of California and the City of Los Angeles, filed comments in April 2018 opposing the repeal of the Clean Power Plan and opposing the proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule.  In part, the comments allege that the EPA’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan without simultaneously replacing it with a lawful alternative violates the Clean Air Act.  This argument relies on the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), in which the Supreme Court held that the Clean Air Act’s broad regulation of “air pollutants” includes greenhouse gases, thereby obligating the EPA to regulate such emissions if it finds that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health or welfare.

Therefore, the pending litigation may play a role in shaping climate change policy, not only by permitting or preventing the implementation of the Affordable Clean Energy rule, but also by creating the opportunity for the Supreme Court to revisit Massachusetts v. EPAif it hears this case.  The litigation also further draws into question the federal government’s participation in climate change policy; congressional bipartisan efforts result in consistent delays in implementation and enforcement of such federal regulations, while the states—notably, California—pursue more aggressive policies.

The petition filed this month by the coalition of states and cities is available here.

For further information on this topic please contact Michelle Chester at mchester@somachlaw.com.

Somach Simmons & Dunn provides the information in its Environmental Law & Policy Alerts and on its website for informational purposes only.  This general information is not a substitute for legal advice, and users should consult with legal counsel for specific advice.  In addition, using this information or sending electronic mail to Somach Simmons & Dunn or its attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship with Somach Simmons & Dunn.