In light of the drought emergency in California, the House leadership has scheduled a vote for next week on H.R. 3964, the comprehensive water fix introduced in the House by the entire California GOP delegation.

The bill has already provoked opposition from Governor Brown’s administration and from the usual suspects who have resisted every significant effort to bring relief to drought-stricken Californians.

Nevertheless, Speaker of the House John Boehner understands the situation’s urgency and is determined to quickly submit this bill for a vote.

Proposed Regulation Marks Seventh And Final Major Rule Under FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration TODAY proposed a rule that would require certain shippers, receivers, and carriers who transport food by motor or rail vehicles to take steps to prevent the contamination of human and animal food during transportation.

Part of the implementation of the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005, the proposal marks the seventh and final major rule in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) central framework aimed at systematically building preventive measures across the food system. The proposed rule is open for public comment through May 31, 2014.

“This proposed rule will help reduce the likelihood of conditions during transportation that can lead to human or animal illness or injury,” said Michael R. Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. “We are now one step closer to fully implementing the comprehensive regulatory framework for prevention that will strengthen the FDA’s inspection and compliance tools, modernize oversight of the nation’s food safety system, and prevent foodborne illnesses before they happen.”

The proposed regulation would establish criteria for sanitary transportation practices, such as properly refrigerating food, adequately cleaning vehicles between loads, and properly protecting food during transportation.

The proposed rule would apply to shippers, carriers, and receivers who transport food that will be consumed or distributed in the United States and is intended to ensure that persons engaged in the transportation of food that is at the greatest risk for contamination during transportation follow appropriate sanitary transportation practices. For example, the proposed rule would require that shippers inspect a vehicle for cleanliness prior to loading food that is not completely enclosed by its container, e.g., fresh produce in vented boxes, onto the vehicle.

The proposed rule would also apply to international shippers who transport food for U.S. consumption or distribution in an international freight container by air or by oceangoing vessel and arrange for the transfer of the intact container onto a motor vehicle or rail vehicle in the United States.

The proposed rule would not cover shippers, receivers, or carriers engaged in food transportation operations that have less than $500,000 in total annual sales. In addition, the requirements in the proposed rule would not apply to the transportation of fully packaged shelf-stable foods, live food animals, and raw agricultural commodities when transported by farms.

The requirements would also not apply to shippers, receivers, or carriers who are engaged in transportation operations of food that is transshipped through the United States to another country, nor to food that is imported for future export and that is neither consumed nor distributed in the United States.

The FDA is proposing staggered implementation dates for the proposed rule based on business size, ranging from one to two years after publication of the final rule.

The FDA will discuss the proposed rule at three upcoming public meetings: Feb. 27, 2014 in Chicago; March 13, 2014 in Anaheim, Calif.; and March 20, 2014 in College Park, Md.

For more information:

Federal Register Notice for the Proposed Rule “Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food”

Fact Sheet

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

Submit Your Comments on EPA Spray Drift Guide TODAY

EPA announced TODAY the availability of two draft guidance documents for public comment. These documents describe how off-site spray drift will be evaluated for ecological and human health risk assessments for pesticides.

EPA is seeking to strengthen its protections for people and the environment from exposure to pesticides that drift from fields to nearby areas, including homes, schools and playgrounds.

The Agency, according to their statement, has a long-standing history of robust, routine assessments on every chemical to protect consumers from pesticide risks from treated food, workers who apply pesticides, and consumers who use pesticides in and around homes. These new approaches add to these routine assessments and will allow the Agency to estimate off-site drift, another step to protect communities living near fields where crops are grown from these exposures.

The January 29, 2014, Federal Register Notice specifically seeks public input on these approaches that include:

• a policy for conducting human health risk assessments associated with the potential for exposure from off-site drift during pesticide applications
• an updated method for estimating environmental exposures associated with spray drift

The 60-day public comment period will close on March 31, 2014. Following the public comment period, EPA will analyze the comments, make appropriate modifications to these policies and finalize them. The policies will then be used in pesticide risk assessment.

For more information, see Docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0676-0001 at www.regulations.gov

Breaking News: 

Feinstein, Boxer: Reclamation Correct to Preserve Rescheduled Water

Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer(both D-Calif.) today praised the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for its decision to preserve rescheduled water supplies that Central Valley Project farmers have banked as a hedge against dry conditions.

“I commend Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor for his decision to preserve rescheduled water for CVP contractors who invested in additional supplies,”Senator Feinstein said. “With farmers already suffering from extraordinary drought conditions, it would be unfair to take away water they set aside at great expense and upon which they are depending to get through this year. I fully support Reclamation’s decision to stand with these farmers.”

