AM1600 KUBA News Briefs

by Chris Gilbert – KUBA News Director

FROM DROUGHT TO WILD FIRES – As the drought continues, the prospect of another massive wildfire in California is looming this summer and fall. Yuba/Sutter’s congressional representative, John Garamendi, is one of the bipartisan supporters of legislation that would treat such events like other natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Garamendi says funding would come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency instead of the Forest Service budget. He says using budget money for what are considered disastrous fires is taking away money from important Forest Service maintenance projects, including clearing work that helps prevent such fires. From 1995 to 2014, firefighting increased from 16 percent of the Forest Service budget to 42 percent. During the past 30 years, the average wildfire season has increased by another 70 days or so.

WATER STORAGE STREAMLINE REJECTED – A bill designed to speed up the process for getting a water storage project approved has been rejected by an Assembly committee. It was introduced last month by Yuba/Sutter’s recently-elected new Assembly representative, former Sutter County Supervisor James Gallagher. He says the measure does not circumvent a full environmental review, but streamlines litigation that can indefinitely delay construction. He says the bill would make it harder to obtain a court injunction to immediately halt a project, with lawsuits resolved in nine months. Gallagher says last year the legislature passed a bill to streamline the environmental review process for the new Sacramento Kings arena and wonders why that can’t be applied to projects that benefit the entire state. He has asked for reconsideration of the bill.