Author Archives: Jeff Simonetti

About Jeff Simonetti

Jeff Simonetti is the Vice President of Public Affairs at the Capitol Core Group and provides project management, business development, and policy/lobbying expertise to a variety of federal, state and local clients. During his tenure at Capitol Core, Jeff has among other projects helped a renewable energy company to secure authorizing resolutions in cities across Southern California. Prior to joining Capitol Core Group, Jeff was a Vice President at the Kosmont Companies, a real estate and economic development consulting firm. At Kosmont, Jeff was the project lead for cities looking to implement financing strategies such as Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs) and other post-redevelopment funding mechanisms. He also was the project manager for the Economic Development element of the Fontana General Plan Update. Jeff gained significant state and local government affairs experience as the Government Affairs Director at the Building Industry Association (BIA) of Southern California’s Baldy View Chapter. During his tenure at the BIA, he helped to found the annual San Bernardino County Water Conference, an event that gathers over 400 elected officials and business leaders in the region to discuss the pressing water policy issues that affect the community.

The Passage of California Proposition 1 and the Groundwater Management Acts: What is next for the State of California?

The fourth year of a statewide drought in California has brought some drastic changes to how citizens view and use water in the Golden State. First, both citizens and businesses are becoming more aware of their water use. State and local efforts to quantify how much water individual communities use have garnered recent media attention. Earlier this week, the California State Water Resources Control Board released data showing per capita water use by city across the state. The data showed that the tony cities of Rancho Santa Fe and Beverly Hills had some of the highest per capita water use despite the historic drought the state is facing. Second, the general public’s awareness of the importance of water issues to the state helped to get ballot measures like Proposition 1 across the finish line and into law despite two prior attempts to get a larger-sized measure on the ballot.

In the aftermath of the historic passage of both Proposition 1 and the groundwater legislation earlier this year, we should step back and determine what these measures both can and cannot do for the State of California. In this piece I will review these issues, and look at water planning in the state as we potentially move into the fourth year of drought in California. Continue reading →

Oklahoma and California: Similar Droughts, Similar Challenges

Looking at a map of the current drought conditions in the United States, it is clear to see which areas of the country are facing critical drought conditions. The western drought, particularly in California has received the most media attention. Parts of Oregon and Nevada are also facing extreme and exceptional drought conditions. Getting less attention though is the drought conditions happening in parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Oklahoma, in particular the areas along the border with Texas have faced drought conditions for the last 2-3 years. Storms in this region over the last few months began to loosen the grip of drought in the area, but the lingering effects of long-term drought will take more than a few major rainstorms to reverse the crippling drought that this region has faced for the last few years.

Oklahoma and California on paper have very different political views, but each state faces very similar issues regarding the drought.  What struck me in researching this article is how progressive Oklahoma’s ambitious Water for 2060 Bill is to tackle water sustainability in the future. In this piece, I will explore the similarities between the drought conditions in both states, both states’ response to the drought, and what both can do to plan for prolonged drought conditions in the future. Continue reading →

Water and Fracking: The Opportunities, Challenges and Risks in West Virginia

We have all heard about the positive economic effects of the shale oil revolution in the United States. According to IHS Research, the unconventional oil and gas industry supported 2.1 million jobs in 2012. IHS expects that number will grow to 3.9 million jobs by 2025. And if you have gone to the gas pumps recently, we have unconventional drilling to thank partly for the lower gas prices. AAA reports that the national average gas price has fallen to $3.186 a gallon this week from $3.342 at the same time a year ago. But does the rising economic tide raise all boats in the country equally? Continue reading →

What a Difference a Word Can Make: The US EPA, “Other” Waters, and the Debate Over the EPA’s Role in Water Quality

This summer, a CNN contributor named John Sutter traveled the entire length of California’s 417-mile San Joaquin River that American Rivers named the country’s “most endangered river”. During his journey from the upper reaches of the Sierra Nevada to the famous Golden Gate Bridge, Sutter saw the river in its many different forms. He saw the rapids, dams, farms, and water diversion points for one of the most important water supplies in California. However, what struck me most about his trip was that although he planned to use a kayak for (most of) the trip, the middle section of the river regularly runs dry. In a year of severe drought like this, the San Joaquin runs dry for about 60 miles (see the map below). The current state of the river is a far cry from the 1850s when riverboats regularly traversed its waters to bring passengers from the coast inland and vice versa. Continue reading →