Free Republic

Regulations: The Clean Water Act is being rewritten to give a government bureaucracy the power to regulate every body of water from the Mississippi River to a rain-flooded field. The first casualty may be American coal. With all the concern for the harm that cap-and-trade and regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant might do to the American economy and free markets, the Environmental Protection Agency is doing quite enough damage with an existing law on the books — the Clean Water Act. Congress plans to revise it to make it an even more powerful bludgeon against industry, energy producers and...

Environmentalism: Sen. Dianne Feinstein votes to deny water to California's drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. Farmers, families and food are being held hostage to an endangered fish called the delta smelt. (snip) The Senate rejected the amendment by a largely party-line 61-36 margin, with Feinstein opposing the restoration of water deliveries to farmers. The California senator claimed she was blindsided by the amendment to the bill she was managing in the Senate, bizarrely comparing the move to a "Pearl Harbor." "No one from California has called, written or indicated they wanted this on the calendar," Feinstein protested.

Delta smelts: Preferred over humans. Environmentalism: Sen. Dianne Feinstein votes to deny water to California's drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. Farmers, families and food are being held hostage to an endangered fish called the delta smelt.There was a time when the San Joaquin Valley was the most productive agricultural region in the world. It was a large part of what made the Golden State golden.Now it's a place where farmers no longer farm, but instead line up at food banks to feed the families of those who once fed the rest of the country and a good chunk of the...

Here we go again. I was watching Sean Hannity tonight (9/17/2009), and have been following loosely the situation in the San Joaquin Valley of California with their water crisis over the small Delta Smelt minnow and its endangered species listing. The Farmers have water rights to that water. There is no legal water rights for that water for a minnow over the farmers. There is only a manufactured judicial legal decision by liberal judges based on junk science and the whims of administrators and bureaucrats that create these incidents based on the Endangered Species Act and a rabid environmental...

Los Angeles nears water rationing By Steve Gorman – LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – With a recent flurry of winter storms doing little to dampen California's latest drought, the nation's biggest public utility voted on Tuesday to impose water rationing in Los Angeles for the first time in nearly two decades. Under the plan adopted in principle by the governing board of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, homes and businesses would pay a penalty rate -- nearly double normal prices -- for any water they use in excess of a reduced monthly allowance. The five-member board plans to formally...

by Wayne Lusvardi - Pasadena Sub Rosa An anonymous apparent insider to the backstage dealings of California's water crisis has alerted this blog to the real possibility that imported water could be shut off soon to Southern California's cities if the cities have the wrong type of landscaping (i.e., water thirsty home gardens). This shut off scenario could hit Southern California cities out of nowhere much like the world-wide financial meltdown appeared nearly overnight. And like the financial meltdown, it would be wise to listen to those who are furtively trying to give us an early warning signal of this...

A decades old water fight with the federal government came to an end for the Ouray City Council Monday when it voted to remove objections to a settlement for reserved water rights at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The fight to protect those rights has been going on “for years and years,” . “The federal government tried to wipe out all water rights.” A tentative agreement was reached in June of last year on the amount of water that should flow through the national park and was formally decreed by the Gunnison Water Court on Dec. 31. The...

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens is about to make a killing by selling water he doesn’t own. As he does it, it will be praised as a planet-friendly wind project. The basic story amounts to this: Pickens, thanks to favors from state lawmakers whose campaigns he funded, has created a new government whose only voters are two of his employers; this has empowered Pickens to more cheaply pump water from an aquifer and, by use of eminent domain, seize land across 11 counties in order to pipe the water to Dallas. To win environmentalist approval of this hardly “sustainable”...

A judge awarded more than $4.2 million to a late Nevada rancher's estate after finding that the U.S. Forest Service engaged in an unconstitutional "taking" of water rights out of hostility to the rancher, a property rights activist. The decision ... involved the Fifth Amendment clause against private property being taken for public use without just compensation. The rancher, Wayne Hage, bought the sprawling Pine Creek Ranch in central Nevada in 1978. the taking occurred when the Forest Service made it impossible for Hage to maintain irrigation ditches, which deprived the ranch of water and made it unviable. The government...

