LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN

July 18, 2022

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Curtailments Updates From SWRCB 
Since last week’s Legislative Bulletin, there have been curtailment updates involving the Scott River Watershed and Sacramento San-Joaquin Delta Watershed. Information regarding diversions, among other details, can be found below.

Scott River Watershed
It was announced Thursday that all surface water and groundwater diversions within the Scott River Watershed are to be ended immediately unless otherwise advised. Folks who have filed with the State Water Resource Control Board for minimum livestock watering may continue as directed.

For more information on approved or pending groundwater diversions, click here.

For more information on surface diversions, click here.

Direct any questions to ScottShastaDrought@waterboards.ca.gov.

Sacramento San-Joaquin Delta Watershed
Revision and readoption of Emergency Regulations will be considered at the upcoming July 20 State Water Resource Control Board hearing. Additional information is available here.

As of Wednesday, several curtailments have been imposed within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. Sacramento River tributary curtailments include appropriative water rights for the Cache Creek subwatershed with a priority of 1880 or later, the Yuba River subwatershed with a priority date of 1910 or later and the Sacramento River watershed outside the legal delta with a priority date of 1917 or later.

Water rights on several San Joaquin River tributaries have also been curtailed, including all appropriative water rights and riparian water rights in the Calaveras River and Chowchilla River subwatersheds and all appropriative water rights in the Merced River subwatershed with a priority date of 1859 or later.

Appropriative water right claims in the San Joaquin River watershed outside of the Legal Delta with a priority date of 1900 or later and appropriative water right claims in the Legal Delta with a priority date of 1917 or later have been curtailed.

The above curtailments are expected to continue through summer and the beginning of fall, depending on precipitation.

For questions about curtailment and suspension notices or how to comply, please contact the Rancher Technical Assistance Program at (916) 409-6902 or rtap@wrstrat.com.

Federal Court Vacates Trio of Trump-Era ESA Regulations
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California earlier this month issued an order vacating three Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations which had been finalized in 2019 under the Trump Administration. The ruling, which came just weeks after the USFWS finalized a rule rescinding the Trump-era regulatory definition of “habitat,” reimposes a “blanket 4(d) rule” expanding protections for species listed as threatened, prevents federal agencies from considering economic impacts of listing decisions and reimposes bureaucratic requirements for interagency consultation. For a deep dive regarding the Biden Administration’s reshaping of ESA regulations, see this month’s edition of Hot Irons.

2022 CCA Scholarship Applications Now Available 
Applications for the 2022 CCA Scholarships are being accepted now through October 1, 2022, CCA awarded over $63,000 in scholarships to students studying agriculture, although scholarship amounts and quantities vary year to year. Current CCA members (producer, feeder or YCC) that are currently enrolled at a university or college are eligible to apply. Past recipients of her CCA scholarship program may also apply again this year. For a complete list of awards an to download the application visit calcattlemen.org/scholarships. Contact Maureen in the CCA office at maureen@calcattlemen.org with any questions.

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Preventative fires credited with saving Yosemite sequoias AP News “A famed grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park survived its first wildfire in more than a century, thanks to efforts to regularly burn the undergrowth beneath the towering trees, a forest ecologist who toured the site said Tuesday.” To continue reading, click here.

Residents return as containment grows for Yosemite fire abc10 “Containment continued to grow on a wildfire burning for more than a week in Yosemite National Park and residents of the mountain community of Wawona began returning to their homes on Sunday, officials said.The Washburn fire was 51% contained after scorching 7.6 square miles (19 square km) of forest land, according to an incident update.” To continue reading, click here.

Environmental Groups Ask Senate to Confirm EPA Nomination Environment + Energy LEADER “Several environmental groups are asking the United States Senate to confirm the appointment of David Uhlmann to head the EPA’s enforcement and compliance office, which they say is especially important after a Supreme Court decision that limited the agency’s regulatory power.” To continue reading, click here.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Members to Wildfire Commission United States Department of Agriculture “Today, the Departments of Agriculture, the Interior and Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are announcing the selection of members to the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.” To continue reading, click here.