San Benito County Environment Digest

Most ships discharging ballast water into California waters are inspected, but state officials have tested the water of only 16 ships. Experts say invaders like mussels are inevitable under current rules and enforcement.

Experts don’t know how much gas prices may rise from the revised California climate program, which tightens standards and gives incentives for low-carbon fuels. The board ordered an annual review of the cost impacts.

A lot is at stake with the new Trump administration: California’s water projects, its unique authority to clean its air, federal support for offshore wind and disaster aid for wildfires.

Learn more about how the just-passed $10 billion climate bond measure will fund resiliency projects across the state.

Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.

Growers support a federal and state proposal for operating California’s massive systems that send river water south. But it could harm more salmon and other endangered fish.

Capturing and storing carbon underground is a big part of California’s efforts to tackle climate change but community members and environmentalists say it prolongs the life of fossil fuels.

How to apply rebate as part of the recent $80 million state program to electrify homes.

The California state goal to conserve 30% of its land and coastal waters has advanced, with conserved lands reaching 25% and coastal waters 16%.

The EPA must grant a waiver before the diesel truck measure can be implemented. It’s one of California’s most controversial measures to clean up air pollution and greenhouse gases.

Legislators and Gov. Newsom are working behind the scenes to draft energy legislation before the end-of-the-month deadline.

Harnessing clean energy is a venture of unprecedented scope in California, bringing big changes to Humboldt and the Central Coast, and requiring 26 ports along the coast.

Nearly every major environmental group in California opposes a bill that would modify the state’s signature environmental law to speed up upgrades to power lines. Supporters say it would help free the state from fossil fuels and make the grid more reliable, but opponents fear it would damage state parks.

With multiple fires already burning in the state, forecasters predict the coming fire season will be "very active."

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, flew more 6,000 miles to Rome this month to deliver a brief speech on climate change at a Vatican-sponsored conference.

As funds for climate change programs are cut, Democrats and environmentalists are pushing for a bond measure on the ballot to restore some funding.

Indigenous Californians want President Biden to establish a national monument in a stretch of desert that is both an ecological wonder and a window into their cultures.

A bill to rein in a proposed monthly fee on California electric bills would let California’s largest for-profit utility companies charge customers $24 per month — with fees as low as $6 for lower-income customers — as a kind of membership fee for the power grid.

California has released 500,000 salmon into the Klamath River. As dams are removed, the fish will be some of the first to return to a free-flowing river.

The California Public Utilities Commission will consider on May 9 a new proposal that would change how Californians pay for electricity.

Water suppliers say the costs will be massive, with rates increasing for many consumers. Known as the “Erin Brockovich” chemical, hexavalent chromium is found statewide.

A coalition of timber businesses filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co., alleging $225 million in damages caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire.

The City of Hollister has issued a cease-and-desist demand against San Benito Foods due to odors from wastewater operations.

A California Republican’s bill would exempt low and middle income wildfire victims from solar panels requirements on rebuilt homes that didn’t have them when they burned down.

California's reservoirs are brimming with water, and even Shasta Lake could fill up.

Highway 1 is closed indefinitely from Palo Colorado Road to Rocky Creek Bridge, the California Department of Transportation said on social media after a new landslide eroded part of the roadway.

Captains of fishing boats on the California coast are bracing for salmon fishing to be severely restricted — or possibly canceled for a second year.

The goal is to eliminate habitat competition between "invasive" owls and native owls.

The developer of the Lands of Lee project to develop housing on Fairview Road has sued San Benito County for denial a permit to proceed, citing process violations of various laws.

Citing no reason, local landfill operator Waste Solutions withdrew its appeal of the San Benito County Planning Commission’s denial of certification of the Environmental Impact Report for a project to expand the landfill.

Sieroty, of Beverly Hills, served as a state Assembly member and senator, championing disability rights and efforts to protect California's coast.

California will miss its goals unless it can increase emission reductions threefold, according to a new study.