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do those things to other people and I require the same of them."—John Wayne, The Shootist. A tenacious group of patriotic ranchers way out West has just won a major victory for property owners nationwide. In Hage v United States, a Claims Court ruled that the federal government may not use environmentalist regulations and bullying tactics to refuse citizens use of their own land without providing them with just compensation. And it’s a story as inspiring as it is instructive. The Hage...

Issue: Having been slapped down by the U. S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that the words “navigable waters” in the Clean Water Act limited federal agencies to regulation of navigable waters only. Democrats and liberal Republicans in Congress are striking back. They are attempting to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 (HR2421 and S1870) that would amend the 1972 Clean Water Act and replace the words “navigable waters” with “waters of the United States.” Further, it defines "waters of the United States" with such breathtaking scope that federal agencies would be required to regulate use of every square...

The Plan to Disappear Canada 'Deep integration' comes out of the shadows. By Murray Dobbin, Vancouver If the machinations going on in this country regarding so-called "deep integration" were instead a communist conspiracy to take over the country (you will, of course, have to try hard to imagine this) the news media would be blaring the story. Pundits would pontificate, editorialists would erupt, security forces would be unleashed. Instead, a virtual conspiracy to make the country disappear through assimilation into the U.S. gets barely a mention.But news of the scheme -- formally called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North...

Family farmers who were wrongfully required to pay a state water rights fee could get some of their money back. After a four-year legal battle, the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento decided in favor of farmers and ranchers who protested imposition of a new and unconstitutional state fee that resulted in a total collection of more than $20 million. Water rights fees were levied on about 7,000 water rights holders beginning in 2004. The court agreed with the California Farm Bureau Federation that those fees were invalid and unconstitutional. Refund checks, however, aren't in the mail to those...

Water in the western United States can be more valuable than gold and is often fought over more than property lines and politics. "Water can be a confusing issue, but it all stems from the fact that in the West, water is scarce," Pokrandt said. "Water law is really the law of scarcity. This is a chance for people to get their most basic questions answered." A study to be completed next week examines the possibility of diverting water from the Yampa River below Maybell for users on Colorado's Front Range. Such studies often raise more questions than they answer,...

ANZA - The Cahuilla Band of Indians has petitioned a U.S. federal judge to join a 55-year-old lawsuit over water rights to the Santa Margarita River system that runs from Anza to Oceanside. In filing suit in U.S. District Court in San Diego, tribal leaders want to strengthen the reservation's previously established legal right to water in the Anza Basin by having the court specify how much the tribe can take. The tribe also hopes its action will prompt Riverside County officials to put new development and well-drilling on hold in the area to prevent possible overdrafting of underground supplies....

From Julie Smithson : Wayne Hage is ill with cancer and both he and his entire family are in great need of your prayers. Not just a Nye County, Nevada, rancher, Wayne is also one of the greatest property rights warriors to ever live. He and his beloved wife, Helen, and children Wayne, Ruthe, Ramona, and Laura, along with his late wife, Jean, have fought long and hard, not only for their own property rights and freedom, but for everyone else's, as well. Please pray for this family! From Wayne's Daughter, via the Klamath Basin Crisis Web Site: May 2006...

For those interested, and following it, the printed version of, "The Stand at Klamath Falls", is now available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The subtitle reads, "How rural western farmers stood up against entrenched environmentalists and agencies of the Federal Government...and prevailed." You can find links to the Amazon and Barnes & Noble sites at the main site here: THE STAND AT KLAMATH FALLS I have also made the Adobe eBook version of the book available for free to all Freepers. Just go to the following site and download it direct...no cost, no obligation. FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD I...

