The Barbed Wire - November 13, 2015

November 13, 2015
RCRC Appointed to State Tree Mortality Task Force
Forest Service Report Highlights Restoration Progress
California Drought Bill Agreement Possibly Near
Industry Pressures Senate Democrats over WOTUS Vote
House T&I Committee Gearing Up for Next Corps Reauthorization Bill
BULLETIN BOARD
REGULATORY UPDATE

RCRC Appointed to State Tree Mortality Task Force

RCRC has been appointed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to serve on the State Tree Mortality Task Force convened by Governor Brown.  The Task Force is charged with finding solutions to the growing bark beetle epidemic currently decimating California’s forested landscapes, increasing fire risks, and creating a public safety hazard from falling trees in and around communities.  

The Task Force is composed of state agencies and local government representatives, and will be looking at immediate solutions under the provisions of the Governor’s October 30, 2015 Proclamation, as well as a 3-year time horizon for longer term proactive solutions to the overall forest health problem.  

RCRC Board of Supervisor Members from RCRC Member Counties Madera, Mariposa, Nevada, and Tuolumne Counties have also been appointed to the Task Force.  

Forest Service Report Highlights Restoration Progress

This week, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released a report titled, From Accelerating Restoration to Creating and Maintaining Resilient Landscapes and Communities Across the Nation, highlighting forest restoration progress over the past three years.  According to the report, the USFS has completed over 4.6 million acres of restoration treatments; an increase of nearly 400,000 acres (9 percent) compared to 2011.  

Despite the progress, challenges remain, including extreme drought conditions, larger more catastrophic wildfires, and the increasing percentage of the USFS budget being spent on fire suppression.

“The Forest Service has made tremendous progress in conducting restoration work to keep our forests healthy and resilient," said Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.  "However, because of the growing cost of fighting more frequent and dangerous wildfires, much of the work that supports healthy forests is being starved."

The report emphasizes key partnerships and collaboration efforts that are helping the USFS increase the pace, scale, and impact of restoration work, and the expansion of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.  

RCRC independently, and jointly through its work with the California Forest Watershed Alliance (CAFWA), continues to advocate for a federal effort to change the way forest management is funded.

The full USFS report can be accessed here

California Drought Bill Agreement Possibly Near

On Tuesday, Senator Dianne Feinstein stated that active negotiations between the House and Senate have been underway on a Western drought package with the goal of having a final version ready for a mark-up before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by the end of next week.  

Senator Feinstein, who has been leading negotiations on the California aspects of the bill for the upper chamber, said that Western lawmakers are aiming to iron-out a compromise bill in time for it to be included in the end-of-year FY 2016 omnibus appropriations measure.  Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) also indicated to reporters yesterday that a Committee markup is in the works before the Thanksgiving recess.  With the drought now impacting many areas of the West, Murkowski broadened the legislative effort on a bill to address the entire region's needs.

Industry Pressures Senate Democrats over WOTUS Vote

This week, more than 50 business organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Farm Bureau Federation, sent a letter to a group of Senate Democrats, including California Senator Diane Feinstein, who voted against a Senate measure (S. 1140) to scrap and rework the Obama administration's water rule.  

The industry letter was sent to the 11 Senate Democrats who recently wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers asking those agencies for additional clarity and guidance on the final “Waters of the U.S” (WOTUS) rule. 

In the letter, the stakeholder groups informed the Senate Democrats that the need to ask for additional guidance on the rule is not a real solution as the Administration’s final rule cannot be fixed without the agencies undertaking a legitimate and transparent rulemaking process.  The industry groups also urged the lawmakers to reconsider their support for the current WOTUS rule if another opportunity comes before them during the end-of-year appropriations process.  Senate Republicans have indicated the water rule will be one of their top targets for a policy rider to be included in this year’s Omnibus Appropriations bill.

House T&I Committee Gearing Up for Next Corps Reauthorization Bill

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will take its first step toward following through on a promise to return to a regular schedule of water resources authorizations. 

A Friday roundtable in New Orleans will serve as the first official discussion of a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).  WRDA bills where once an every-other-year process for authorizing flood control, lock, dam, levee, ecosystem restoration, and water  resources projects sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).  However, in recent times the legislation has gone several years before a new WRDA measure is enacted.

The roundtable discussion is likely to examine the successes and failures of the 2014 WRRDA measure, which aimed to reduce the backlog of projects and overhaul the Corps' red-tape-laden processes.  One key issue still shaking out is a provision (Section 7001) aimed at reconfiguring how new projects get authorized in a way that would give Congress more of a say in the process without running afoul of the earmark ban.  WRDA set up a process by which the Corps collects project ideas from local communities and forwards them to Congress in an annual report, which allows lawmakers to then authorize individual projects included in the report without them being considered earmarks.  However, in the first report delivered earlier this year, the agency applied its own criteria to which projects made the list, angering lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

BULLETIN BOARD

California Forward: Election Funding Project County Survey

Click here

Urban Water Conservation Workshop

Click here

Webinar: Forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies

Click here

REGULATORY UPDATE

Draft Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds Second Investment Plan.  Prioritizes investments from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund monies for fiscal years 2016-17 through 2018-19.  Agency: California Air Resources Board Status: Draft published for public comment, comment period ends November 13, 2015.  Workshops scheduled in three locations: Sacramento, Fresno, and Los Angeles.  Draft Strategy and related documents can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments: Click here RCRC Advocates: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org and Mary Pitto mpitto@rcrcnet.org

Addition of Gray Wolf to List of California Endangered Species.  Adds the Gray Wolf to the list of endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act.  Agency: California Fish and Game Commission Status: Comment period ends December 7, 2015, Commission decision scheduled for December 10, 2015 in San Diego.  Proposed regulatory language and related documents can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments: RCRC is seeking member county input.  RCRC Advocate: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org