“I am so pleased that the Bureau of Reclamation has heeded our call and honored its commitment to Central Valley Project contractors,” Senator Boxer said. “These contractors prudently saved water during wetter years and today’s announcement will ensure that they are able to use those resources as promised during this unprecedented drought.”

Central Valley Project contractors have spent approximately $150 million on water transfers to secure approximately 340,000 acre feet of water in San Luis Reservoir with the expectation that this water would be carried over for use in dry years. Redirecting this water to other CVP contractors could lead to devastating consequences for the contractors who invested in these reserve supplies.

*DeltaOutflows andRelated Stressors – Feb. 10-11

*A Conference on WATER – Feb. 20

Delta Outflows and Related Stressors

The Delta Science Program is conducting the workshop,  “DeltaOutflows andRelated Stressors”, to help the State Water Board with its review of the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta Plan).

The State Water Board is in the process of conducting a phased review and update of the 2006 Bay-Delta Plan which identifies beneficial uses of water, water quality objectives for the reasonable protection of those beneficial uses, and a program of implementation for achieving the water quality objectives.

Theworkshopwill consistofamoderateddiscussionbetweenthepanel and invited presenters.Public commentwill betakenonlyduringthepublic commentperiods shown ontheagenda.For moreinformationaboutthis workshopincludingthechargetothe panel see:

This workshop will assist in informing the Phase 2 review.

February10,2014–9:00a.m.–4:30 p.m.

February11,2014–9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

The meeting will be held in JoeSernaJr.–Cal/EPAHeadquarters Building, Byron Sher Auditorium, 1001IStreet, SecondFloor, Sacramento,CA95814

WebcastURL: http://www.calepa.ca.gov/broadcast/

A Conference on WATER

Water: Farmers need it, environmentalists protect it, Southern California wants it and Northern California has it. With a population of nearly 39 million, the demand for water is unprecedented in a state that has experienced disputes over water virtually since its inception.

The year 2014 will prove pivotal in the history of California’s water development. Voters in November will decide whether to spend some $6.5 billion on water infrastructure across California. And the state is expected to make a final decision to go forward with a plan to drill a pair of huge tunnels through the Delta to carry excess north state water to the south, plus put in place new environmental safeguards. The $25 billion proposal would be the largest public works project in the country, more than four times the cost of the new San Francisco Bay Bridge project.

On February 20, 2014, Capitol Weekly & UC Center will host A Conference on Water, a daylong program looking at the future of water in California. It marks the 10th conference since 2010 on critical state issues jointly sponsored by Capitol Weekly and the UC Center. 

The Conference on Water will feature two dozen water experts and decision makers; four panel discussions will cover Fiscal Impacts, The Delta, North vs. South, and Stakeholders.

Phil Isenberg, chair of the Delta Stewardship Council, will deliver the keynote luncheon address. Other participants include:

Tom Berryhill, Senator, Fourteenth District, R – Modesto; Lois Wolk, Senator, Third District, D – Davis; Connie Conway, Assembly GOP Leader, R- Tulare, Felicia Marcus, State Water Control Board, Roger Patterson, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Thad Bettner, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta; Timothy Quinn, Association of California Water Agencies, Jim Earp, California Alliance for Jobs; Jason Peltier, Westlands Water District; Ron Stork, Friends of the River; Jeff Volberg, California Waterfowl Association; Jerry  Meral, Natural Heritage Institute (invited); Chris Austin, creator of Aquafornia, Amy Quinton, Capital Public Radio, Anthony York, Los Angeles Times; Greg Lucas, California’s Capitol. A Representative of the California Farm Bureau Federation is expected to participate.

The Conference on Water will be held at 1123 J Street, three blocks from the state capitol. The California Channel will film this event for broadcast.

Space is limited. Registrations are $199.

For Sponsorship information, contact:

Tim Foster at 916 444 7665 or tim.foster@capitolweekly.net or 

Michelle Matheson at 916 669 9372 or michelle@aim-point.com

For Registration information contact: 

Kathy Brown at 916 444 7665 or kathy.brown@capitolweekly.net.

For questions about content, please contact: 

John Howard at 916 444-7665 or john.howard@capitolweekly.net.

Sponsors include The California Endowment, the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, The California Channel, Capital Public Radio, California Resource Strategies and the California Center for Civic Participation.

www.whitehouse.gov