The Barbed Wire - October 30, 2015

Governor Issues State of Emergency Proclamation on Tree Mortality

This morning, Governor Brown issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency regarding the issue of tree mortality, and ordered state resources be brought to bear on the catastrophe.  Citing the risks to public safety due to falling trees, fire, and insufficient county or municipality resources to address the problem, the Governor’s Proclamation states that “strict compliance with various statutes and regulations would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the drought,” and has suspended CEQA for the purposes of carrying out specific provisions of the Proclamation. 

Additionally, the Governor has authored a letter calling upon United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to partner with California in deploying federal resources towards the problem on federal lands, and to assist homeowners and communities in those lands adjacent to federal lands.  The Governor’s letter can be accessed here.

CAL FIRE, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Department of Transportation, and the California Energy Commission are specifically called upon to act in various capacities including the immediate removal of dead, dying, and diseased trees and shrubs, the identification of storage locations for removed trees, and the utilization of wood chips from chipped trees.  The Proclamation also calls for the distribution of equipment to small and remote communities to utilize for trees around homes, working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to increase the amount of controlled burning, working with other federal agencies on removal of trees on federal lands, and working with the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to try to expand the wood products market in California to find new uses for this material.

Heavy focus is placed on the utilization of biomass and the need to ensure that existing biomass facilities remain in operation including a mandate on the Public Utilities Commission to utilize its authority to extend contracts on biomass plants receiving forest feedstock in high hazard areas, expediting action on new contracts for forest feedstock plants in high hazard areas, and prioritization of interconnection agreements for these plants.  The California Energy Commission is also tasked with prioritizing biomass through the Electric Program Investment Charge, working with other Departments on feedstock availability issues, and working to find funds to offset high feedstock costs for woody biomass.

RCRC Chair Lee Adams (Sierra County), who attended meetings with the Governor’s staff regarding this issue, said “I am heartened to see how seriously the Governor and his staff are taking this issue.  Many of the problems and possible solutions discussed at the meetings appear in his Proclamation.  While I feel lucky that Sierra County’s trees are still green today, I can look only a few counties south to see what’s coming if we don’t address this catastrophe immediately.  The scale of the problem is already so profound in some places that basic public safety is at risk.  RCRC and its member counties stand ready to work alongside the Governor, CAL FIRE, and the other state and federal agencies as we nurse our forests, oak woodlands, and chaparral areas back to health.”

The Governor’s Proclamation can be accessed here.

USDA Invests $3.7M to Repair Rural Housing; $75K to Lake County

This week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $3.7 million to help rural families across the country repair and rehabilitate their homes.  The grants are being funded through the Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. 

Of these monies, $75,000 will be used by Habitat for Humanity to assist 13 low income homeowners in Lake County.  Further, Habitat for Humanity is providing $33,000 of its own resources for this project.

Lake County was recently ravaged by one of California’s worst wildfires, scorching more than 76,000 acres and destroying nearly 2000 homes.

Additional information on grant recipients can be accessed here.  Additional Information on the Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program can be accessed here. 

Final Guidelines & Proposal Solicitation Package for “Counties with Stressed Basins” Released

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the final versions of the Guidelines for the Sustainable Groundwater Planning (SGWP) Grant Program and Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) for the “Counties with Stressed Basins” solicitation, funded by Proposition 1. 

These newly released documents, public comments received on the draft documents, as well as other information about the SGWP Grant Program, can be found accessed here.  A workshop will be held on November 5, 2015 to provide potential grant applicants with assistance on preparing grant applications.  Detailed information on the workshop can be accessed here.

Grant applications for “Counties with Stressed Basins” are due December 8, 2015.  Draft awards will be announced in January 2016, with final awards announced in February 2016.

Groundwater Recharge Study Released

This week, the California Water Foundation released a study evaluating the potential benefits of recharging groundwater through the flooding of agricultural lands using excess winter river flows.  Titled Creating an Opportunity: Groundwater Recharge through Winter Flooding of Agricultural Land in the San Joaquin Valley, the study is focused on a portion of the east side of the San Joaquin Valley in Merced, Madera, and Fresno counties. 

While excess winter flows are not available every year, the study found an average of 80,000 to 130,000 acre-feet per year can be diverted through the existing available capacities in the diversion turn-outs, conveyance, and distribution for delivery to farms.  Among other findings, the study found that the proposed recharge method would reduce overdraft by 12 – 20 percent. 

The study also states that expansion of such an approach across a broader geographic area, including excess winter flows from other major watersheds in the valley, such as the San Joaquin, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus rivers, would provide a significant contribution towards addressing the estimated annual overdraft.  The full study can be assessed here.

New House Speaker Elected

As expected, Congressman Paul Ryan was elected as the 54th Speaker of the House on Thursday.  The 45-year-old Wisconsin Republican first worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide in 1992, and won his House seat in 1998 at the age of 28.  Ryan replaces Ohio Congressman John Boehner, who is retiring after nearly five years as Speaker.

