Law Commons^™

Cuel Comments On December 2013 Draft Eir/Eis For Proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (Bdcp), Paul Stanton Kibel

CUEL - Center for Urban Environmental Law

In July 2014 CUEL submitted comments on the draft environmental impact assessment for the proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).

The following comments are submitted by the Center on Urban Environmental Law (CUEL) at Golden Gate University School of Law. The focus of CUEL' s comments is on Chapter 11 (Fish and Aquatic Resources) of the December 2013 Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan (December 2013 Draft EIR/ EIS). The December 2013 Draft EIR/ EIS was prepared and circulated for public review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National …

A Salmon Eye Lens On Climate Adaption, Paul S. Kibel

Publications

This Article discusses the current gap in climate adaptation law and policy, emphasizing the potential role that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) could play in filling this gap. It focuses on the provisions in these laws that establish that agency planning and decision-making should be based on the best available science, and notes that the best available science now confirms that GHG emission-induced climate change is happening now and will continue to happen during this century. This Article posits that the most appropriate and effective way to factor expected …

Wto Recourse For Reclamation Irrigation Subsidies: Undermarket Water Prices As Foregone Revenue, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

There are competing demands for fresh water. Farms look to it as an irrigation source, cities rely on it for drinking water, and fisheries (and fishermen) depend on it for instream flow. When the United States Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) subsidizes the costs of providing fresh water for irrigation in agricultural production, such subsidization can result in tiered water pricing. With tiered pricing, farms pay the government less per unit than other water users. This tiered pricing can distort the water marketplace in a manner that encourages wasteful irrigation practices and leaves insufficient water instream for fisheries. The dispute over …

In The Field And In The Stream: California Reasonable Use Law Applied To Water For Agriculture, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

When it comes to fresh water consumption in California, going forward we will need to learn to do more with less. There are at least two main reasons why California will need to learn to do more with less water. First, there is a growing population in the state, a population that is increasingly urban which means there will be greater demand for urban municipal domestic water supplies. Second, there are now increasing demands to leave additional amounts of surface fresh water instream.~ The demands for additional instream flow relate in part to the declining condition of California's native fisheries …

The Critical Role Of Islands For Waterbird Breeding And Foraging Habitat In Managed Ponds Of The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California, Us Department Of The Interior

Federal Documents

The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project aims to restore 50–90 percent of former salt evaporation ponds into tidal marsh in South San Francisco Bay, California. However, large numbers of waterbirds use these ponds annually as nesting and foraging habitat. Islands within ponds are particularly important habitat for nesting, foraging, and roosting waterbirds. To maintain current waterbird populations, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project plans to create new islands within former salt ponds in South San Francisco Bay. In a series of studies, we investigated pond and individual island attributes that are most beneficial to nesting, foraging, and roosting …