In the News
Haaland: No plan 'right now' for permanent drill leasing ban
by Rachel Frazin
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told lawmakers on Wednesday that there is not currently a plan to permanently ban new drilling leases on public lands and waters. Haaland, during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, also reiterated that the administration's assessment of oil and gas drilling on public lands and oceans would be released in "early summer." "Gas and oil production will continue well into the future," Haaland said. "I don't think there is a plan right now for a permanent … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Lawmakers consider new plastic tax to aid oceans
by Rob Hotakainen
The House Natural Resources Committee yesterday moved toward passing a sweeping ocean bill that would impose a new 5-cent excise tax on virgin plastic used to manufacture single-use products. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the panel's chairman, said his bill, H.R. 3764, the "Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2021," would help raise money for ocean conservation projects. Under Grijalva's bill, tax revenues would go to a new Virgin Plastic Trust Fund, with half of it reserved for the … Continue Reading
June 18, 2021
SMART gets money for crucial Healdsburg bridge, but lawsuits blocking construction drag on
by Andrew Graham
With a budget line in Washington, Rep. Jared Huffman has opened a pathway for SMART to fully fund the replacement of an aging railroad bridge over the Russian River, a key impediment to the line reaching Healdsburg. The tentative breakthrough on funding comes amid a prolonged stall in work on the rail system's extension north of Santa Rosa, where funding is tied up in a lawsuit now before the state Supreme Court. The lawsuit has delayed expansion of the commuter rail system, once slated to … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Rep. Huffman praises FERC decision to move on Klamath dam removal
by Riley Carroll
KLAMATH, Calif. - Congressman Jared Huffman applauded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision Thursday to allow the Klamath River dam removal project to go forward, clearing the way for a massive effort to restore struggling salmon runs vital for tribal and coastal communities, Huffam said. FERC approved PacifiCorp, the non-profit Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and the states of California and Oregon's application to transfer the utility's hydropower license to the nonprofit … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
Huffman Bill would protect and restore carbon-sequestering ecosystems, ocean, coastal ecosystems key in solving climate crisis
by Willits News
Last week, Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA), Chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, introduced the Blue Carbon Protection Act to help protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems in the United States. "As communities grapple with the escalating impacts of climate change, it's becoming increasingly important we harness natural solutions to sequester carbon emissions driving this crisis," said Rep. Huffman. "Blue carbon ecosystems have proven to be … Continue Reading
June 16, 2021
Progressives Firm on Climate Infrastructure
by Kellie Lunney, Zachary Sherwood
Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said they would not support infrastructure legislation that does not include robust policy addressing climate change and galvanizing a clean energy transition, Kellie Lunney reports. "If there is no climate, there is no deal," said Merkley, repeating what is fast becoming many Democrats' catch-phrase on an infrastructure package, during a press conference yesterday. Merkley is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Interior-Environment … Continue Reading
June 11, 2021
Safe and ethical seafood on the menu this Congress
by Dana Honn
As a chef who has participated in several international fisheries gatherings, I've witnessed firsthand that the U.S. has some of the best-managed and most bountiful fisheries on the planet. Our landmark fisheries conservation law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, is a model in how it has helped us to rebuild and sustainably manage dozens of our national fisheries that just decades ago were on the brink of collapse. Likewise, it has allowed us to maintain control over our maritime boundaries, without … Continue Reading
June 10, 2021
The INVEST in America Act of 2021 Is a Major Step Forward for Active Transportation
by Patricia Brooks
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) passed the $547 billion INVEST in America Act of 2021, which includes game-changing provisions for trails, sidewalks and bike lanes across the country. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), the nation's largest trails and active transportation advocacy organization, commends the committee's leadership in putting forth legislation that provides a … Continue Reading
June 09, 2021
Lytton Tribe and Windsor end negotiations over wastewater treatment
by Andrew Graham, Kathleen Coates
Negotiations between the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians and Windsor over wastewater treatment from the tribe's residential development have collapsed, and the tribe is now poised to construct a sewage treatment plant on its land abutting a residential neighborhood on the west side of town. The breakdown in talks and the tribe's new plan is a major setback in Windsor after a publicized deal was ratified 5-0 by the town council in May 2020. That agreement would have had the tribe paying the town … Continue Reading
June 09, 2021
Advocates, lawmakers demand response to ocean dumps
by E. A. Crunden
House lawmakers are expressing concern about chemicals dumped offshore and are seeking legislative and regulatory solutions. During a subcommittee hearing yesterday on legacy DDT dumping off the coast of Southern California, House Natural Resources Committee members queried local officials and experts on the extent of the damage and potential solutions. Held on World Oceans Day, the hearing highlighted the limitations that regulators at the local and state levels have faced in addressing … Continue Reading
June 07, 2021
