Water
Legislative response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster
What’s happening in Congress since the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and the gusher that followed? There have been a lot of hearings, and a lot of bills introduced. Several are moving ahead. One has become law, one has been passed by the full House, and two have been reported out of Senate committees. 1) Both houses …
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CONTINUE READINGDeath of a water bond?
In an about-face, Arnold Schwarzenegger and California legislative leaders have called for removal of the $11.1 billion water bond from the November ballot and trying again in 2012. The legislature agreed last fall to put the measure on the ballot as part of what was billed as a comprehensive water reform package. Now, faced with …
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CONTINUE READING“Africa Is Dying”
This was the sobering message I received last week as part of a delegation to Senegal from the American Jewish World Service. Senegal is in the Sahel, a 1,000 kilometer-wide African region between the Sahara on the north and the sub-tropics to the south. It is relatively well-watered, but is nevertheless a poster child for …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Ocean Science Trust Releases Study Evaluating Alternatives for Decommissioning California’s Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms
Last week, the California Ocean Science Trust released a long-awaited study that synthesizes scientific and legal information to inform policymakers and stakeholders on alternative paths for the decommissioning of California’s offshore oil and gas platforms. 27 of these platforms operate off the coast of California, and eventually all of them will stop producing fossil fuel …
CONTINUE READINGEPA proposes general Clean Water Act permit for pesticides
In January 2009, the Sixth Circuit in National Cotton Council v. EPA struck down a Bush-era rule declaring that pesticide application to or over waters was exempt from the Clean Water Act’s NPDES permit program, under which a permit is required for any discharge of pollutants to waters of the U.S. from a point source. …
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CONTINUE READINGWe’ve Known the Risks in the Gulf for Forty Years
We’ve known all along that offshore drilling in the Gulf placed at risk exceptionally valuable and sensitive coastal areas. We need look no further than a forty-year-old court decision on Gulf oil drilling, which made the dangers abundantly clear. In 1971, President Nixon announced a new energy plan involving greatly expanded offshore drilling. In a …
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CONTINUE READINGBP’s Disastrous PR Blowout
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZidQAf8epE] Even Fox News is berating BP for its callous and inapt public response to the oil blowout. And for good reason. As Newsweek says: This hasn’t been a good few weeks for Tony Hayward, the chief executive officer of BP. In the weeks since the huge oil spill in the Gulf began, he has …
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CONTINUE READINGClearing the Waters
Law Week (subscription only) reports that: Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) introduced legislation April 21 that would amend the Clean Water Act to clarify and “reaffirm” U.S. jurisdiction over waters of the United States, including wetlands. The America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act (H.R. 5088) would remove the term “navigable waters of the United States” from …
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CONTINUE READINGGleick’s New Water Blog
Readers with an interest in water issues should take a look at Peter Gleick‘s new blog with the SF Chronicle. Gleick is the head of the Pacific Institute — and, I’m happy to say, an ERG graduate.
CONTINUE READINGDealing with water pollution from agriculture
Run-off from agricultural operations is a major source of water pollution, but remains essentially unregulated by the federal Clean Water Act. States have the legal authority to regulate agricultural pollution, but may be hampered by the lack clear models for doing so, as well as by political opposition. A new report from the Environmental Law …
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