Passed in 1970, the federal National Environmental Policy Act
requires lead public agencies to prepare and submit for public
review environmental impact reports and statements on major
federal projects under their purview with potentially significant
environmental effects.
According to the Department of Energy, administrator of NEPA:
Variations in the statistical analysis of the climate on all time
and space scales beyond that of individual weather events is
known as natural variability. Natural variations in climate over
time are caused by internal processes of the climate system, such
as El Niño, and
phenomena such as volcanic activity and variations in the output
of the sun.
Completed in 1979, the New Melones Dam on California’s Stanislaus
River includes a 2.4 million acre-feet reservoir and a
power-generating capacity of 283 megawatts.
The Central Valley Project facility was built to help with
irrigation, flood control and power production. It replaced an
older dam from the 1920s that supplied water for agriculture to
two local irrigation districts.
A part of the federal Central Valley Project, the Nimbus Dam and
its after bay, Lake Natoma, are located 7 miles downstream of
Folsom Dam on the American River.
The dam regulates American River flows. Other associated
facilities are the Nimbus Powerplant, the Nimbus Salmon and
Steelhead Hatchery and the Folsom South Canal. [see also Northern
California Water Tours.]
Nitrate—the oxidized form of dissolved nitrogen— is the main
source of nitrogen for plants. It occurs naturally in soil and
dissipates when the soil is extensively farmed. Thus, nirtrogen
fertilizers are applied to replenish the soil. However, these
nitrates can be toxic, especially when they enter the food chain
via groundwater and surface water.
In California, the State Water Resources Control Board lists
nitrate as one of California’s most challenging and growing water
problems.
Also known as the Lost Coast, California’s remote north coast is
home to mostly undeveloped rivers.
The Klamath, Trinity, Eel, Russian and Smith rivers are the major
northern streams that drain this sparsely populated, forested
coastal area that stretches from San Francisco to the Oregon
border.
These rivers and their tributaries flow west to the Pacific Ocean
and account for about 40 percent of the state’s total runoff.
Nutria are large, beaver-like
rodents native to South America that have caused alarm in
California since their rediscovery along Central Valley rivers
and other waterways in 2017.
