Department of Water Resources (DWR) is conducting its first
Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGM) Implementation Grant
solicitation, providing a minimum of $103 million in
Proposition 68 funds for competitive grants. The Round 1 grant
solicitation will provide $26 million for critically overdrafted
(COD) basins only. The future Round 2 grant solicitation will
provide a minimum of $77 million for medium- and high-priority
(including COD) basins. The two rounds of grant solicitations may
fund implementation projects that:
The CSAC AENR team will be monitoring the following bills during
the last month of session and has a support position on the
following two bills which have been set for hearing.
This week, the Office of Administrative Law submitted an approved
emergency rulemaking regarding Fire Safe Regulations to the
Secretary of State. These new rules are now in effect across the
state. Earlier this year, the California Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection (Board) decided to move forward with an emergency
rulemaking to clarify the applicability of the existing SRA Fire
Safe Regulations and inspection authorities to increase the
availability of affordable housing in the state and improve the
safety of communities developed in the SRA.
As many counties are beginning to implement groundwater
management programs under the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA), the Department of Conservation will host two
workshops to answer potential applicants’ questions about the
SGMA Watershed Coordinator Program application. The workshops
will take place on August 6 and
August 11 and are open to all interested
applicants. Each workshop will cover the same content.
CSAC is requesting feedback on the following proposed bills
related to fire insurance in high fire threat areas by close of
business Thursday, July 30. Please email Legislative Analyst
Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org
with any thoughts or feedback.
The Caltrans Landscape Architecture Program, in partnership with
CalRecycle, University of California Riverside, University of
Washington, Filtrexx Sustainable Technologies, Salix Applied
Earthcare, United States Composting Council, California Compost
Coalition, and R. Alexander Associates, Inc., is presenting two
half-day workshops that focus on the use of compost-based best
management practices (BMPs) to improve roadside revegetation,
control erosion, filter stormwater, reduce runoff, and improve
stormwater quality.
Governor Newsom recently visited McClellan Air Force Base to
highlight the state’s wildfire mitigation capabilities and
discuss new efforts to protect emergency personnel and evacuees
from COVID-19 during wildfires. The Governor also announced the
state would hire 858 more firefighters and six California
Conservation Corps (CCC) crews through October because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. These crews are anticipated due, in part, to
the reduction in inmate crews from correctional facilities.
CSAC and a coalition of local government advocates, consumer
rights groups, and telecommunications companies have filed a
joint motion to require the California Public Utilities
Commission to review PSPS after-action reports in order to make a
determination on whether the benefits of the decision to
de-energize outweighed potential impacts to public safety.
In April, CSAC along with RCRC and a number of other local
governments and energy advocates filed a joint motion requesting
the CPUC to issue emergency PSPS de-energization protocols for
electric investor-owned utilities (IOUs) that specifically take
the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration. The CPUC has taken no
action on this request to date. In the face of shelter in place
orders and a global pandemic, PSPS events could be even more
impactful than in previous years.
On June 11th, the CPUC released a
proposed decision that would require wireless providers to
develop comprehensive resiliency strategies to prepare for
catastrophic disasters and power outages. This decision would
promulgate resiliency requirements for wireless provider’s
facilities in Tier 2 and Tier 3 High Fire Threat Districts.
Specifically, the decision would:
CSAC is requesting feedback regarding how the following bills
might impact counties. Policy areas for these bills include
wildfire, PSPS, resource recovery, and flood control. Please
email Legislative Analyst, Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org
with any thoughts or feedback.
