Camping Out at the Water Board
California makes its state water right decisions in the CalEPA building in Sacramento, the home of the State Water Resources Control Board. In a water-rights proceeding, you get to speak “on the record” to the Board or it Administrative Hearing Office by “protesting” the new or modified right. In the last year, FOR has protested the water rights of two major water projects…
FOR Takes a Stand Against the Dreaded Delta Tunnel
The proposed Delta Tunnel has reached the water rights stage, and Friends of the River, alongside many partner organizations, submitted two formal “protests” of the Tunnel water rights applications…
Dangerous Ideas in the Legislature and State Administration
It’s silly season in the California legislature. It’s the time for spot bills (bills introduced with the intention of being amended later) to materialize — and some are pretty ugly. One of those is ACA 2, the Water Resiliency Act of 2024, introduced by Assemblyman Juan Alanis (R-Modesto). This bill would give billions of dollars per year to a water project slush fund…
California Governor Newsom Joins the Dam-Construction-Streamlining Crowd
Like many toddlers, Governor Newsom has a patience problem. He can’t understand why the 2014 Proposition dams (deadbeat or not) haven’t been built yet…
Delta Tunnel Doings
Friends of the River, along with a coalition of environmental groups have been beating on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize that the federal draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was fundamentally flawed…