Kern County water managers and officials were left scratching their heads after the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) refused to declare an emergency due to golden mussels because “…there is no identified long-term solution to eliminate or control the continuation of the Golden Mussel Invasion,” according to a letter from CalOES.
Without an emergency declaration, local water agencies aren’t eligible for California Disaster Assistance Act funding to help defray what’s conservatively estimated to be more than $36 million in annual costs to combat the invasive pest…