In a letter to the Honorable Senator Mitchell and Assemblymember Ting, MCWRA wrote to express support for the funding levels proposed by Governor Newsom in its January Budget proposal for Wildfire Prevention efforts in the state. The State Budget proposed in January included:

• $120 million General Fund ($150 million ongoing) and 677 positions, phased in over five years, to provide the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) operational flexibility through peak fire season and beyond based on fire conditions.
• $110.1 million ($26.8 General Fund) to implement the Wildfire Mitigation Financial Assistance Program, which encourages structural hardening (residential, commercial, and public buildings) and facilitates vegetation management and defensible space activities.
• $9 million ($8.8 million General Fund) and 22 positions across Cal OES, CalFire, the Military Department, and the Public Utilities Commission to begin implementation of the Wildfire Forecast Center, which will derive information from multiple sources to build accurate, comprehensive, and timely weather impact information for the purpose of improving the state’s emergency response and recovery efforts.

Click link for more:2020-2021 Budget – Forest Management

The Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) was notified Tuesday April 28 that it had been awarded a $2.1 million grant to replace five, aging redwood water storage tanks with steel, ignition-resistant tanks along the upper Highway 4 Corridor. The grant was awarded to CCWD by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and it will cover 75% of the total $2.8 million project cost. The tanks that will be replaced are in Forest Meadows, Arnold and Dorrington. Expanded defensible space will be cleared around the new tanks to further protect them against wildfires. Planning and design for the project is expected to be complete by 2020, and construction is anticipated to begin in 2021.

Click here for more: CCWD Awarded $2.1 Million FEMA Grant

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released on April 24, 2020 the Draft Recommended Funding List for the Mountain Counties funding area for the Proposition 1 Round 1 Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Implementation Grant Solicitation. Approximately $4.5 million in grant funding is being made available for implementation projects with approximately $1.8 million being made available for projects that provide direct benefits to Disadvantaged Communities.

Read more:https://water.ca.gov/News/Public-Notices/2020/April-2020/Draft-Funding-Awards-List-Mountain-Counties

The one-of-a-kind French Meadows partnership restored forest health to 1,066 acres of critical headwaters in the first year of the French Meadows Forest Restoration Project implementation,
reducing stand density by over 30% and harvesting over 3 million board feet of timber and 4,200 green tons of biomass. Thus, resulting in net greenhouse gas savings of 46,848 metric tons of
CO2, and nearly 1,000 tons of various emissions were reduced due to bio energy creation while generating of over 2,500 MWh of renewable electricity, meeting annual electricity needs of 330
households. In addition, using adaptive management strategies, an alteration of several acres of treatment prevented the loss of unique wet meadow habitat, which can now be restored.

Click the link for the report:FMP Restoration Project Year 1 Final Report

A federal court’s decision striking down a critical Keystone XL permit has broad implications beyond the embattled oil pipeline.

The Wednesday ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana tossed a nationwide permit the Army Corps of Engineers uses to approve water crossings for projects all over the country, concluding the agency hadn’t properly considered impacts on endangered species.

“This is a sweeping ruling,” said Larry Liebesman, a former Justice Department environmental lawyer now at the water resources consulting firm Dawson & Associates. “This judge used his authority to enjoin it nationwide.”

That means the Army Corps, for now, won’t be able to greenlight other projects under the streamlined permitting process it typically uses for pipelines, Liebesman said.

For more information, click here

This information provided by Associate Member:

John Spranza, MS, CCN, Senior Ecologist / Regulatory Specialist

HDR

2379 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95833
D 916.679.8858  M 818.640.2487
john.spranza@hdrinc.com

Seeking candidates for the position:

Hydro Operations Supervisor

For more information on the position, click this link: https://mountaincountieswater.com/our-membership/job-opportunities/

General Manager

For more information on the positions, click this link:https://mountaincountieswater.com/our-membership/job-opportunities/

 American Water Works Association (AWWA)

The Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) have entered into exclusive negotiations regarding a transfer of assets of the Phoenix Hydroelectric Project from PG&E to TUD ownership. Under the proposed agreement, TUD would acquire the Phoenix Powerhouse, the Main Tuolumne Canal, the pre- and post-1914 water rights, the Lyons Dam and Reservoir, and Strawberry Dam and the Pinecrest Reservoir.

Click for News Release: TUD and PGE Annoucement

Lyons Dam

AUBURN, Calif. (March 3, 2020) — Against the backdrop of Folsom Dam, Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) executed a landmark water contract with the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) at a signing ceremony on February 28. The new contract, which annually allocates up to 35,000 acre-feet of Central Valley Project (CVP) water to PCWA, runs in perpetuity.

The new contract replaces an original signed by both parties in 1970. That contract expired in 2011, and since then, PCWA has been operating on two-year renewal contracts.

“The signing of this contract ends nearly a decade of uncertainty and accumulating costs to our customers,” said PCWA Board Chairman Robert Dugan, who represented PCWA at the signing. “Our signature today ensures that this piece of our water portfolio is protected in perpetuity. Today is a historic day for our customers, staff, and the PCWA Board; I want to thank Bureau of Reclamation staff for making the process smooth and transparent.”

PCWA’s new contract was made possible by enactment of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which Congress passed in 2016. The WIIN Act directs the USBR to convert water service contracts to repayment contracts upon the request of a contractor, assuming outstanding CVP construction costs are fully repaid by the contractor within three years. PCWA has no outstanding debt with the USBR, thereby meeting all its obligations.

“This CVP contract water is essential to the future prosperity of Placer County,” General Manager Andy Fecko said. “It was one of the three critical processes that secure long-term water supply reliability for our customers, along with the relicensing of our Middle Fork American River Project and the extension of our Middle Fork water rights. We are thrilled to have secured this contract.”

In addition to the new CVP contract, PCWA’s water supply includes up to 120,000 acre-feet off the Middle Fork American River, the ability to store up to 340,000 acre-feet in its reservoirs, and a long-term contract with Pacific Gas & Electric to use over 125,000 acre-feet from the Yuba River.

Click here for news release: PCWA Secures Permanent Water Contract

District announces resignation of General Manager 

Click her for News Release: District Announces GM Resignation

District freezes water rates

Click here for more information