This week in California ag regulation
One major item this week: the State Water Board’s final draft plan for the Bay-Delta watershed, which touches water rights for farms across the Sacramento River and Delta system.
State Water Board releases final draft Bay-Delta plan, sets October hearing
The board’s final draft update to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed would require water right holders to meet environmental standards through either a voluntary pathway (the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program) or a regulatory pathway. The proposal would facilitate $2.9 billion in restoration actions and restore more than 27,000 acres of aquatic habitat, with the board set to consider adoption at a public hearing Oct. 28-29.
Key date: Sep. 18: Written comments on the proposed Bay-Delta Plan amendments are due.