September 7, 2023

August 10, 2023

From coastal flooding to dramatic snowmelt, this year’s floods brought unprecedented damage throughout California’s counties. Damage to levees and flood infrastructure, including debris in rivers and tributaries, need expedited repairs to protect communities from the next rainy season. On August 4, the Governor issued Executive Order N-10-23 to mitigate the risks of additional flooding. The order applies to emergency levee repair and debris clearing including main stem and tributaries of the San Joaquin River, Tulare Lake Basin, Salinas River, Pajaro River, and coastal streams in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.

July 13, 2023

The Coastal Commission’s Local Government Working Group is working to identify new options for phased and regional approaches to sea level rise adaptation planning.

The Working Group will share its ideas and initiatives and invite all perspectives, examples and questions from California agencies, cities, counties, planners and regional planning organizations.

June 29, 2023

Much of California will experience a heat wave this holiday weekend, with temperatures exceeding the triple digits in some parts of the state.

Extreme heat is just one of several threats, including wildfire, fast flowing water and power outages, that could impact Californians this summer. These risks are all interrelated and can have the greatest impact on California’s most at-risk populations.

June 22, 2023

Counties are invited to a California Water Commission workshop to explore ways that the State can adapt to changing hydrology and ongoing weather extremes. Following three years of severe drought, California experienced a winter of extreme wet weather this year. Being able to endure the next severe drought is dependent upon making smart, preemptive water management decisions during non-drought years.

May 25, 2023

The Department of Conservation hosts monthly open house meetings on the Williamson Act. The next open house will be June 15 discussing CEQA and the Willamson Act and farmland mitigation.

April 14, 2023

Supervisors and county staff throughout the state convened in Sacramento County for the 2023 CSAC Legislative Conference to engage, empower and elevate our collective county voice.

CSAC’s five policy committees – AOJ, AENR, GFA, HHS and HLT – held important discussions to help steer the Association’s policy and direction. Below is a recap from each policy committees’ meeting.

February 16, 2023

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) has released guidelines for the newly established Local Retail Grant Program. Counties that currently do not have a cannabis retail licensing program, and have plans to develop one, are eligible to receive grant funding. 

February 2, 2023

On Tuesday, January 31, Governor Newsom signed a proclamation terminating 26 open states of emergency dating back to 2017. These include various fires, prior storms and other incidents including the mpox (formerly referred to as monkeypox) emergency proclaimed in August of last year, coinciding with the termination of the federal public health emergency on mpox.

January 26, 2023

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) offers funding opportunities authorized by legislation to assist public and private entities in the management of waste.

The following grant opportunities are currently open and will be closing in February:

January 19, 2023

January 12, 2023

CSAC continues to monitor and engage on the continued parade of storms and atmospheric rivers affecting all 58 counties that started before the start of the new year. Major impacts are affecting counties—from coastal and river flooding to roadway damage, levee failures and school closures. Widespread precipitation is still expected through the rest of this week and into next week. Statewide rain and heavy mountain snow are also expected.

January 5, 2023

California is experiencing a large winter storm with flash flood risks, heavy snow for the Sierra and other mountain ranges, and high wind warnings/advisories remain in effect for much of the state.

CalOES Deployed Resources Across the State:

October 20, 2022

CSAC recently reported on the final outcomes of measures that were approved by the Legislature and delivered to Governor Newsom for action. To keep counties informed of new laws of interest and impact, CSAC will publish a series of articles to spotlight those laws in each policy area. This week, the Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources (AENR) policy area provides information on new laws impacting local flood protection plans, organic waste, cannabis, and wildfire.

August 18, 2022

The California Water Boards and the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) will be co-hosting a three-day statewide summit on bacteria from September 14-16, 2022, in Sacramento and virtually. Register today for either in person or remote participation.

May 25, 2022

The State Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously today to implement a statewide ban on the watering of non-functional turf in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors, as well as regulations requiring local agencies to implement water use restrictions.

These new regulations come amid the possibility that water supplies may be up to 20% lower than average due to extreme weather. The orders do not affect recreation areas.

May 12, 2022

May 4, 2022

Democrats in the California released their budget priorities, which includes the CSAC supported request for Dam Safety funding. The water and drought provisions within the package proposes $7.5 billion in state and federal funds to build a climate resilient water system including:

The AENR Committee was pleased to have Senator Bill Dodd kick off our AENR Committee meeting. Senator Dodd has been active in the wildfire, insurance and regional planning areas for the past several years. The Senator focused his presentation on his work to establish voluntary regional funding mechanisms to support climate adaptation work and dedicating a funding stream to provide insurance for prescribed and cultural fire preservation.=

The Forest Service just announced that it will be distributing $238 million to counties under the Secure Rural Schools program, with California’s counties set to receive nearly $30 million from that pot (up from almost $25 million last year). The program was reauthorized for two years as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.