Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano watch as President Obama signs historic Hoover Bill.
On December 20, 2011 at a signing ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama signed the Hoover Power Allocation Act, a bill originally authored by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano that determines how the Hoover Dam will be run for the next fifty years and provides new access to power for Native American tribes and other groups.
“This has been a three-year, bipartisan effort,” Napolitano said. “This law will allow the Hoover Dam to continue providing inexpensive power to millions of people through 2067, and it allows new access to the dam’s low-cost electricity for Native American tribes and other groups. I thank Senator Harry Reid for his efforts to pass this bill in the Senate.”
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) also attended the ceremony.
Background:
• The Hoover Power Allocation Act reauthorizes the Hoover Dam to continue distributing power through 2067, and sets aside 5 percent of its electricity for use by new entities, including Native American tribes, irrigation districts, electric cooperatives, and other entities that previously lacked access.
• Power to be generated from the Hoover Dam was first allocated by Congress in 1934 as the dam was nearing completion. In 1984, Congress re-allocated Hoover power through contracts with state, municipal and utility contractors until 2017. The passage of the Hoover Power Allocation Act reauthorizes the dam from 2017 to 2067 and gives contractors time to adjust to the changes.
• Over 29 million people in Arizona, California, and Nevada rely on power from the Hoover Dam, which is a clean, renewable source of energy.
• The California cities of Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Anaheim, Azusa, Banning, Colton, Riverside, and Vernon, as well as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Southern California Edison Company, and entities within Arizona and Nevada will continue to have access to electricity from the Hoover Dam.
• Hoover power contractors have invested over $1.3 billion to date in maintaining the Hoover Dam, and they will continue to pay for the operation, maintenance, replacement, and equipment upgrades for the dam’s power facilities under the new authorization.
• Existing power contractors have also committed to supporting the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, which provides for the protection of 26 endangered, threatened and sensitive species on the lower Colorado River.
• The bill was originally introduced in 2010 by Napolitano. For the new Congress beginning in 2011, Napolitano worked with Republican sponsor Joe Heck (R-NV) to pass the bill.
• Napolitano is the top Democrat on the House Water and Power Subcommittee.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors at Upper District Meeting Agenda here.
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT ADDENDUM NO. 1
TO THE MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION
AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR CITY OF INDUSTRY PHASE IIB RECYCLED WATER PROJECT
Notice is hereby given that the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (Upper District) has prepared an Addendum No. 1 to the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the project described as City of Industry Phase IIB Recycled Water Project. The Upper District Board of Directors intends to adopt Addendum No. 1 to the MND for the project and has authorized the release of Addendum No. 1 for public review and comment on the above project and its potential impacts.
The project will be located within the Cities of West Covina, Walnut, and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and will consist of construction of approximately 17 miles of recycled water pipelines and a 2 million gallons recycled water reservoir. The analysis in the Addendum No. 1 to the MND and the adopted Initial Environmental Study indicates that this project can be implemented without causing significant adverse environmental impacts.
The period of review will be from October 17, 2011 to October 31, 2011. Written comments on the Addendum No. 1 should be submitted to Secretary to the Board of Directors at the address below no later than October 31, 2011 at 5:00 pm:
Secretary to the Board of Directors
Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District
602 E. Huntington Drive, Suite B,
Monrovia, CA 91016
The Upper District will conduct a public hearing regarding Addendum No. 1 to MND on Tuesday, November 1st at 6:30 p.m. The hearing will be at the Upper District office at 602 E. Huntington Drive, Suite B, Monrovia, CA 91016. For more information call (626) 443-2297.
Please click on the links below to download a copy of the Addendum No. 1 to the MND along with the adopted MND/Initial Environmental Study.
Upper District Director Treviño and Director/MWD Representative Chavez attended the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s ”Water is Life” Student Art Exhibit held on December 7, 2011 at Metropolitan’s headquarters in Los Angeles. During the event, Director Treviño and Director Chavez congratulated Brenda Chen, a student from the Upper District’s service area, for her beautiful artwork which will be included in Metropolitan’s 2012 “Water is Life” calendar. Other Upper District entries selected for the calendar include Yoying Eng and Robyn Wong. ____________________________________ News Release- Click here for more info.
El Niño, La Niña, flooding, drought, rising water rates. It can all be confusing, understandably frustrating – even cause for public criticism of those that manage our water supplies.
Saturday may mark the start of the 2011 calendar year, but the 2011 water year, the 12-month cycle used by hydrologists and water managers, began on Oct. 1.
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