Governor Newsom names Esquivel SWRCB Chair, appoints Lauren Firestone Former CDFA Secretary Bill Lyons appointed Agriculture Liaison in the Office of the Governor In his first two months of office, Governor Newsom has made several appointments to his cabinet and various agencies that have a direct impact on the agricultural industry. On February 12, 2019, [...]
On January 31st, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released their final biological opinion for the operations in the Delta. The timeline for the release of the revised biological opinions was sped up due to congressional pressure on the administration and the ultimate signing of the Presidential Water Memorandum last October. It is anticipated that the [...]
The Kaweah Basin Water Quality Association, Tule Basin Water Quality Coalition, and Kings River Watershed Coalition Authority – coalitions of San Joaquin Valley growers created to help comply with water quality regulations – have reached a settlement agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). As part of the agreement, the Coalitions will install [...]
Last Thursday, California Citrus Mutual along with several members of the Agricultural Presidents’ Council met with the newest appointee to the State Water Resources Control Board, Sean Maguire. Prior to becoming a board member, Sean spent 5 years as staff in the State Board’s Division of Financial Assistance and Division of Water Rights and worked [...]
December was a big month in the world of water as the outgoing State administration tried to wrap up its major water agenda. All the while the State Water Resources Control Board did everything it could do to put its own stamp on water policy. Between the California Water Fix, the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control [...]
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted the Phase 1 Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan on Wednesday. The controversial plan requires 30 to 50 percent unimpaired flows along the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced Rivers. The plan moved forward despite a voluntary proposal that was submitted in advance of the meeting. The Federal government and [...]
Governor Jerry Brown has appointed Sean Maguire to fill the board position recently vacated by Steve Moore. Maguire previously was a supervising water resources control engineer in the water rights division of the State Water Resources Control Board. His appointment by Governor Brown comes at a critical time, just prior to a scheduled December 11th [...]
The State Water Resources Control Board postponed adoption of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan that would have required an average of 40% unimpaired flows from water users in the lower San Joaquin River. This is the second postponement of the controversial “water grab”. The first postponement came after a request from the Secretary of [...]
The Water Supply and Water Quality Bond Act of 2018 failed to receive enough votes on Election Day. The water bond would have provided $640 million to offset SGMA compliance and another $750 to address subsidence issues along the Friant-Kern canal. With 100% of precincts reporting, the measure was defeated by 315,094 votes. The strongest [...]
We are sure by now that you all have heard about the President’s memorandum that was signed last Friday. We at Citrus Mutual believe that the memorandum gives clear direction to the Federal agencies to complete the review of the biological opinions by January 31, 2019. Up until Friday, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) [...]
