The 2026-27 Budget: Permitting Support at the State Water Resources Control Board

Mar 2, 2026 - The final budget agreement instead approved only the 26 positions beginning in 2024-25, and the Legislature indicated it desired more information about how specifically the water boards ’ workload would change before approving such a large number of ongoing positions and resources.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5144

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight

Mar 18, 2026 - While the Delta Plan does not directly govern water allocation, it regulates activities that significantly affect water use, ecosystem health, and certain infrastructure projects in the Delta. For example, relevant projects—such as levee improvements or habitat restoration projects—must demonstrate consistency with the Delta Plan before they can proceed.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

The 2026-27 Budget: Permitting Support at the State Water Resources Control Board [Publication Details]

Mar 2, 2026 - The 2026-27 Budget: Permitting Support at the State Water Resources Control Board [Publication Details] Translate Our Website This Google ™ translation feature provided on the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) website is for informational purposes only.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5144

The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandate—Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board

May 5, 2025 - Many Additional Stormwater-Related Test Claims Pending Before the Commission. While not directly linked to this mandate, CSM has significant pending workload related to other stormwater permits issued by the state water boards dating back to 2007.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5039

The 2026-27 Budget: Framework for Approaching the Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Budget

Feb 10, 2026 - Environmental Protection Agency ) narrowed federal Clean Water Act protections, thereby indirectly shifting regulatory responsibilities for certain bodies of water to the state under state law. The additional funding and positions would allow the board to issue and enforce permits protecting water quality and public health —including limiting the
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5116

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight [Publication Details]

Mar 18, 2026 - This report discusses the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB’s) proposed—and long-overdue—update of the water quality control plan for the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which includes an alternative compliance pathway for certain water users called voluntary agreements (VAs, also known as Healthy Rivers and Landscapes).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5163

The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandates—Regional Water Quality Control Boards

May 30, 2025 - However, if CSM was to determine that each of the currently pending stormwater-related test claims constituted state-reimbursable mandates for costs incurred before 2018, the state could face —at most —costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5054

The 2025-26 Budget: May Revision Trailer Bill Proposals on the Delta Conveyance Project and Water Quality Control Plans

May 27, 2025 - For example, after the board adopted the 2018 Bay-Delta Plan amendments but before implementation, SWRCB was sued by 12 petitioners —water agencies objecting to the more stringent unimpaired flow standards; environmental groups claiming flow standards were not protective enough of fish and wildlife; and the federal government, which operates the Central Valley Project.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5053

The 2026-27 Budget: Framework for Approaching the Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Budget [Publication Details]

Feb 10, 2026 - This report provides a framework to help the Legislature approach funding environment-related programs within the context of the state's budget challenges.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5116

What Can We Learn From How the State Responded to the Last Major Drought?

May 13, 2021 - This would allow the department to identify problems and intervene before conditions become too dire. Drought Conditions Increase Risk of Severe Wildfires. The last drought revealed that not only does a lack of precipitation result in water shortages, it also has major impacts on the state ’s forests.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4429