In the News
Plastic polarization
by Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang
PLASTIC CRAZE — Negotiators from around the world are descending on Canada's capital city this week as more than 4,000 people gather for what feels like make-or-break U.N. talks to complete a global agreement to tackle plastic pollution. Ottawa is playing host to the fourth of five planned rounds of negotiations intended to result in an agreement by year's end to significantly slash waste that is clogging waterways and damaging biodiversity all over the planet. The first three rounds have … Continue Reading
April 19, 2024
House leaders block LNG amendment to spending package
House Republicans failed in their latest attempt to roll back a Biden administration pause on liquefied natural gas export permits as the chamber readies a package of foreign aid bills. Late Thursday, the House Rules Committee teed up for floor consideration legislation that would send more than $60 billion to Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia. Action could come as soon as Friday. In an unusual maneuver, all four Democrats voted in favor of the rule setting up debate and amendments, … Continue Reading
April 19, 2024
500,000 salmon introduced to Klamath River, 1.75 million more on the way
by Jackson Guilfoil
This week, roughly 500,000 young salmon were released into the Klamath River, with most of them headed straight for the Pacific Ocean until migratory patterns bring them back for spawning season. Tuesday saw the release of about 90,000 coho salmon - a threatened species - which reside in rivers for around a year before migrating, precipitating Wednesday’s 400,000 Chinook salmon, which go straight to the ocean. In May, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will introduce another 1.75 … Continue Reading
April 18, 2024
Democrats Seek Permitting Pause on New Petrochemical Facilities
by Kellie Lunney
Congressional Democrats are seeking a temporary pause on the permitting of new and expanded petrochemical facilities that produce plastic or convert it into other products such as fuel and feedstock, under bicameral legislation slated for introduction on Thursday. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.) and Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), aims to improve protections for poor and minority communities where many petrochemical facilities are located. It would direct the Environmental … Continue Reading
April 17, 2024
Western lawmakers want $550M for water recycling
by Jennifer Yachnin
Major water recycling and reuse projects could see a boost from federal funds under new legislation introduced by a quartet of Western Democrats. California Democratic Reps. Grace Napolitano and Jared Huffman on Tuesday introduced H.R. 7990, the "Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization and Investment Act of 2024." The bill, co-authored by Nevada Rep. Susie Lee (D) and Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, would extend a program first … Continue Reading
April 17, 2024
Biden Urged to Examine Oil, Gas Influence in Plastics Talks
by Kellie Lunney
The Biden administration is coming under pressure from congressional Democrats to ramp up scrutiny of the petrochemical industry’s lobbying at global environmental conferences. “Deep inequities in power and access play out in these negotiations,” favoring chemical and fossil fuel representatives over smaller member states vulnerable to climate change and could “obstruct meaningful progress,” a group of lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden and UN officials in an April 16 letter. Senate … Continue Reading
April 16, 2024
Fortuna Senior Center receives federal funding boost
by Mary Bullwinkel
The Fortuna Senior Center will be receiving close to $1 million in federal funding, money which was included in the congressional spending package approved late last month. Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) was successful in getting included in that package, more than $10 million for 15 projects in Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin Counties. The money for the Fortuna Senior Center is one of four Humboldt County projects. Combined, the Humboldt County projects … Continue Reading
April 16, 2024
Dems fume as committee approves Republican wildlife bill
by GARRETT DOWNS, SCOTT STREATER
The House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday cleared a GOP-only wildlife conservation bill along party lines 21-17, over fierce objections from Democrats who derided the measure as a sham. H.R. 7408, the "America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act," from Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), is a Republican alternative challenging the bipartisan “Recovering America’s Wildlife Act," which has been in the mix for years but failed to become law. While the two bills share the … Continue Reading
April 14, 2024
Enraged Democrats mull bailout for GOP's foreign aid package
by Andrew Solender
House Democrats were incensed at the Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid plan House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out on Monday — but they are not ruling out saving it if necessary. Why it matters: Several Republican hardliners who are opposed to Ukraine aid and irked by a lack of border security language have not ruled out sabotaging a key procedural vote that typically passes along party lines. "I have a hard time believing we're going to give something to Ukraine without doing our … Continue Reading
April 12, 2024
House approves sea turtle, beach nourishment bills
by Manuel Quiñones
The House passed legislation Thursday to protect sea turtles, encourage energy projects and facilitate beach rebuilding efforts in North Carolina. H.R. 524, from Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), would aid sand replenishment in North Carolina's Wrightsville Beach. The legislation would affect an administration decision against the Army Corps of Engineers taking sand from a nearby inlet. It passed by voice vote. "Wrightsville Beach, which is in my district, serves as one of North Carolina's most … Continue Reading
April 11, 2024
California salmon season closed for second year in a row
