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In $100 Million Colorado River Deal, Water and Power Collide
The Colorado River District plans to buy the water rights that flow through Colorado’s Shoshone hydropower plant. The acquisition is seen as pivotal for a wide swath of the state, and has been co-signed by farmers, environmental groups, and local governments.
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NYC to Launch Debit-Card Pilot Program for Migrants
New York City announced it was launching what it described as a cost-saving pilot program to provide 500 migrant families with prepaid debit cards to buy food and baby supplies. The debit-cards will be loaded with an average of $12.52 per person, per day, for 28 days, and the city says the program will save $600,000 per month and $7.2 million annually relative to the current system of providing boxes with non-perishable food.
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NYC’s EBT System for Benefit-Delivery System: Backgrounder
In choosing to use the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system to deliver benefits to migrants, New York City has chosen a tried and proven benefits-delivery system. Over the past two decades, the EBT system has become the cornerstone of efforts by the federal, state, and local governments to deliver social benefits effectively, efficiently, and at a lower cost to the tax payer.
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Operation Lone Star Border Security Funding Totals More Than Multiple State Budgets
The Texas legislature has allocated more than $11.6 billion to border security efforts over a four-year period, the most in state history. It totals more than multiple state fiscal year budgets and more than what the Trump administration allocated to federal border security efforts in Texas.
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Federal Money Could Supercharge State Efforts to Preserve Nuclear Power
A plant in Michigan might become the first to reopen after closing. The Palisades plant in southwest Michigan could be revived by a $1.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Dozens of Rogue California Police Agencies Still Sharing Driver Locations with Anti-Abortion States
In October 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta clarified that a 2016 state law, SB 34, prohibits California’s local and state police from sharing information collected from automated license plate readers (ALPR) with out-of-state or federal agencies. Despite the Attorney General’s definitive stance, dozens of law enforcement agencies have signaled their intent to continue defying the law by sharing ALPR information with law-enforcement agencies of states with restrictive abortion laws, putting abortion seekers and providers at risk.
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Is the Southwest Too Dry for a Mining Boom?
Critical minerals for the clean energy transition are abundant in the Southwest, but the dozens of mines proposed to access them will require vast sums of water, something in short supply in the desert.
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Clusters of Atmospheric Rivers Amp Up California Storm Damages
When multiple atmospheric rivers hit California back-to-back, the economic damage from resulting rain and snowfall is three to four times higher than predicted from individual storms, a Stanford study finds. The insight could help water managers and disaster planners better prepare for future impacts of climate change.
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Democratic Governors Ask Congress for Immigration Aid to Reverse Years of “Inaction”
Nine Democratic governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders, requesting federal aid and urging changes to immigration law as their states take in an overwhelming number of asylum-seekers. The governors asked that Congress grant Biden’s request to include in a supplemental funding bill $4.4 billion for a federal migration strategy and $1.4 billion in aid to states and local governments dealing with an influx of migrants.
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In Eagle Pass, a Tense Border Standoff Between Texas and the Federal Government Is Reaching a Crescendo
A park on the Rio Grande is the new focus of a long battle over border enforcement that’s reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Under federal law, the federal government has sole authority to enforce immigration laws — a power that’s been affirmed by Supreme Court decisions, but Gov. Greg Abbott, in the past three years, has convinced state lawmakers to spend more than $10 billion in an attempt to deter hundreds of thousands of migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande into Texas, many of whom are seeking asylum.
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Hybrid Urban Water Sourcing Model
Houston’s water and wastewater system could be more resilient with the development of hybrid urban water supply systems that combine conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater. Reclaimed wastewater could make supply systems more resilient.
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Some Cities See Migrants as a ‘Lifeline.’ Policy Could Follow, Experts Say.
As congressional leaders wrestle with potential solutions as part of a larger spending agreement, a former top national immigration official offered a proposal: Fund basic help for migrants at the border and in destination cities, send them where they’re wanted and can get jobs, and make quick decisions on asylum to discourage mass entry.
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ZeroEyes AI-based Gun Detection, AEGIX Incident Management to Be Deployed in Urah’s 1,086 Public K-12 Schools
ZeroEyes, the creators of the AI-based gun detection video analytics, and AEGIX Global, a Utah-based provider of incident management services, announced that the Utah State Board of Education has approved a contract to provide the joint solution for all Utah public K-12 schools, including charter schools.
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Three Migrants Drowned Near Eagle Pass Park After Border Patrol Was Denied Access
Texas officers took control over Shelby Park against the city’s wishes on Wednesday and have since blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents from entering.
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How Can California Solve Its Water Woes? By Flooding Its Best Farmland.
Restored floodplains in the state’s agricultural heartland are fighting both flooding and drought. But their fate rests with California’s powerful farmers.
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The long view
Reducing Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise in Virginia
As the climate changes and sea levels rise, there is concern that sinking coastlines could exacerbate risks to infrastructure, as well as human and environmental health in coastal communities. The Virginia Coastal Plain is one of the fastest-sinking regions on the East Coast.