Future of nation's rivers, wetlands hinges on 2 key cases. Samuel Alito will make his Supreme Court debut with a splash this week when the justices hear two cases that could determine the future of the Clean Water Act. The cases, both from Michigan and scheduled for hearing on Tuesday, could have an enormous impact. For property-rights advocates, an unfavorable ruling could spread the shadow of federal regulation over every tiny stream and rivulet in America, stifling development. Federal authority would extend to "virtually every body of water in the nation -- every brook and pond, every dry wash --...

Products based on NASA Earth observations and a new Internet-based decision tool are providing information to help land and water managers combat tamarisk (saltcedar), an invasive plant species damaging precious water supplies in the western United States. This decision tool, called the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS), is being used at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Institute of Invasive Species Science in Fort Collins, Colo. It is the result of combining USGS science and NASA Earth observations, software engineering and high- performance computing expertise. "The ISFS combines NASA satellite data with tens of thousands of field sampling measurements, which...

Despite ardent opposition to Gov. Rick Perry's Trans Texas Corridor transportation plan, the political arm of the Texas Farm Bureau has decided to endorse Perry's bid for re-election. "It's not just about the corridor. We will continue to oppose it, and will kill it if we can," farm bureau spokesman Gene Hall said Friday. "(But) the farm bureau is not a single-issue organization." Perry, the son of West Texas tenant farmers, has worked well with the farm bureau on other issues such as water rights and the government seizure of private property known as eminent domain, Hall said. Officially, the...

Representatives from the seven Colorado River states will take one last shot... If the states fail to come to an agreement, the best-case scenario has the Interior Department moving ahead and impose its own water-use guidelines on the states by the end of 2007. The worst-case scenario is a courtroom standoff that drags on for years, putting water supplies at risk if drought returns. "If we don't have a plan to address shortages and we get to shortages, then we have chaos,"... "That's not good for any state. I don't think there's an immediate risk ... but shame on us...

OXFORD, Miss. -- The state of Mississippi has sued Memphis for tapping into underground water formations to serve the Tennessee city's water wells. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 2 in U.S. District Court in Oxford, had been kept under seal until Thursday. The complaint asks the court to order Memphis to start obtaining a portion of its water from the Mississippi River, which would require Memphis to build a treatment plant costing millions. Unlike other water disputes in the Southeast that have involved the use of rivers, the Mississippi case asks for repayment for underground water resources "owned by, and subject...

Court brief seeks to include all basin well owners in case Two large carrot farms are pumping more water from their wells since suing a number of water districts over the districts' usage of the Antelope Valley groundwater basin, claim Los Angeles County attorneys in a brief filed in Riverside Superior Court. Because of the allegedly excessive pumping, water is being pulled out from the basin faster than the natural recharge rate, a dangerous condition that has contributed to ground subsidence around Lancaster, said Fred Pfaeffle, the county lawyer handling the case. "If you look carefully through the numbers in...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Attorneys for Alabama and Florida asked a federal judge Wednesday to permanently bar the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from implementing a deal that would let the Atlanta area suck more water from a key reservoir on the Chattahoochee River. The two states, which are downstream from Georgia, want U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre to prevent the federal agency from honoring its January 2003 agreement that would let the fast-growing metro area take as much as 50 percent more water from the corps-operated Lake Lanier, located northeast of Atlanta. The corps and the state of Georgia,...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Goodman the least of problems at recent mayors conference You've got to hand it to Oscar Goodman. Most mayors go to the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting and get lobbied by companies. Oscar, ever the clever one, used the meeting to let his kid's company lobby the mayors. What's more, face time with a national collection of muckety-mucks who control purse strings usually doesn't come as cheap as the price of a rented room and a few drinks. In fact, it's not Las Vegans who should be upset with Oscar....

