California Delta Tunnels: The Project Is Flowing Along

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

Just a few month ago, the Delta Tunnels, dubbed the WaterFix, was sputtering due to a lack of funds and environmental hurdles. Governor Jerry Brown’s administration was forced to consider a phased-in approach that called for building one tunnel, followed by a second tunnel only if enough money became available.   The tunnel project was… Read more »

Update: The Future of the California WaterFix and Delta Tunnels

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

After state officials said that they will press ahead with a scaled-down, $10.7-billion version of the long-planned Delta Tunnels, the massive two-tunnel project in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is still a viable option, in large part, thanks to Southern California’s most powerful water agency. The decision to pursue a one-tunnel project that… Read more »

Update: Where is the California High-Speed Rail Project Headed?

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

Nine years after California voters narrowly approved a nearly $10-billion bond to launch the $64-billion statewide High-Speed Rail project, residents and officials are wondering where the project is headed in 2018 and beyond. The narrative being pushed by Gov. Brown and the rail authority is that the project is making steady advances. Opponents tell a… Read more »

High-Speed Rail To Face Audit After Rising Costs

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

California state lawmakers approved an audit request, made by a team of bipartisan politicians, of the state’s High-Speed Rail project after the projected costs for one segment rose by nearly $3 billion. Officials aim to understand whether the statewide infrastructure plan can be completed on deadline and without more dramatic cost increases.   “As a… Read more »

Delta Tunnels Could Be Scaled to a One-Tunnel Project

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

Faced with scarce political support and incomplete funding from water agencies in California, Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is proposing a scaled-back project to his original $17-billion proposal to build two massive tunnels under that Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that would make it easier to divert water from Northern to Southern California.   Instead of two… Read more »

Charges Over Improper Subsidies Could Make Delta Tunnels Dead In The Water

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

Opponents of the Delta tunnels project, who have been trying to stop the project based on environmental grounds, are now trying to kill it through its financial structure. This comes just after federal auditors says $50 million in taxpayer funds were used improperly to subsidize planning in the San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts.   Through… Read more »

City Gives Go Ahead to the Army Corps of Engineers to Begin Restoration

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

A plan to have the Army Corps of Engineers alter the Los Angeles River for the purpose of ecosystem restoration was approved by a Los Angeles City Council committee. The $8.1-million approved plan is part of the larger $1.6-billion effort to revitalize an 11-mile stretch of the river and return it from the concrete channel… Read more »

California High Speed Rail Project Dealt Major Setbacks

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

A recent environmental ruling overturned by the California Supreme Court and a last-minute deal made by Gov. Jerry Brown to extend his signature “cap-and-trade” climate program another 10 years ensures further complications for the planned $64-billion bullet train.   In overturning the lower court’s ruling, the Supreme Court said federal law does not allow the… Read more »

Delta Twin Tunnel Project Flowing Towards Approval

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

California Gov. Jerry Brown’s controversial water-diversion project in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area was given the green light by federal wildlife agencies as the state continues to seek required permits that are critical to starting construction on the project.   The $17-billion plan would build two massive, 35-mile-long tunnels under the delta that moves water from… Read more »

The California High Speed Train Keeps on Rollin’

Posted & filed under California Eminent Domain Law Blog, California Eminent Domain Project News, In the News.

For the second time, a Sacramento County Superior judge has kept the high speed rail project from being derailed. Judge Raymond Cadei denied a preliminary injunction — after denying a temporary restraining order (TRO) one month earlier — that would have blocked the state from spending nearly $1.25 billion of recently authorized bond funding to… Read more »