CalEPA Spotlight

State Water Board Authorizes Nearly Quarter Billion Dollars to Provide Safe and Affordable Drinking Water

New Web-based Tool Released to Track Progress toward Human Right to Water Goals

The State Water Resources Control Board authorized spending nearly a quarter billion dollars to help local water systems provide safe, reliable drinking water to communities throughout the state and begin closing the safe drinking water gap for more than one million Californians. The funding includes $130 million from the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, created when Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 200 (Monning). The fund will provide a reliable source of ongoing funding for safe drinking water needs using revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade program. Read the press release. (8/20/19) 

News & Updates

State Water Board Approves Plan to Reduce Nitrate Contamination in Central Valley Groundwater and Provide Replacement Drinking Water

The State Water Resources Control Board approved an ambitious, long-term plan to address the buildup of salt and nitrates in Central Valley groundwater basins and surface water, and ensure delivery of clean drinking water to disadvantaged communities until impaired aquifers are restored. (10/16/19)

Agreement Reached to End Sale of Chlorpyrifos in California by February 2020

CalEPA announced that virtually all use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in California will end next year following an agreement between the Department of Pesticide Regulation and pesticide manufacturers to withdraw their products. Read the press release.  (10/9/19)

Environmental Justice Task Force Issues Report on its Imperial County Initiative

Imperial County was the focus of the latest initiative of the Environmental Justice Task Force, which coordinates compliance and enforcement work in areas of California that are disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of pollution. The Imperial County initiative was the first in a rural setting and with a county-wide emphasis. Read more in the Imperial County Initiative Report. (10/9/19)

State Agencies Seek Input on Carbon Neutrality Studies

CalEPA and other state agencies are soliciting public input as we develop a framework for two studies focused on the state’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. The first of three public workshops was held in Sacramento, with additional workshops being planned for Kern and Los Angeles counties later this fall. Comments and inquiries can be sent to  climatechange@calepa.ca.gov. (9/25/19)

Governor Newsom Announces Climate Pollution Continues to Drop Below 2020 Targets While State’s Economy Grows

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that greenhouse gas emissions in California continued to fall ahead of schedule in 2017 as the state’s economy grew ahead of the national average, according to the California Air Resources Board’s latest state inventory of climate-changing emissions. Read the press release. (8/12/19)