<p>TAYLORSVILLE - Jana and Ian McDowell think of themselves as law-abiding citizens who follow the advice of state officials.</p> <p>Their conscientiousness has cost them $25,000 and four years of strife. They blame the California Department of Water Resources.</p> <p>At the center of the issue is a ditch on the McDowells' Plumas County property and advice from state officials about who has rights to the water that flows through it.</p>

On January 29, 2002, the United States Court of Federal Claims (Court) issued its Final Opinion and Finding of Fact in the property phase of Hage v U.S. This litigation was initiated by the government's argument that Plaintiff could not access the forage and water on lands then administered by the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) without a grazing permit. The government's argument was premised on its claim that the grazing lands in question were "public lands"; that the government owned these lands, and therefore, the waters arising on those lands. According to...

The Heinz-Kerry Water Ballet Tales of the "Botoxed Brahmin" and his bride February 05, 2004, 9:08 a.m. By Jim Geraghty Teresa Heinz, wife of Democratic frontrunner John Kerry, is one of the country's most generous and high-profile environmental philanthropists. She's given hundreds of millions of dollars to green activist groups, research centers, and nongovernmental organizations. But even eight-figure checks can't guarantee that a landowner won't have environmental fights in her own backyard. Literally, in the case of Heinz. Back in 1999, the lawn of Kentucky bluegrass surrounding Heinz's ski lodge in Sun Valley, Idaho was drying out as the region...

Farmers and ranchers who hold water rights in California have been getting an unpleasant surprise in the mail. The Board of Equalization, on behalf of the State Water Resources Control Board, has sent notices to some 13,000 water rights holders telling them they owe a new fee. Payments for the new water right fees for fiscal year 2003-2004 are due on Feb. 9. In some cases these unexpected payment notices are for thousands of dollars, which has triggered calls to the California Farm Bureau Federation and to county Farm Bureau offices around the state. The annual fee for permitted or...

Dec 10, 2003 FARM SCENE: Much-Maligned Rice Farmers Now Key to California's Water Future By Seth Hettena Associated Press Writer WILLIAMS, Calif. (AP) - The rumble of Don Bransford's pickup truck rousts egrets and blue herons, scattering them above gold and green rice fields drying in the afternoon heat of harvest time in the Sacramento Valley. The birds are among hundreds of species that have taken sanctuary in the marsh-like rice paddies of California, and Bransford, a third-generation rice farmer, says it's his duty to protect them. "I've got a very living environment on my farm," he said. "I don't...

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in the centuries old spat between Maryland and Virginia over use of the Potomac River, a case that could determine who controls the major source of water for the Washington region. Maryland argues that as owner of the river it can regulate use of the water and construction on the Virginia shoreline. But Virginia says prior agreements give it the right to build and draw water from the river without permission from its neighbor. Maryland's ownership of the Potomac, dating to a 1632 charter from Charles I, is not disputed. But Virginia claims that...

The risk of extinction for salmon in the Columbia River Basin has greatly diminished during the past three years, the federal government has concluded in its latest report on the status of threatened and endangered stocks The federal report said most salmon and steelhead runs have grown substantially since 2000 -- in some cases reaching the highest numbers since the completion of Bonneville Dam in 1938. The report said the large returns show that efforts led by the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect salmon are on track. Of the dozen salmon and steelhead stocks, the report said that all...

Portland-based Ecotrust hopes the campaign will sell a new way of thinking about the environment Upstairs in Wieden + Kennedy's Portland advertising offices, Spencer Beebe finishes what he calls his "half-hour elevator speech." It's about the complexities of saving salmon and preserving forests while building a healthy economy -- ideas long-discussed within the conservation community. But Beebe is in trouble: His audience isn't tracking. Not even Dan Wieden, whose agency created award-winning campaigns for Nike, Coca Cola and others. Wieden finally breaks in: "I'm just a simple ad guy. So you have to speak sort of monosyllabically and slowly." Then,...

