[env-trinity] Article Submission: House 'Drought Relief' Bill Would Eviscerate Environmental Protections
Dan Bacher
danielbacher at fishsniffer.com
Fri Dec 5 12:22:44 PST 2014
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/04/1349404/-House-Drought-Relief-Bill-Eviscerates-Environmental-Protections
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/05/18765080.php
House 'Drought Relief' Bill Would Eviscerate Environmental Protections
by Dan Bacher
On December 2, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) introduced
controversial water legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives
purported to provide “short- term relief” from California’s water
crisis.
“I will not let this year end without exhausting every possible option
to bring relief to the Central Valley,” Valadao vowed.
However, environmental and fishing groups and Northern California
Congress Members quickly responded to the measure, slamming the bill
for being a “wish list” dictated by San Joaquin Valley corporate
agribusiness interests "to the politicians they hold in thrall."'
In response, Barbara Boxer late on Wednesday released a statement that
"this measure could reignite the water wars by overriding critical
state and federal protections for California," all but ensuring that
the bill will be die until the Republican-dominated Senate and House
take over next year.
There is no doubt that Valadao and his fellow San Joaquin Valley
Congressmen will make the passage of this legislation a priority in
2015.
Valadao claims H.R. 5781, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act
of 2014, “provides eighteen months of relief (two water years) while
protecting the State Water Project and protecting Northern California
water rights.”
Rep. Valadao stated, “This well thought out, common sense legislation
contains no controversial measures for either Party. Not only will
this legislation provide a temporary eighteen month solution, it will
also help ensure negotiations between the Senate and the House
continue.”
Original cosponsors of the legislation include Reps. David G. Valadao
(CA-21), Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Jim Costa
(CA-16), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Tom McClintock (CA-04), and Devin Nunes
(CA-22).
Environmental groups took strong issue with Valadao’s claim that the
“legislation contains no controversial measures for either party,”
pointing out that it would eviscerate Endangered Species Act
protections, overrule the Delta smelt biological opinions and increase
pumping from the Delta. This would take place at a critical time when
fisheries desperately need water flows to recover from the drought.
In a statement, the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) said HR
5781 “purports to solve California’s drought-induced water shortages,”
but “will do nothing of the sort.”
“HR 5781 mandates water deliveries to all Central Valley Project and
State Water Project contractors – regardless of the water available in
storage,” according to C-WIN “This assures ‘dead pools’ in our
reservoirs if the drought continues, meaning there will be no water
available when urban ratepayers and industry need it most for basic
survival.”
The group also said the bill provides for a 30-day federal review of
all projects and operations that “would provide additional water
supplies.” This could ultimately result in the fast-track approval of
ruinously expensive, environmentally destructive and ultimately
inefficient schemes, including new dams.
Finally, C-WIN blasted the legislation for allowing for expedited
water transfers, “putting the ecological stability of our North State
rivers and the reserves of our aquifers at risk.”
“This bill will actually perpetuate our drought emergency by giving
away all the water in storage to Big Ag,” said Tom Stokely, water
policy analyst for the California Water Impact Network. “It will drain
Trinity Lake, depleting the last cold water reserve available for
Klamath and Trinity River salmon and steelhead. We’ll see fish kills
that make the great die-off of 2002 look minor by comparison."
“No matter how you cut it, this bill is an utter disaster. We’re
calling on Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to oppose this
legislation in the Senate. They need to step up and protect
California’s water supplies, urban ratepayers, environment, family
farms and fisheries,” Stokely concluded.
For more information about C-WIN, go to http://www.c-win.org/
Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Governor Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta
Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the salmon-killing peripheral
tunnels, criticized Representative David Valadao for trying to push
through a “drought relief” measure that would allow more water for
Westlands’ and Kern Water Districts’ mega-growers in the midst of a
severe drought.
“Congressman Valadao’s bill is more of the same from this Congress
that is bent on circumventing state water rights and stopping state
and federal agencies from determining and implementing safe water
export levels for San Francisco Bay-Delta fisheries, Delta farms, and
Delta communities,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director
of Restore the Delta.
“The sponsors of this legislation favor big industrial growers who
have planted tens of thousands of acres of almonds and other permanent
crops in the midst of the drought, and those who seek to profit from
selling water to the detriment of Northern California rivers,
groundwater supplies, and the Bay-Delta estuary,” added Barrigan-
Parrilla.
“Members of Congress are manipulating the impacts of drought
conditions to serve wealthy special interests. They’re framing the
bill as non-controversial, and bipartisan, but it would smother
Endangered Species Act protections, overrule the Delta smelt
biological opinions, and increase pumping from the Delta, when
fisheries need flows presently to recover from the drought,” she stated.
“These same Congressional Representatives never consider what will be
the economic impacts on the Bay-Delta economy as water quality and
fisheries continue to deteriorate from decades of over pumping the
Delta. They continue to exclude the 4 million residents of the Delta
region, even though their economic and environmental well-being is
tied to the health of the region. We are tired of their ongoing
political assault on our communities,” concluded Barrigan-Parrilla.
The Northern California Congressional Delegation on December 3 issued
a statement blasting the "flawed, discriminatory House Republican
water bill." (http://mavensnotebook.com/2014/12/03/this-just-in-northern-california-delegation-statement-on-flawed-discriminatory-house-republican-water-bill-members-the-drought-does-not-stop-at-the-edge-of-congressional-districts/
)
Northern California Representatives Jared Huffman (D-02), George
Miller (D-11) Mike Thompson (D-05), Doris Matsui (D-06), Jerry
McNerney (D-09), John Garamendi (D-03), and Ami Bera (D-07) stated:
“With just a few days left in the legislative session, the House plans
to pass yet another divisive, dishonest, and potentially devastating
California water bill without any public input or legislative
oversight. This is unconscionable, and just the latest chapter in
Republicans’ reckless approach to micromanaging the state’s water
during one of the worst droughts in our history.
“The idea that this bill is a ‘compromise’ is laughable. It is clear
that this bill was thrown together without any input from anyone other
than those who stand to benefit from its passage. This bill was not
reviewed by the Natural Resources Committee, nor has it received input
from federal agencies, the state, affected local water agencies, the
fishing industry, tribes, or communities. Legislation this sweeping
should be the subject of public hearings and input from all affected
stakeholders.
“The bill makes it more difficult for state and federal agencies to
make real-time water decisions, undermines state water rights
priorities, misstates current law, and explicitly overrides the
Endangered Species Act. These sweeping changes would place the west
coast’s environment, tribes, communities, and the fishing industry in
harm’s way in the next drought year.
“The drought does not stop at the edge of congressional districts, yet
this bill insulates some parts of the state from the tough water
decisions that will be made in the next year. We’re all in this
together, and Congress should not tie water managers’ hands nor should
we address drought conditions in some parts of the state at the
expense of others.”
You can watch Congressman Jared Huffman speaking on the Delta
fisheries and northern California water supplies in the hearing on
H.R. 5781 at: http://bit.ly/1FRsaPL
For more information, go to: http://restorethedelta.org
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