Posts tagged water policy.
Posted in Water Supply
State Water Board Updates the “Make Conservation a California Way of Life” Framework, but are the Changes Enough?

On March 12, 2024, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) announced updates to the “Make Conservation a California Way of Life” framework that is based on SB 606 and AB 1668 from 2018. The changes seek to identify issues identified by commenters on the framework as well as the Legislative Analysts’ Office (LAO), but it is unclear whether they will be enough to satiate critics. Deadlines are fast approaching, as the State Water Board plans to hold a public workshop on the proposed updates on March 20, 2024 and comments on the regulation are due on March 27, 2024. … 

Join Us for a Webinar on the Sackett Decision and Its Effect on WOTUS Permitting Nationwide

In January 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Agencies) adopted a final rule altering the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), a key term that is referred to but not defined in the Clean Water Act (CWA) and is crucial for determining CWA permitting jurisdiction. The Agencies' stated purpose in adopting the rule was to better comply with the CWA by repealing and replacing a definition of WOTUS that had previously been adopted during the Trump administration; however, promulgation of the rule prompted multiple lawsuits ...

UPDATE: EPA Takes Next Step in PFAS Regulations – Proposing Adding Nine PFAS as Hazardous Constituents

On January 31, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing to list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This action represents another significant step in the regulation of PFAS.

PFAS are a key focus of many environmental regulators and of many people as well largely based on their ubiquity and catchy nickname “forever chemicals.” Both come from the fact that PFAS do not break down naturally over time either in the environment or in the human ...

The Impact of Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget on Water Projects

On January 10, 2024, Governor Newsom announced his 2024-2025 State budget proposal for $291 billion with a $37.9 billion proposed deficit. For water projects, the proposal is remarkably similar to his proposal from last year. The main differences as compared to last year’s proposal are bigger cuts (to many of the same areas cut last year) and less funding for new projects.

Governor Newsom seeks to address the $37.9 billion budget shortfall (which is substantially lower than the Legislative Analyst Office’s $68 billion projection from last month) through a variety of ...

DWR Certifies EIR for Delta Conveyance Project – Advancing Controversial Project and Setting Up Likely Legal Showdown

After releasing the final environmental report (EIR) for the Delta Conveyance Project on December 8, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) certified it on December 21, 2023. The certification of the final EIR is a significant step forward for the Delta Conveyance Project, a key project for the Newsom administration. It also provides the basis for legal challenges, which are all-but inevitable.

The Delta Conveyance Project is the latest in a long line of proposed conveyance projects designed to bring water from northern California to southern California. Different iterations of ...

California Water Policy: What Happened in 2023 and Where Are We Going?

The year started with a bang, with a lot of new Members of the Legislature, and more seasoned Members, invigorated and motivated to tackle some major water policy and funding issues for California. While some significant water policy changes were passed by the Legislature this year (with much controversy), there is still much left to debate and discuss in the second year of the two-year session, which will begin on January 3, 2024. … 

Upcoming Deadlines for Water Agencies for PFAS Settlements

Deadlines are upcoming related to the multi-district per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) litigation. The relevant settlements are with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva (collectively, DuPont) and 3M, parties who allegedly manufactured various PFAS chemicals. The currently-pending settlements cover $1.185 billion for DuPont and $10.5-$12.5 billion for 3M.

The litigation is focused on alleged contamination of drinking water caused by DuPont’s and 3M’s alleged manufacture of PFAS chemicals. PFAS are a family of manmade chemicals that are used due to beneficial ...

Challenges to EPA’s Water Facility Cybersecurity Mandates Successful

Despite efforts to stem increasing cyber threats to water systems around the nation, on October 13, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew cybersecurity mandates put in place by the Biden administration after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals July decision to place the mandates on hold while court actions continued.

In an attempt to harden clean water and wastewater treatment facilities from cyberattacks, the administration issued an interpretive memorandum in March 2023, that mandated adding cybersecurity assessments as a regular part of ...

EPA Finalizes PFAS Reporting Requirements

On September 28, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its rule requiring reporting of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). According to EPA’s press release, the rule is intended to “provide EPA, its partners, and the public with the largest-ever dataset of [PFAS] manufactured and used in the United States.”

EPA’s new rule is part of its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the Biden Administration’s plan to address PFAS, a family of man-made chemicals that are becoming well-known and well-studied based on their ubiquity and resistance to breaking down naturally.... 

EPA Announces Update to Civil Monetary Penalties – Impacts on Water Providers

On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Final Rule, listed at 88 FR 986, updating the maximum civil monetary penalties that may be assessed for violations of environmental statutes. This annual update is required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. This is the seventh annual adjustment under that act.

The update is designed to reflect inflation in order to maintain the deterrent effect of statutes providing civil monetary penalties, and is based on a formula that factors in the consumer price ...

The Impact of Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget on Water Projects

On January 10, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his $297 billion budget proposal for 2023-2024, which includes a $22.5 billion budget deficit. Despite environmental/climate change programs facing $6 billion in cuts, Governor Newsom’s proposed budget includes relatively few negative impacts to water projects. In fact, the drought response and water resilience section, which includes the vast majority of water-related funding, only faces a cut of two percent, from $8.7 billion to $8.6 billion. That two percent reduction is the lowest of any environmental category. ...  