GRANTS PASS - Environmentalists plan a lawsuit to force PacifiCorp to install fish screens to protect endangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake from being drawn into hydroelectric diversions. The Oregon Natural Resources Council has sent notice to PacifiCorp that it will file suit if the utility does not agree within 60 days to install fish screens on two diversion canals leading to powerhouses on Link River Dam, council attorney William Carpenter Jr. said Wednesday. The lawsuit would be filed in U.S. District Court in Medford. The group also notified Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who oversees the U.S. Fish & Wildlife...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- More water flowing down the Klamath and Trinity Rivers in Northern California is giving the Yurok Tribe and California state biologists hope they will not see a repeat of last year's massive salmon kill. The tribe, however, is moving ahead with a lawsuit against the federal government claiming authorities violated treaty obligations by allowing the deaths of 33,000 adult salmon in the lower Klamath last September. And the tribe is pressing for higher flows at other times of the year. "While we are not as concerned about the flows (in August and September), we do...

Sharon Votaw April 21, 2003 My husband and I bought some farmland in the California Delta over 30 years ago. This is prime agricultural land with deep, rich soils, ample water and a long growing season. In the beginning we would plant a crop; either beans or tomatoes or alfalfa, hay, wheat, corn, oats or barley. Then we hoped for favorable weather and a strong market. Farming has always been gambler’s choice. Some years were good and some years were lean, but we paid our bills and enjoyed life. Unbeknownst to us, in the early 1990’s the government again became...

At the end of a tumultuous week in the Klamath Reclamation Project, irrigation managers from the federal government and water users are focusing on what to do now. The week's events included a dramatic drop of inflows into Upper Klamath Lake and the announced shutdown of the project, a decision reversed within hours. The events focused attention on water use and the status of springs upstream of Upper Klamath Lake, which is the main reservoir for the project. "There is a whole list of things that could be hurting inflows, and ground water is one of them," he said, Jim...

Grant awarded, plan created to improve water sanctuaries in Santa Cruz County Jun 20 2003 12:00AM By By MICHAEL SEVILLE OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN Santa Cruz County has an immense concentration of watershed areas making up its world-class landscape. To help preserve and restore some of these water sanctuaries to their original state, the California Coastal Conservancy has awarded a $4.5 million grant to the county for environmental improvements including more than 100 watershed restoration projects. "The Integrated Watershed Plan represents the future of watershed management in California," Sam Schuchat, executive director of the California Coastal Conservancy, said. Also contributing to...

May 23, 2003Irrigation District To Release Water Regardless Of Consequences The Associated Press CARLSBAD — A water dispute among southeastern New Mexico farmers, environmentalists and federal agencies is brewing on the Pecos River. Carlsbad Irrigation District Manager Tom Davis plans to release water from Fort Sumner Reservoir next month, regardless of whether it's approved by federal officials. If Davis can't reach a compromise with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the release, he said there could be a standoff at the reservoir gates. He added that he hopes it doesn't come to that....

Water flows through one of the six new headgates on the A Canal this morning. Contractors opened the headgates today to begin priming the system, meeting a deadline set by the Bureau of Reclamation in order to allow irrigation to begin on schedule in the Klamath Project. Headgates open on schedule published April 1, 2003 By DYLAN DARLING Water began pouring through a new set of headgates on the A Canal today, marking a milestone in a complex construction project and the beginning of an uncertain irrigation season. Also entering service today is a high-tech fish screen to keep...

<p>A long-simmering dispute over unpaid bills bubbled over yesterday, with the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority threatening to shut off a key ingredient in Pittsburgh Brewing's beer -- the water.</p> <p>The city's largest and oldest brewery won a five-day reprieve from Common Pleas Court, but it's clear patience is running thin at the authority over debts dating back to 1996.</p>

One by one, the pieces of the puzzle that was this fall's massive salmon kill on the Klamath River are falling into place, and the picture that is emerging is not a flattering one for the Bush administration. In September, more than 33,000 endangered salmon perished in the shallow, warm waters of the 180-mile Klamath River. Government scientists said the fish succumbed to disease but were reluctant to agree with local tribes, fishermen and environmentalists who blamed the federal government's federal water-allocation plan - a plan that places an overwhelming priority on satisfying the irrigation needs of Klamath Basin farmers....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Colin Powell made a direct appeal Monday to Mexico, a U.N. Security Council member, to support the U.S. effort for a tough stand against Iraq by the United Nations. Officials from the two countries said Powell discussed the Iraq question at the State Department with visiting Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda. Mexico has remained noncommittal on Iraq as the Security Council weighs the possibility of one or two new resolutions on Iraq, along with a U.S. demand that it authorize the use of force if...

