CP&DR

Mining Rules: State Gets Tougher While Feds Back Down

May 1, 2002

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

These are both the best of times and worst of times for California's mining industry. The Interior Department has lifted some Clinton-era restrictions for hardrock mining on federal land. However, the State Mining & Geology Board is considering new regulations for implementing the Surfacing Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) that miners say will be burdensome.

Central Valley Chokes While Regulators Point Fingers

Apr 1, 2002

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

Quietly, while no one seemed to be paying much attention, the Central Valley has become one of the smoggiest places in the nation. Kern, Fresno and Tulare counties rank third, fourth and fifth among those counties that exceeded federal ozone standards the most days from 1997 to 1999, according to the American Lung Association's 2001 State of the Air report.

New Tax Credit Program Saves Coastal Open Space

Mar 1, 2002

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

California's Revenue and Taxation Code contains provisions for all sorts of tax credits, most of them intended to encourage business or personal investment in activities deemed to have social value — creating jobs, saving energy, reducing waste, supporting charitable works.

Giant Water District Prepares to Retire One-Third of Its Farmland

Feb 1, 2002

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 17 No. 02 Feb 2002

To critics of state and federal water policy in the California, the Westlands Water District symbolizes just about everything that could possibly go wrong with public management of this precious resource. But an $800 million deal that could retire one-third of the farmland in the huge water district might lay to rest one of the most vexing problems associated with Westlands while also ushering in a new era in Western water and land-use practices.

Bolsa Chica Saga Proves Wetlands Are for The Birds

Jan 1, 2002

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 17 No. 01 Jan 2002

After 20 years of argument and struggle, numerous revisions and a predictable snarl of litigation, the most expensive wetland restoration project in California history has cleared one of its final hurdles and appears poised to become reality at last.

Water Providers Fight Each Other Regarding Sacramento River

Dec 1, 2001

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 12 Dec 2001

One year ago, the water district that serves portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties reached a tentative agreement with other local and federal agencies on a plan to divert water from the Sacramento River. Supporters of the plan said it would benefit many different parties.

Slim Endangered Species Act Budget Lies at Heart of Recent Truce

Nov 1, 2001

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 11 Nov 2001

It was surprising news when the Center for Biological Diversity announced it had signed an out-of-court agreement regarding endangered species with its longtime adversaries at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. With a decade-long winning streak in court, the Tucson-based Center has become arguably the most important entity in the Endangered Species Act debate. Why wouldn't the organization want to continue kicking butt in court, especially since Gail Norton had replaced Bruce Babbitt as head of the Interior

Klamath Basin Water Dispute Offers Preview Of West's Future

Oct 1, 2001

Endangered Species Act, Environment Watch, John Krist, Siskiyou County, Vol. 16 No. 10 Oct 2001

The fight over Klamath River water is not solely about the conflicting needs of farmers and fish, as protesters and newspaper headlines suggest. Nor is it about local control versus Washington bureaucrats. The simplistic slogans of the sagebrush rebels are inaccurate. Instead, it is about the false assumptions of the past finally colliding with the realities of the present, about faith in the land's boundless bounty finally running up against the truth of limits.

Long-Awaited Yolo County Habitat Plan Nears Completion

Sep 1, 2001

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 16 No. 09 Sep 2001

Buffeted by competition from lower priced imports, snarled in a tangle of environmental regulations, besieged by sprawling cities and suburbs, America's small family farmers can be forgiven for feeling like members of an endangered species.

State Lets Regional Boards Craft Stormwater Runoff Rules

Aug 1, 2001

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 08 Aug 2001

Regulations that require most new development to contain and treat stormwater runoff continue to advance at Regional Water Quality Control Boards for California's coastal urban areas. The regulations, however, have received mixed reviews from environmentalists and condemnation from the building industry.

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