Army Corps Releases Draft EIS on Delta Conveyance Project

On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps), Sacramento District released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Delta Conveyance Project. The Army Corps is the federal agency tasked with evaluating the Delta Conveyance Project for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Cooperating federal agencies include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. … 

UPDATE: House and Senate Pass Nearly $38 Billion in Funding for Water Projects as Part of National Defense Authorization Act

On December 6, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a bipartisan vote of 350-80. The NDAA includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, which includes nearly $38 billion in funding for the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). (The text of the WRDA begins on page 3160 of the NDAA.) The WRDA is biennial legislation that provides the Corps with funding to address navigation, flood control, and ecosystem restoration. This year’s bill authorizes projects in all 50 states. On the same day, a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives announced that they reached an agreement on the WRDA. On December 15, 2022, the Senate passed the NDAA. … 

California Becomes First Government in World to Require Microplastics Testing for Drinking Water

On September 7, 2022, California became the first government in the world to require microplastics testing for drinking water, an emerging contaminant that is found throughout the environment. The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) approved a policy handbook that details how it will implement a four-year plan, including testing logistics as well as how it will select the public agencies that will be required to test.

Microplastics represent an emerging contaminant of concern for which there are still a number of unanswered questions. As the policy handbook ...

EPA Announces No Safe Level for Two PFAS and $1 Billion in Funding

On June 15, 2022, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new health advisories for four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The health advisories significantly lowered the level considered safe to consume for two PFAS and set limits for two new PFAS. At the same time, EPA announced it was making $1 billion available in grant funding to help communities address PFAS contamination.

PFAS have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because they tend to linger in the environment and humans rather than naturally breaking down. There are dozens of different types ...

California Announces New Emergency Drought Regulations

On May 24, 2022, the California State Water Resources Control Board announced emergency drought restrictions resulting from Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-7-22. The regulations are the latest in a series of attempts by the state to deal with the ongoing severe drought. The regulations cover two areas: a ban on irrigating non-functional turf and a requirement that urban water suppliers implement the Level 2 demand reduction actions in their water shortage contingency plan. …

Poseidon Water’s Coastal Commission Application Denied – Setting Up an Uncertain Future for Desalination

On May 12, 2022, at the conclusion of a 10-hour hearing, the California Coastal Commission voted to deny Poseidon Water’s application to site and operate a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, in what could be a fatal blow for a project that has been debated for more than 20 years.

The Coastal Commission’s vote was unanimous, 11-0, in agreeing with the staff report’s recommendation to reject Poseidon Water’s application. The staff report recommended denial “due to this project’s fundamental inconsistencies with Coastal Act and LCP policies related to coastal ...

Metropolitan Water District Announces Required Water Reductions Affecting up to Six Million Californians

At a board meeting on April 26, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (“the Met”) announced it would be requiring reductions in water usage from retail water suppliers that are dependent on water from the State Water Project. The reduction, which the Met took as a result of the severity of the state’s current drought, will apply to six million Californians covering Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. The impacted retail water suppliers are Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, Upper San Gabriel ...

Past, Present and Future: California Provides Insight on the Severity of the Drought and 2022 Guidance

The past few weeks have been active ones for California in assessing the severity of its current drought and how it plans to manage its water during the third year of that drought. On top of other, more localized action, California released its report on 2021 groundwater conditions, evaluated current snowpack conditions and Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing action affecting 2022 water usage.

2021 Groundwater Conditions Report

On April 4, 2022, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) issued its Groundwater Conditions Report for Water Year 2021 ...

The New Endangered Species "Protection" Requirements for Steelhead Trout Will Impact Water Managers’ Options and Groundwater Sustainability Plans

Join us on March 29, 2022, when we will participate in the 2022 Annual AGWT-AGWA California Groundwater Issues Conference in Lakewood, CA, hosted by American Ground Water Trust and Association of Ground Water Agencies.

We will be providing a presentation entitled “The New Endangered Species ‘Protection’ Requirements for Steelhead Trout Will Impact Water Managers’ Options and Groundwater Sustainability Plans.” During this session, we will discuss how the new California endangered species listing will affect operations from Santa Maria, in the central ...

EPA Announces Regional WOTUS Roundtables

On February 24, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the list of organizers selected for regional roundtables concerning the agencies’ rulemaking proceeding regarding the definition of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act.  More information is available on the EPA's website. ...

The Next Chapter of the WOTUS Saga is Here

On November 18, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the availability of a pre-publication version of a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to amend the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). This much anticipated rulemaking is the latest attempt by the agencies to provide regulatory clarity on what water features are subject to the protections of the Clean Water Act.

The agencies did not announce a date for official Federal Register publication, but once published, the Proposed Rule will have a 60-day comment period ...

WEBINAR: The First 100 Days of President Biden’s Environmental Policy: Revolution or Back to Basics?

The first 100 days of a new administration can define what lies ahead for the next four years. Join our panel of Nossaman Environment & Land Use attorneys from across the U.S. on April 15, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT as we review and evaluate the Biden administration’s first 100 days of policy moves involving environmental and natural resources management.

We will discuss efforts to fill leadership roles at CEQ, EPA, Interior, DOT and other federal agencies. Updates and analysis will be provided regarding key areas of policy, legislation and regulation, including:

  • Climate ...
WEBINAR: Flood or Drought? A Discussion of the Election’s Potential Legislative Impacts on the Water Sector

President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump could mean big changes for federal treatment of issues affecting water service providers, as well as how such issues are addressed in California, where Governor Newsom will presumably now have an ally in the White House. At both the state and federal levels, legislators are still working to address the impact of COVID-19 on public health and the economy, while pursuing existing policy goals that may have been put on hold due to the challenges created by the pandemic.

To navigate these new changes, please join us on December 3, 2020 ...

California Water Views provides timely and insightful updates on the water sector in the state. We relay information on how water legislation and policy from the nation’s capital, Sacramento, and around the U.S. affect California’s water utilities, agencies, practitioners, and consumers.  We also write about important events, conferences, legal cases, and other key happenings involving all things water in and around California.

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