Focus
Bay Area’s San Luis Reservoir expansion to boost water supply amid climate change
KQED – November 13
One of the Bay Area’s largest reservoirs is about to get bigger thanks to a partnership between local water agencies and the federal government. The San Luis Reservoir Dam, between Los Banos and Gilroy, will be raised 10 feet to collect an additional 130,000 acre-feet of water per year. The addition will be enough to serve roughly 650,000 people annually. Under the current agreement, the federal government will contribute 30% of the funding for the nearly $1 billion project and will receive 30% of the water. Santa Clara County will pay $435 million and add 60,000 acre-feet of water, and seven other Northern California water agencies will add smaller amounts.
News
California approves tighter rules for low carbon fuels policy
Reuters – November 8
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) last Friday voted 12 to 2 to approve changes to the state’s influential Low Carbon Fuel Standard—a policy aimed at boosting low-carbon fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and meet state climate change goals—despite criticism the changes would increase retail fuel prices. The amendments require a deeper reduction in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2030 for fuel producers to earn the program’s tradable credits. In an analysis released last year, CARB said the changes could increase the price of gasoline by 37 cents per gallon, on average, from 2024 through 2030, but has since said models cannot accurately predict future fuel prices.
Los Angeles set to build facility to transform wastewater into clean drinking water
Los Angeles Times – November 14
Los Angeles will soon begin building a $740-million water reclamation plant in Van Nuys to transform wastewater into purified drinking water, expanding the city’s local water supply to prepare for worsening droughts compounded by climate change. The water will be piped 10 miles northeast to L.A. County’s Hansen Spreading Grounds, where it will flow into basins and percolate into the groundwater aquifer for storage. The water will then be pumped from wells and, after additional testing and treatment, distributed to taps. When completed, the facilities will produce 20 million gallons of drinking water per day, enough to supply about 250,000 people.
EPA to charge first-ever ‘methane fee’ for emissions waste by oil and gas companies
Associated Press - November 12
Oil and natural gas companies for the first time will have to pay a federal fee if they emit methane above certain levels under a final rule announced this Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule follows through on a directive from Congress included in the 2022 climate law and seeks to encourage industry to adopt best practices that reduce emissions of methane, the primary component of natural gas. The rule will not become final until early next year, following publication in the Federal Register.
Company at fault for Refugio oil spill agrees to pay back millions to state of California
KCBX - November 12
The company responsible for the 2015 oil spill near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County has agreed to a settlement that will pay the state of California tens of millions of dollars for cleanup costs. The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by the California State Lands Commission and insurance company Aspen American accusing Plains All American Pipeline of burdening California taxpayers and Aspen with decommissioning wells and property damage costs. The settlement requires Plains to pay a total of $72 million, more than $50 million of which will go to the state for costs it incurred in responding to the spill.
EPA proposes landfill regulation changes in new public docket
WasteDive – November 14
EPA is soliciting comments on a series of white papers regarding landfill management practices. The agency is looking for ways to “streamline, improve, and harmonize the current suite of emissions regulations” for municipal solid waste landfills. In eight white papers, the agency identified a series of possible changes to its New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines for new and existing landfills, including adding an organic waste diversion credit, allowing a regular aerial monitoring program, and creating a methane emission threshold to trigger regulations for landfills. EPA is accepting comments on the white papers through January 23, 2025.
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