ACWA e-News for May 23, 2012

The California Special Districts Association, in coordination with ACWA and other special district groups, has submitted a formal response to a recent Orange County Grand Jury report that called for special districts in the county to be absorbed by other agencies, consolidated or privatized.

State Water Contractors got welcome news today when the Department of Water Resources announced it will deliver 65% of requested supplies this year, up from 60% estimated in April.

DWR actually downgraded its initial 60% supply forecast in November to 50% in February due to unusually dry conditions in the key winter months. However, a wet March and above-average reservoir storage boosted the allocation back up to 60% in April, and today’s increase to 65% is due to April’s wetter-than-usual weather.  

The ACWA Health Benefits Authority reported this week that it has received concurrence from more than 75% of its members to dissolve HBA and transfer its employee benefits programs to the ACWA/Joint Powers Insurance Authority.

HBA initiated the process earlier this year to transition its operations and health benefits programs into ACWA/JPIA to combine resources, reduce overall costs and improve operations.

The California Department of Fish and Game has filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over its national policy requiring removal of virtually all trees and shrubs on federal levees.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims the Corps failed to comply with the federal Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and federal Administrative Procedure Act when it adopted the policy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The Delta Stewardship Council will hold its first public review of the sixth and final staff draft of its Delta Plan at its meeting tomorrow, May 24, in West Sacramento.

The Little Hoover Commission has unanimously endorsed Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to reorganize state government, including a plan to fold the Delta Stewardship Council into the state's Natural Resources Agency.

The bipartisan commission voted 7-0 Tuesday to endorse Brown’s plan to replace five agencies with three, shuffling or eliminating some or all of the functions of several commissions and boards within the executive branch and folding the work of several departments into new or existing organizations.

The federal Endangered Species Act must be updated to work better for both species and people, writes House Natural Resources Committee Chair Doc Hastings in a Washington Post editorial May 18.

A documentary on the life of former California Gov. Pat Brown will air on public television stations in Sacramento and Los Angeles at 10 p.m. Monday, May 21. Additional airdates follow in markets throughout the state.

Water agencies have until July 2 to submit universal pre-applications for funding from the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund via the California Department of Public Health.

The details of Gov. Jerry Brown’s May Revise budget proposal and the Delta Stewardship Council’s sixth staff draft Delta Plan are highlighted in the latest ACWA News, now available online.

Other highlights this issue include:

An ACWA-led coalition committed to improving implementation of the Endangered Species Act offered specific ideas and suggestions for doing so in a letter submitted today to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.