At its October 9, 2014 meeting, the West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (“WSAFCA”) adopted Resolution 14-10-01, which authorizes the General Manager to make offers and take “any and all actions that may be necessary” to acquire private property for the purposes of the Sacramento River Southport EIP Project (“the project”). The project is part…
A spokesperson for the California Water Resources Department announced Wednesday that the Bay Delta Conversation Project, featuring two diversion tunnels, is being delayed. According to DWR, the delay was triggered by public comments submitted in response to the draft environmental impact report, which revealed that certain areas of the plan required additional study. DWR has…
On August 14, 2014, the City of West Sacramento Board of Directors voted to approve the proposed route for the Sacramento River Southport Project (“SRSP”). The SRSP is part of West Sac Flood Protect program, which has already completed 10 miles of levee improvement projects, including the I Street Bridge Early Implementation Program. The West…
A panel of California appellate court judges recently upheld the California High Speed Rail Authority’s funding plan, unanimously authorizing State officials to sell $8.6 billion in bonds required to construct the train. Filed by Kings County farmers and residents, the lawsuit sought to stop the project on the basis that the funding program approved by…
In July 2014, PG&E released information regarding a proposed high-voltage transmission line in west Fresno County, referred to as the Central Valley Connect Project. The lines would be built on high poles or lattice towers. Although the route of the line is not yet selected, the project will require a series of takings to support…
On March 26, 2014, Congressmen John Garamendi (D-CA-03) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01) introduced HR 4300, the Sacramento Valley Water Storage and Restoration Act of 2014. If passed, HR 4300 would authorize construction of the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County’s Antelope Valley. Garamendi and LaMalfa contend that passage of the bill would bring California closer to…
After a year long delay, the House of Representatives recently approved the Water Resources Reform and Development Act. The bill authorizes, among many other projects across the nation, a $1 billion effort to strengthen the Natomas area levees. The legislation also authorizes the strengthening of 41 miles of levees in the Sutter River Basin. The…
A bipartisan group consisting of nearly three dozen California legislators have initiated efforts to restore funding to the Williamson Act Program. Created in 1965, the Williamson Act authorizes county governments to enter into ten-year agreements with landowners who agree to restrict their land use to agricultural activities. Any land enrolled in the Williamson Act Program…
Introduced on January 14, 2014 and already passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HR 3370) seeks to remedy various negative consequences resulting from the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), created in 1968 by the National…
Co-sponsored by the American Farmland Trust, AB 1961 would require California counties to adopt detailed plans to retain land for farming and ranching. Introduced by Assembly Agriculture Chair Susan Talamantes Eggman and styled as the Sustainable Farmland Strategy Act, the bill is a response to the rapidly increasing rate at which California farmland is converted…