House Prepares to Debate Highway Bill

The House is preparing to spend a good part of next week debating the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act 0f 2015 (STRRA).  The bill would provide funding at current levels for six years, with very modest increases each year for inflation.  The bill protects funding for off-system bridges and provides additional funding for locally-owned bridges on the federal highway system.  It also takes steps that will enable states to devote more money to address rural road fatalities.  Earlier this week, Congress approved a three-week extension of current funding, giving Congress until November 20, 2015 to finalize a multi-year transportation bill.  

Congress Enacts Two-Year Budget Deal

Today, the Senate took action to pass a two-year budget deal that was negotiated between House and Senate leadership and the White House.  The measure gained passage in the House earlier this week.  President Obama is expected to sign the deal when it reaches his desk.  Once adopted, the budget agreement provides the framework for the final FY 2016 appropriations bill, which must be negotiated before December 11, 2015.  RCRC is advocating for Congress to fully fund and permanently authorize the Federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes program as part of their FY 2016 appropriations funding measure.

The broad outlines of the deal are as follows:

• The negotiated agreement increases discretionary spending by $80 billion above sequester-level spending caps with the increase split evenly between defense and nondefense programs. Sequester relief of $50 billion would be applied to fiscal 2016 and $30 billion for fiscal 2017.
• The deal includes an additional $32 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations war account funding, split evenly between fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017. That means spending would rise by $66 billion above the caps for fiscal 2016 and $46 billion above the caps for fiscal 2017.
• Some of the offsets include selling off some of the Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserve and Spectrum auctions.
• A debt limit increase that would last until March 2017.

• Other components of the legislation include addressing a looming increase in Medicare Part B premiums for about a third of the program's beneficiaries and making legislative changes to extend the solvency of the Social Security disability insurance trust fund.

New Deadline for Positive Train Controls

The Senate and House have passed legislation to avert a shutdown of rail service.  Railroads faced a December 31, 2015 deadline to install Positive Train Control (PTC) technology on locomotives to automatically apply brakes when trains enter dangerous curves.  A 2008 law requires that PTC technology be installed by the end of this year; yet, railroads are far behind in installing the technology. 

Railroads have been notifying passengers and freight companies that all services would be curtailed if the December 31, 2015 deadline was not extended.  Senators from states with the most recent and devastating train fatalities, including Senators Boxer and Feinstein, were opposed to resolving the issue on the short-term highway bill.  But a motion by Senator Boxer to remove the PTC deadline extension was opposed by the bill sponsor, and the bill passed by voice vote.

Rep. Bishop Introduces Indian Recognition Bill

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced a proposal this week to permanently strip the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) ability to formally recognize Native American tribes as sovereign nations. The proposal from the Chairman is in direct competition with the BIA’s recently finalized rules for tribal acknowledgment.  

According to the BIA, an update to the federal acknowledgement process was needed because the old system had become too cumbersome and expensive, which, they argued, deterred many deserving tribes of the benefits and privlileges that come with federal recognition.  In July, the BIA finalized their new federal acknowledgement rules after two-years of hearings, public comment periods, and discussions within the agency.  The newly implemented regulations limit the amount of time that it should take to obtain full acknowledgement status to about five years.  Additionally, the final rulemaking addressed some of the concerns highlighted by RCRC and other local government entities, in that tribes can no longer re-petition for acknowledgement after a negative finding and the overall proceeding is more open to local government entities impacted by BIA’s decisions.

RCRC’s letters addressing Federal Acknowledgement and Appeal can be accessed here.

Chairman Bishop’s bill would seek to replace the new acknowledgment rules as well as strip the agency of the power to acknowledge Native tribes. Under the proposal, the BIA would become a research institution that would inform the congressional committees of jurisdiction of the historical findings associated with those tribes seeking acknowledgment.  Those committees would then vote for or against acknowledgment, and then send the recommendation to the full House and Senate for passage.  The President would also have to sign the legislation into law.  A contentious hearing ensued on Wednesday between Republicans and Democrats, and the hearing’s sole witness, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, over whether Congress is better suited than the BIA to make these types of determinations.  Another hearing will be scheduled to garner the input of the Native American community.  No date has been set.   

BULLETIN BOARD

CDFA Accepting Proposals for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Click here

Final Economically Distressed Area Instructions and Mapping Tool Released

Click here

OPR Announces General Plan Guidelines Public Meetings

Click here

Local Government Commission Posts Updated Ahwahnee Water Principles

Click here

State Water Board Schedules Public Comment Meetings on Proposed Water Measurement Regulations

Click here

REGULATORY UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to submit comments on regulatory matters to state and federal regulatory bodies, and to provide a copy to RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.  Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of regulations impacting California’s rural counties. 

Draft Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy.  Mandated by Senate Bill 605 (Lara), establishes strategies to reduce emissions from short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon and methane.  Agency: California Air Resources Board Status: Draft published for public comment, comment period ends October 30, 2015.  Workshops scheduled in three locations: Sacramento, Diamond Bar, and Fresno.  Draft Strategy and related documents can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments: Click here  RCRC Advocate: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org

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: RCRC is seeking member county input.  RCRC Advocates: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org and Mary Pitto mpitto@rcrcnet.org.