San Rafael dredging project gets $6.75M earmark
by Lorenzo Morotti
San Rafael Creek could be dredged - at least in part - next summer. The Biden administration's proposed budget sets aside $6.75 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin working on the $13 million project. The budget must be approved by congressional committees and is expected to be finalized in October, according to the city. Due to years of neglect and minimal funding, the creek has not been fully dredged since about 2003. It was partially dredged in 2011, but storms have … Continue Reading
June 02, 2021
Biden to Suspend Trump’s Oil Leases in Arctic
by Zachary Sherwood
The Biden administration is suspending Arctic refuge drilling rights that were sold in the final days of Donald Trump's presidency, dealing a victory to environmentalists who have argued for decades against oil development in the remote, wild region of Alaska. Under an Interior Department order issued yesterday, the agency is temporarily halting action on nine leases spanning more than 400,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, while it conducts a fresh environmental analysis of … Continue Reading
May 28, 2021
A 'Way of Life at Risk': A Yurok Tribal Member's Congressional Testimony
by ELAINE WEINREB
The catastrophic drought that is striking the West seems to have gotten the attention of Congress.On May 25, North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman chaired a virtual bipartisan hearing on the status of drought conditions in an area that extends from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Northwest. Huffman is no stranger to environmental issues, being a member of several congressional committees and subcommittees that supervise federal water projects, fisheries management, coastal zone and oceans policy, and … Continue Reading
May 27, 2021
Biden admin urges WTO crackdown on industry's slave labor
by Rob Hotakainen
The Biden administration asked the World Trade Organization yesterday to curb subsidies for fishing vessels linked to the use of slave labor. "Forced labor harms the lives and well-being of fishers and workers around the world and it must be eliminated," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, adding that the administration will fight the use of slave labor "wherever it occurs." The focus on the use of slaves to produce seafood has grown in recent years, with the U.S. importing nearly … Continue Reading
May 25, 2021
Rep. Huffman introduces water infrastructure bill that could funnel over $1 billion to water infrastructure in the west
by Lana Cohen
LITTLE RIVER, 5/25/21 - In a bid to revamp the western United State's water system, Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) introduced a massive water bill on Thursday, May 20. The bill, called FUTURE Western Water Infrastructure and Drought Resiliency Act, would allocate over $1 billion of federal money, largely from the reclamation fund, to update infrastructure, protect and restore ecosystems, and upgrade water technology and data gathering systems. "I've been doing my best to try … Continue Reading
May 25, 2021
Congress Seeks Long-Term Solutions for Drought Crippling Western US
by Samantha Hawkins
WASHINGTON (CN) - A crippling drought - largely connected to climate change - is gripping the Western United States, affecting over 70 million people and around 40% of the U.S. Large wildfires have already begun in Arizona, California and New Mexico. Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam, has sunk to its lowest level since it was filled, and fish disease and death rates are skyrocketing for the Yurok Tribe in the Klamath River Basin. Farmers, scientists, tribal officials, … Continue Reading
May 24, 2021
Hearing to survey Western drought, weigh responses
by Jeremy P. Jacobs
House lawmakers tomorrow will review the drought crisis unfolding across the American West. Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife Chair Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) will also likely discuss recently introduced water infrastructure and drought legislation. "As the country starts to rebuild from the pandemic," Huffman said in a statement last week, "we are facing another year of devastating droughts in the West." Huffman said, "We cannot keep lurching from one crisis to the … Continue Reading
May 20, 2021
Rep. Huffman introduces proposal to improve water infrastructure
by CARLOS HOLGUIN
WASHINGTON, D.C - North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman introduced the FUTURE Western Water Infrastructure and Drought Resiliency Act, a proposal to develop resilient water infrastructure and assist in meeting the drinking water needs of underserved areas. If passed the proposal would include $750 million for multi-benefit water storage projects, drought planning efforts aimed at sustaining fisheries and water education activities. The full press release can be read below Washington, D.C. - … Continue Reading
May 20, 2021
Conservationists Celebrate Federal Introduction of 'Extinction Prevention Act'
by Andrea Germanoshttps://ceamend.house.gov/images/structure/calendar-over.png
A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday reintroduced bicameral legislation to help stem the planetary biodiversity crisis. Entitled the Extinction Prevention Act of 2021 and led by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the legislation (pdf) would fund conservation efforts for what the lawmakers call "less charismatic" but highly imperiled wildlife species. "Each year hundreds of endangered species get no money for recovery and slip further towards … Continue Reading
May 19, 2021
Lawmakers Push Biden to End Public Financing for 'Dangerous' Fossil Fuel Projects Overseas
by Jessica Corbett
As representatives from across the U.S. government testified Wednesday at a House hearing on global climate finance, 13 lawmakers led by Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Earl Blumenauer sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to direct federal agencies to "end all new public financing support for fossil fuel projects overseas within 90 days." The letter (pdf) comes after Biden marked Earth Day last month with a Leaders Summit on Climate, during which he announced an International Climate Finance Plan … Continue Reading