In the News
California congressman urges closer consultation with tribes on offshore wind
by Claire Rush and Jennifer McDermott
A congressman who represents California’s north coast has sent a letter to federal regulators asking that they “urgently place” a senior official in the state to respond to tribal needs as wind power is developed offshore. U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman sent the letter as the U.S. offshore wind industry begins to take shape and as tribal communities in California and Oregon express frustration with what they say is a lack of consultation on proposals that affect culturally significant waters and … Continue Reading
May 08, 2024
Democrats seek probe of foreign mining on public lands
by Hannah Northey
House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva and a number of other Democrats are planning to ask Congress' watchdog to investigate the extent to which foreign-controlled companies are extracting minerals from public lands, and whether those entities are complying with U.S. environmental and human rights standards. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and five of his colleagues will ask the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday to probe how much is known about foreign investment in mining of … Continue Reading
May 08, 2024
Pipeline hearing hones in on safety, emissions concerns
by Andres Picon
A House subcommittee on Tuesday revisited concerns about pipeline safety and fossil fuel emissions as it works to add finishing touches to a bipartisan reauthorization bill for the nation’s pipeline regulator. The Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials met for its latest hearing on the “Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act,” H.R. 6494, which would renew safety programs at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials … Continue Reading
May 07, 2024
Nearly 75 Democratic lawmakers support Biden's LNG pause
Nearly 75 U.S. lawmakers from President Joe Biden's Democratic party on Tuesday praised his pause on approvals of exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, saying it would protect Americans from pollution and potential higher prices. Senators Jeffrey Merkley, Edward Markey and Representative Jared Huffman spearheaded a letter to Biden saying the pause allows the government to study whether the additional exports could saddle U.S. households and businesses with higher natural gas bills, … Continue Reading
May 07, 2024
Federal judge: Russian River dam releases are violating Endangered Species Act
by Andrew Graham
A federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has violated the Endangered Species Act by disturbing salmon populations through flood-control releases from Coyote Valley Dam into the Russian River. Those releases, which relieve pressure upstream from the 66-year-old dam during rainy months, kick up sediment from the bottom of Lake Mendocino, a reservoir that serves as critical water storage for Sonoma County. The sediment increases turbidity in the river that harms and … Continue Reading
May 01, 2024
House approves gray wolf, mining and public land bills
by Scott Streater, Michael Doyle, Hannah Northey
The House on Tuesday passed several Republican-led natural resources bills amid sometimes fierce debate, underscoring the divide between the parties on public lands and endangered species. The bills, which passed mostly along party lines, seek to overturn a new Bureau of Land Management rule elevating conservation as a formal use, delist the gray wolf in the lower 48 states and reverse a mining ban on sensitive federal lands in Minnesota. The Republican-led House also approved H.R. 615, … Continue Reading
May 01, 2024
House GOP Passes Bills That Attack Environmental Protections, Benefit Oil And Mining Companies
by Chris D’Angelo
Never missing an opportunity to make life easier for extractive industries, House Republicans passed a suite of bills this week to boost development and dismantle environmental protections across millions of acres of federal land. The bills stand little chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but they give GOP industry allies something to tout heading into the 2024 elections. And since several of the measures closely mirror priority actions found in Project 2025, the 920-page … Continue Reading
April 29, 2024
Trout Unlimited Wins Award for California Partnership Uniting Landowners to Save Coho Salmon
A novel Trout Unlimited partnership to help save California’s southernmost coho salmon from extinction has won national recognition from NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit presented the Partnership in the Spotlight Award to Trout Unlimited’s North Coast Coho Project on the banks of a salmon stream just north of San Francisco. “From developing and implementing projects to improve stream complexity to your work removing fish barriers, it is all making a big … Continue Reading
April 27, 2024
Bay Area lawmakers are trying to lure insurance companies back to California
Bay Area congressional representatives hope to lure property insurance companies back to California with legislation that could reduce their losses by giving property owners financial incentives to improve emergency preparedness. U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, announced bipartisan legislation on Thursday that would establish a grant program and offer tax breaks to property owners who take measures to fortify their property against fire and other disaster threats. The legislation was … Continue Reading
April 26, 2024
Acting US Labor Secretary lays out new farmworker protection rules at Santa Rosa vineyard
by Susan Wood
U.S. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su returned to her home state Friday to lay out new federal labor standards designed to protect farmworkers, particularly those operating under the H-2A program. The H-2A program allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers when it’s determined there’s a lack of able, willing and qualified workers. In addressing a crowd of more than 100 people, including dignitaries such as U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, Su paid homage to the setting, choosing … Continue Reading
April 25, 2024
Wine Country fire threat spreads to insurance coverage
by Susan Wood
Two North Bay congressmen said Thursday they don’t want homeowners and renters coping with the concern of wildfires and balking insurance companies to get burned twice. That’s why U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, held a press conference Thursday, using Coffey Park as a symbolic backdrop to discuss disaster resilience legislation introduced at the end of last month. The lawmakers gathered with a group that included local government officials and real … Continue Reading
April 23, 2024
California lawmakers request disaster declaration after state's second straight salmon season cancelation
by Nathan Strout
More than 20 federal lawmakers from California have called on the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to declare a fishery disaster following the closure of the state’s salmon season for the second consecutive year. Earlier this month, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to close the 2024 commercial Chinook salmon fishery from the northern coast of the U.S. state of Oregon to the Mexico border. That closure is expected to go into effect in May. California Governor Gavin … Continue Reading
April 22, 2024
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