by Sage Alexander
Recreational and commercial salmon fishing in the ocean will be closed again this year in California. The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted unanimously to close the season in the state Wednesday, citing low counts of salmon. The complete closure is just the fourth in California’s history. In a release, the council said that ocean salmon fisheries in California and parts of Oregon are limited by low abundance of Klamath River and Sacramento River fall Chinook — higher than last year but … Continue Reading
April 04, 2024
California unveils research into ‘floating solar’ project over major canal
by NATALIE HANSON
Canals in California may soon feature a new look — solar panel canopies, designed to stop evaporation and soak up the sun's rays, created under a new project funded with help from the federal government to boost green energy infrastructure. Governor Gavin Newsom joined staff from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday to highlight a new “solar-over-canal” project along one of the state’s primary aqueducts. The pilot project proposes placing a solar canopy to “float” over a major waterway … Continue Reading
April 04, 2024
House GOP Considering Requiring LNG Approvals in Ukraine Aid
by Ari Natter, Erik Wasson, and Billy House
Republican House leadership is considering including a provision in a potential aid package for Ukraine that would require the Biden administration to approve some liquefied natural gas export projects, according to people familiar with the matter. The wording, which has yet to be finalized, could set a threshold that effectively requires some LNG export projects that are awaiting approval by the Department of Energy to be green-lighted, one of the people said. The situation remains fluid … Continue Reading
April 02, 2024
Marin-area projects slated for $4.75M in federal earmarks
by RICHARD HALSTEAD
Projects benefiting Marin County will receive $4.75 million in federal earmarks as a result of the congressional appropriations bill for 2024. “It was a hard battle to get here,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat who lives in San Rafael. “After months of failing to pass their extreme appropriations bills, Republicans finally accepted help from House Democrats to create a sensible funding bill and pass it through the House, bringing us one step closer to ending their constant whiplash of … Continue Reading
April 02, 2024
The agency vexing Biden on climate
by James Bikales
The Export-Import Bank is considering putting billions of dollars behind two massive foreign gas projects as the independent agency finds itself increasingly at odds with the Biden administration on climate. EXIM FACES CLIMATE TEST: The Export-Import Bank has increasingly become a thorn in the side of the Biden administration on climate, our Zack Colman reports this morning. As an independent agency operating outside of the White House’s decision-making process, ExIm has defied the … Continue Reading
April 01, 2024
Johnson’s natural gas-for-Ukraine gamble might not pay off
by Jordain Carney and Anthony Adragna
GAS GAMBLE, PT. 2: WHAT DEMS ARE THINKING As explained earlier, Johnson’s likely going to need widespread Democratic backing to pass a foreign aid package rather than anything approaching unanimity from his own conference. Bringing in the energy provisions risks that support. But so far, Democratic leaders aren’t killing the idea. For those just tuning in: Only nine House Democrats supported a bill in February that would have overridden Biden and unpaused liquefied natural gas exports. Even … Continue Reading
March 29, 2024
Congressman Huffman, Gipson address strategic plans for Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind project
by Adelmi Ruiz
U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman, Assemblymember Mike Gipson, along with local lawmakers, held a press conference on Friday to discuss the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project, which aims to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by the year 2030 and 110+ GW of offshore wind by 2050. "In some ways, we are creating an entirely new industry and we just had a very important kind of strategic conversation about what that entails; how we're going to get from here … Continue Reading
March 27, 2024
Jared Huffman introduces bill to incentivize sharing information with tribes
by Sage Alexander
Billed as a step towards addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis, U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Adam Schiff introduced legislation Tuesday that would incentivize notification of restraining orders between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement. “The tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People is an epidemic, and jurisdictional red tape and communication breakdowns fuel this crisis. Tribes in my district have been putting in the hard work to protect their people and … Continue Reading
March 26, 2024
Legislation Address Crisis of Missing & Murdered Indigenous People, Promote Communication Between Tribal & State/Local Law Enforcement
by Native Health Desk
Legislation has been introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) on tribal lands by encouraging record sharing between tribal and state/local law enforcement. The legislation, entitled the Tribal Community Protection Act, is aimed at addressing the complicated jurisdictional overlaps between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies that exacerbate the MMIP crisis. The … Continue Reading
March 25, 2024
Over $600,000 of federal funds secured for Petaluma Emergency Operations Center
by Ezra Wallach
Two local projects will receive a combined total of more than $1 million in federal funding allocated by the US House of Representatives appropriations bills. On March 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the six final 2024 appropriations bills. Congressman Jared Huffman secured a total of $1,274,390 in Community Project Funding, half of which will go to the City of Petaluma, and the other half of which will go toward the Blue Lake Rancheria. The funding going to Petaluma will be … Continue Reading