JOHNSONS -- The Klamath River here is much as it has been for decades. And that's the problem. Thrust into the limelight last year, the river enjoyed a glimpse of attention from the federal government. That is, according to some, the federal government recognized that there is in fact a lower river, and that farming around the river's headwaters, Upper Klamath Lake, isn't the whole equation. But once those farmers had their water cut off last year to ensure some for fish, protests and their savvy New York public relations firm quickly stole back the limelight. A Senate bill that...

Half Moon Bay farmer Aldo Giusti says he's given up farming a 100-acre field for lack of water. Water rights fight By Nicole A. Freeling-Half Moon Bay Review--Photos by Mark Jordan Since the Civil War, the fields surrounding the Johnston Ranch have been kept green in the summer by two old sets of wooden planks dropped into Arroyo Leon to form reservoirs. But this year, under an edict to protect endangered salmon, the dams remain open - and instead of leafy rows of mustard greens and brussels sprouts, there are acres of mostly unplanted dirt. The California Department of...

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) -- State officials have granted a permit to Klamath Irrigation District to use a powerful herbicide that keeps canals free of weeds but is toxic to fish. Environmentalists had challenged the district's right to use the herbicide acrolein without a permit. The district has been using acrolein without a permit for years but held off this year until one was granted. The Oregon Natural Resources Council last March filed a notice of intent to sue the district over use of acrolein. The district decided to apply for a permit to avoid a lawsuit. The permit was...

Farmers Oppose Call to Idle Land Agriculture: Tempers flare in Imperial Valley as a U.S. deadline nears to cut use of Colorado River water. "Fallowing is a four-letter word," a grower says.By TONY PERRY LATimes Staff Writer June 17 2002 WESTMORLAND, Calif. -- When U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) lectured the farmers of the Imperial Valley that they should let some of their fields go dry so their water can be sold to arid San Diego County, it was bound to be a controversial notion. But when she warned bluntly that the federal government might just take their water...

California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act of 2002by: John StewartEditors Note: The below text was received and represented as the discussion draft of the proposed wilderness bill being drafted by Senator Boxer. This bill is reported to be a "citizens initiative" and was developed by the California Wilderness Coalition. Maps of the proposed wilderness areas are available on the California Wilderness Coalition web site at: http://www.calwild.org DISCUSSION DRAFT 4/26/02A BILL To designate certain public lands as wilderness and certain rivers as wild and scenic rivers in the State of California, to designate Salmon Restoration Areas, to establish the Sacramento River...

The Klamath Bucket Brigade Reacts harshly to the Fishermen’s Association's Lawsuit (Lawsuit against Bureau of Reclamation could threaten user water supply) Report By J.J. JohnsonPublished 04. 26. 02 at 15:37 Sierra Time KLAMATH FALLS --   On April 24, 2002, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, EarthJustice, The Oregon Natural Resource Council, WaterWatch, The Klamath Forest Alliance, and several other environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Oakland asking for a temporary restraining order against the Bureau of Reclamation to shut off the irrigation water to the Klamath Project farmers for the month of May, or...

04/25/02 Commercial salmon fishermen and environmental groups filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., to make federal water managers in the Klamath Basin release more water into the Klamath River for salmon. The groups said the action, if successful, would not severely affect the amount of water available to farmers in the Klamath Project. Many of the farmers went without water last year because of federal Endangered Species Act restrictions. But Dan Keppen of the Klamath Water Users Association said farmers are concerned that a court injunction in the case could limit water to farms and set...