On April 5^th, the Biden Administration announced $585 million in water infrastructure funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 83 projects in 11 states. The projects are intended to increase drought resilience and improve water conveyance and storage, increase safety, improve hydropower generation, and provide water treatment. The projects selected for funding are found in all the major river basins and regions where Reclamation operates. This includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington. You can view a full list of projects funded in California here.

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries is scheduled to hold a field hearing next Tuesday, April 11 at 2:00 PM at the World Ag Expo grounds in Tulare. The hearing will focus on two pieces of water-related legislation, H.R. 215 and H. R. 872. H.R. 215, the Working to Advance Tangible and Effective Reforms to California Act (WATER Act), would require that the state and federal water projects be operated in a manner that is consistent with 2019 regulations.

H.R. 872, the Federally Integrated Species Health Act (FISH Act), would consolidate the management and regulation of the Endangered Species Act, putting the hands of regulation of endangered species under the Fish and Wildlife Service.

While there is not an opportunity for open comment, the hearing will be open to the public and members are certainly encouraged to attend. For those unable to attend in person, a live stream will be made available as well.

The Bureau of Land Management has released a draft proposed rule “Strengthening the Stewardship of America’s Public Lands” that includes significant proposed changes in BLM land management. The Department of Interior believes that the proposal will lead to increased resilience of public lands via improved conservation and restoration work on lands impacted by natural disasters and climate change. It has been published in the Federal Register with a comment deadline of June 20. CAFB encourages member feedback on this issue and will continue to keep members posted as we examine the potential impacts to agriculture.

With many parts of California already dealing with existing flooding issues, there is growing concern about further flooding as a result of snowmelt from areas that received record snowfall these past several months. With many commodities impacted, including dairy farmers, we are working with Congressional members to see what new options could be considered to help deal with what will very likely cost growers many millions of dollars in losses due to lost products and spiking feed costs. If you have stories you’d like to share of those direct impacts and challenges being faced, you are encouraged to send those details to Matthew Viohl. That information will greatly assist our push on the Hill and with other ag organizations as we look to address these disasters.

The United States Forest Service is seeking nominations for the Secure Rural School Resource Advisory Committees (RACs). RACs, established to improve collaborative relationships between communities and the Forest Service, provide recommendations for Title II projects on federal lands in a specific county. RACs are comprised of 15 members who serve 4-year terms and must include representation from a variety of interest areas, including those with a federal grazing permit and the commercial timber industry. Applications should be sent to the appropriate Forest Service Regional Office. Nominations are due June 10^th.  For more information, view the Federal Register notice here.

Last week, the Department of State (DOS) finalized a rule that will lead to varying increases for several different DOS-processed visas. Most notably, in their original proposal from last year, the agency wanted to substantially increase H-2 visa fees from $190 to $310 per applicant. While the DOS contended that this increase represented a relatively small portion of the overall cost for an H-2 worker, it was still largely seen as an unnecessarily high and arbitrary increase by most agricultural groups. Although the final rule did end up increasing the fees—it is now set to be a much smaller boost. H-2A and H-2B visas will now go up by just $15 per applicant, or $205 total. The new rule should go into effect on May 27^th of this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominees to its Task Force on Agricultural Air Quality Research. Nominations must be emailed or postmarked by Friday, May 5, 2023. Established in 1996, the Task Force examines the intersection of agricultural production and air quality, and advises the Secretary on scientifically sound, cost-effective, federally supported agricultural solutions that can help improve air quality. The Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) chairs the Task Force. For more information, view the Task Force webpage as well as the Federal Register Notice.