EPA to investigate California State Water Board for alleged civil rights violations

The tribes and environmental groups argue that out-of-date water quality standards in the Delta have led to collapsing fish populations and worsening toxic algae blooms, harming tribes whose traditions are tied to the rivers and leaving residents in South Stockton and other areas with stagnant waterways often choked with algae.

“The board needs to protect these waterways and prevent harmful algal blooms and prevent loss of native fish species,” said Stephanie Safdi, an attorney with Stanford University’s Environmental Law Clinic who represents the groups and tribes. “The discrimination that the board has been causing to tribes and communities of color has been going on for years because they haven’t done what the law requires, which is to go in and update water quality standards.”

Los Angeles Times - 8/11/23

Hundreds celebrate Ukraine independence in Golden Gate Park

"Definitely a very bittersweet celebration now, because how can you ignore the rapes, the murders, the torture?" he asked.
Performers at the celebration said they're united to show solidarity and support for their country's ongoing struggle.
"The thing everybody says is 'after the victory, we will return.' But it could be a while," said musician Eugene Walden.
Walden said his cousin fled the war with her son and they are now staying in France. He dedicated a song to his cousin and other refugees who still can't go home.
"For me, it's very cathartic and healing to be around other people who are feeling the same thing," Walden said.
It has been 18 months since the Russian invasion and there is no end in sight.
Many people at the Golden Gate Park celebration said they believe Ukraine will win.

CBS TV San Francisco - 8/27/23

California water agency under investigation for discriminating against tribes, people of color

The Biden administration’s environmental justice office is investigating whether California’s water agency has discriminated against Native Americans and other people of color by failing to protect the water quality of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by tribes and environmental justice organizations that says the the state Water Resources Control Board for over a decade “has failed to uphold its statutory duty” to review and update water quality standards in the Bay-Delta.

“It’s pretty bad when California Indians have to file a complaint with the Federal Government so that the State doesn’t violate our civil rights,” Gary Mulcahy, government liaison for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, said in a statement. 

CalMatters - 8/10/2023

Some say the century-old water rights system in the West is unfair and racist

The right to use water in Western states can be extremely valuable. Now, that century-old system is under scrutiny, with some saying it's unfair and racist.

NPR - 6/10/23

Tribes, anglers, environmentalists slam 'dysfunctional' state water rights system

The collective of 20 tribal communities and prominent environmental groups, like the Sierra Club and San Francisco Baykeeper, called on the Newsom Administration to reform the state's water rights system so it can better support salmon populations and the overall health of rivers, estuaries, specifically the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

"We are currently experiencing degradation of our water, air and right to public access of our waterways," said Artie Valencia, community organizer and government liaison of Restore the Delta. "Our frontline communities are the ones who will deal with the consequences of water exports at the expense of the health, safety and quality of life for environmental justice communities."

The coalition added that they want to be at the table where the decisions are made, and alleged that Gov. Gavin Newsom has not directly met with local tribes, fisheries or environmental activists about water rights in the Delta since elected governor.

CBS Bay Area - 7/6/23

The E-Bike Era Is Here. Is California Ready?

In California, most car trips are less than ten miles long – so it’s no wonder that e-bikes are emerging as a perfect and climate-friendly alternative for many of those trips. An e-bike journey can reduce urban congestion and increase joy, all while helping California meet our climate goals.

But many are now asking how to regulate this new form of mobility. So let’s have this discussion.

Our goal should be to find a place for e-bikes and e-cargo bikes in our transportation mix with the twin goals of ensuring safety for all road users and making space for this new travel mode to grow and someday replace millions of auto or delivery truck trips. Our planet will thank us.

Streetsblog CA - 3/14/23

‘A foundation of racism’: California’s antiquated water rights system faces new scrutiny

It’s an arcane system of water law that dates back to the birth of California — an era when 49ers used sluice boxes and water cannons to scour gold from Sierra Nevada foothills and when the state government promoted the extermination of Native people to make way for white settlers. 

Today, this antiquated system of water rights still governs the use of the state’s supplies, but it is now drawing scrutiny like never before.

Los Angeles Times - 3/6/23

Bay Area Ukrainian Americans mark 1 year since Russian invasion at SF Embarcadero

Hundreds of Ukrainian Americans and their allies marched and rallied Saturday to mark one year since the Russian invasion. Many Ukrainians are hopeful the fighting will end.

Ukrainians and their allies stood shoulder-to-shoulder, near San Francisco's Ferry Building to mark the beginning of a war that many never believed would still be raging one year later.

"Three hundred sixty-five days of Ukranian resilience because we turned out to be much stronger than the enemy thought, 365 days of wrath and anger," said Kushneruk Dmytro, Ukrainian Consul General of San Francisco.

"In our neighborhood, five houses were destroyed by the Russians," said Vlada Bisotska.

Bisotska escaped her hometown of Kyiv after the Russian invasion. She says her father is fighting in the Ukrainian Army.

"Of course I'm scared. I'm worried. But I know that God gives him the strength and power to fight. He's fighting for us and our country," she said.

"You would never expect it, but we lasted a year against such evil, evil that does nothing but commit genocide," said Maria Tschernepenko, president of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Committee.

KGO - ABC7 - 2/25/23

Tribes accuse California water board of discrimination and urge EPA oversight of Bay-Delta

A coalition of California tribes and environmental justice groups filed a civil rights complaint Friday against the State Water Resources Control Board, charging it with discriminatory water management practices that it says have led to the ecological decline of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Members of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Little Manila Rising, Restore the Delta and Save California Salmon are calling for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversight of the state water board, including an investigation into its alleged failure to review and update water quality standards in compliance with the Clean Water Act.

The Title VI civil rights complaint comes about seven months after the same coalition petitioned the board to review and update its water quality plan for the delta and San Francisco Bay — a petition the groups said went largely ignored. They charged the board with giving preferential treatment to large agricultural interests and said the delta’s deterioration can be linked to the state’s historical legacy of racism and oppression of Native people.

Los Angeles Times - 12/17/22

‘We’re dwindling like the salmon’: the Indigenous nations fighting for water rights

Much of the crisis is caused by climate breakdown, but decades of overuse have made issues worse as larger shares of water are diverted to supply agricultural land and urban consumption. California water authorities have been slow to implement key rules even though they are required by law to review the regulations every three years. Key updates have lagged for decades.

Now, a coalition of Indigenous nations, frontline communities and environmentalists has come together, hoping to spur state water officials to secure not just their water rights but their civil rights. The two, they say, are inextricably tied.

“Everything we need comes from the river,” says Malissa Tayaba, a leader in the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. “Water is alive. And we can’t live without it.”

The Guardian - 8/26/22