State Water Project supplies could fall up to 23% within 20 years due to climate change

Los Angeles Times – July 31

Climate change threatens to dramatically shrink the amount of water California can deliver over the next 20 years and could significantly reduce supplies available from the State Water Project according to new projections released Wednesday by Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration. The analysis by the California Department of Water Resources examined a range of climate change scenarios and projected that by 2043 the average amount of water transported through the massive network of reservoirs and canals to more than half the state’s population could decline between 13% and 23%. According to the report, current infrastructure will be able to deliver less water in the coming years as rising temperatures bring more intense droughts, decreased snowpack, more extreme storms, and more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow. Changes in the timing of runoff are also expected to create challenges, and sea level rise is likely to complicate water managers’ efforts to manage salinity levels.

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Tiny inhabitant of San Francisco Bay gets federal protection after decades of lobbying

San Francisco Chronicle – July 29

After decades of advocacy by environmental groups, a tiny silver fish is getting federal protection in San Francisco Bay. On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Bay’s population of longfin smelt is now on the federal endangered species list, 12 years after the agency first deemed the fish threatened or endangered. Once so abundant that it was fished commercially, the fish has plunged in numbers by over 99% since the 1980s. The roughly 4-inch fish joins five other San Francisco Bay species on the federal endangered species list.

EPA to update landfill air emissions rules in 2025

WasteDive – July 24

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to issue a proposed rule updating air emissions standards for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in 2025, the Biden-Harris administration confirmed on Wednesday. The commitment follows EPA adding such an update to its unified agenda earlier this month, a regulatory step that indicates the agency’s priorities in the near term. This would be the first update to Clean Air Act emissions standards for new and existing MSW landfills since 2016.

EPA proposes to ban chemical used in stain removers

Cleaning & Maintenance Management – August 1

EPA proposed a rule to ban the solvent 1-bromopropane (1-BP) under the Toxic Substances Control Act to safeguard public health and protect consumers and workers. If finalized, the rule would prohibit all but one consumer use of 1-BP and some workplace uses. Exposure to 1-BP can cause serious health effects, including skin, lung, and intestinal cancer. EPA also proposed worker protections for most industrial and commercial uses that would not be banned under the rule. The agency will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 1-BP for 45 days following publication in the Federal Register.

Kern subbasin’s third try at groundwater plan fails to avert state enforcement action

SJV Water – July 25

Noting that Kern County residents could suffer “urgent impacts” to their drinking water from continued agricultural groundwater overpumping, staff at the State Water Resources Control Board on Thursday announced they are recommending the entire Kern subbasin be put on probation. Probation is the first step toward a possible state pumping takeover. A hearing before the Water Board is set for Feb. 20, 2025. The finding was a blow to area water managers who had hoped a new groundwater plan submitted in May would address concerns about its 2022 plan, which was deemed inadequate in 2023.

Hyperion to get more rules to hold it accountable for fixing sewage spill-related odors

Daily Breeze – July 31

The South Coast Air Quality Management District hearing board has extended to January 3, 2025, a 2022 abatement order issued to the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant to remedy long-term odor issues from a massive sewage spill three years ago. The District has issued 17 violation notices to Hyperion since the last hearing in January, including two odor nuisance-related notices of violation in July. Residents testified at the Wednesday hearing that smells were still significant, as were headaches, nausea, and other health problems they attribute to the hydrogen sulfide odors. The hearing board will meet again on September 5 to consider new conditions to add repercussions intended to urge Hyperion leadership to make complying with the order a more serious priority, including responding to community complaints and keeping main odor sources sealed.

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