September 10,2017-
No Statewide Water Tax For Now
Despite support from an unlikely coalition of ag interests and environmental groups -prospects for a near term “water tax” to help disadvantaged communities get clean water now appear to be on the back burner.
A bill in both the state Senate and Assembly would impose – for the first time in California – a tax on public drinking water for homes and businesses.
SB 623, sponsored by Sen. Bill Monning, D-Monterey would generate $2 billion over 15 years – they say for a “Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.”
Locally, California Citrus Mutual (CCM) supported the bill because they believe it helps relieve citrus farmer of full responsibility for nitrate contamination found in the Tulare County citrus belt.
The growers back the bill since it would” establish a statewide fee on agriculture and residential water users to fund projects that will deliver clean drinking water to disadvantaged communities AND provide farmers with protections against the state Water Board relating to nitrate contamination of groundwater.”
Last year the Water Board sent 27 Tulare County citrus belt growers a letter offering to negotiate a settlement with them over allegations they have contaminated drinking water with an overuse of fertilizer. CCM argues that “the Board is narrowly focused on nitrates because agriculture is the easy target to go after for funds.” So CCM sought a package deal to help speed the pain of an unpopular idea- a tax on water.
But water districts like Tulare Irrigation District and scores of others statewide, are opposing the bill – led by the powerful group ACWA, Association of California Water Agencies.
They argue that a “more appropriate funding solution comprised of dollars from the state’s General Fund, packaged together with ongoing federal safe drinking water funds, general obligation bond funds, and the proposed assessments related to nitrates in groundwater.”
This month the Assembly Appropriations Committee referred SB 623 to the Assembly Rules Committee as a two-year bill. The Assembly Rules Committee will assign the bill to the appropriate policy committees for hearings in 2018.
Tulare CO BOS Reject Any New Well Ordinance
After months of speculation and suggestions from advisory groups, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors decided to punt on the contentious issue of any new well ordinance or restrictions on new groundwater pumping. The board decided they would await the effect of the new state groundwater regulations and locally organized districts expected to restrict groundwater pumping in the future.
Vise Brewing Co To Open Tap Room and “Nano Brewery”
A second craft beer brewery in Visalia is seeking city OK to open, this time east of Ben Maddox on Cain Street. Vise Brewing is expected to get a permission from the Planning Commission to open at 210 S Cain featuring beers made at their own small on-site brewery available at an adjacent taproom.
Food trucks will be invited to park nearby says they operational report.The taproom would be open M-F 3PM to 10PM.The facility will be “family friendly “also offering non-alcoholic drinks and snacks. The taproom will be just 575sf while the brewery warehouse building will 2035sf. Annual production of beer would be under1000BBLs per year. Brewbaker’s has the only other on-site brewery in the city.
Antique Store Coming To South Mooney
Visalia Vintage & Antiques will be opening at the former furniture store building, Super Buy Furniture, at 2700 S Mooney in Visalia. This is according to company official Bryan Hemphill. The vacant building is on the corner Whitendale and Mooney.
Western Milling Adding New Canola Warehouse
Visalia-based Western Milling will be adding a new rail-connected warehouse to receive 110-car unit trains of canola oil. The 20,000sf warehouse, being permitted now by the county, will be fully automated and should help cut costs, says company founder Kevin Kruse.”We will be able to pass on savings to the dairymen” expects Kruse, noting the local dairy industry is under pressure right now. “It’s not growing anymore” like it used to, he says.
Canola oil is the third-most widely consumed vegetable oil.Crushed seeds are used in animal feed, providing a great source of protein. Kruse hopes to have the new facility in place by the first quarter of 2018.Some 1.7 million acres of the yellow flowered canola are grown in the U.S. – in North Dakota Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon.
In other Western Milling news, their sister Perfection Pet Food Company has a new contract with online pet food supplier Chewy, to make their private label food.
Also, Central Valley Eggs facility of which Western Milling is a partner is now producing 900,000 eggs a day at their new Wasco ranches.
“As long as California remains cage-free, we will be all right “says Kruse. “We have contracts now with Costco and McDonalds” he adds.
Setton Adding New $2 Mil Roasting Building
Terra Bella-based Setton Pistachios continues to grow – adding a $2 million roasting facility at their campus in this small southern Tulare County town. Setton Pistachios, the second largest pistachio processor in the United States, has been growing and processing pistachios in the Central Valley of California since 1986. Setton has ownership in over 10,000 acres of planted pistachios and currently has the capacity to process over 130 million pounds of pistachios owned by Setton and its grower partners.
Folic Acid May Mitigate Pesticide Effect
Research at the University of California, Davis, and other institutions indicates that mothers who take recommended amounts of folic acid around conception might reduce their children’s pesticide-related autism risk.
In the study, children whose mothers took 800 or more micrograms of folic acid (the amount in most prenatal vitamins) had a significantly lower risk of developing autism spectrum disorder – even when their mothers were exposed to household or agricultural pesticides associated with increased risk, UC Davis says.
“We found that if the mom was taking folic acid during the window around conception, the risk associated with pesticides seemed to be attenuated,” says Rebecca Schmidt, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and first author on the paper. “Mothers should try to avoid pesticides. But if they live near agriculture, where pesticides can blow in, this might be a way to counter those effects.”
Few Farmers Pay Estate Tax
Despite the popular notion that the estate tax is a huge burden and drag on the economy, a new study says less than 1 percent of U.S. farms, or fewer than 200, will have to pay the estate tax, according to USDA estimates. Congress over the years has enacted provisions targeted to reduce the tax’s burden on agricultural operations and small businesses. That includes allowing farm real estate to be valued at its use value rather than fair-market price, making it less likely that owners have assets exceeding the exemption threshold of $5.45 million (double that for couples).
River Valley RV Park Planned Near Porterville
A new public campground and RV park is being planned along Hwy 190 near Porterville. Tulare County is processing the permit to build a RV campground with 60 RV stalls and 50 tent sites. The 18 acre park would feature a retail building and a boat storage area.
Smith Promotions Plans Larger Facility
T-Shirt maker Smith Promotions is working on a plan to build a 10,000 sf building where they can expand they operations to be located at 10013 Legacy Ave in the Visalia Industrial Park.