[env-trinity] Assemblymember Eggman introduces bill to force vote on Delta Tunnels

[Dan Bacher]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/23/1473956/-Assemblymember-Eggman-introduces-bill-to-force-vote-on-Delta-Tunnels

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2016/01/22/18782152.php

eggman.png

Photo meme of Assemblymember Eggman by Restore the Delta (RTD).

Assemblymember Eggman introduces bill to force vote on Delta Tunnels

by Dan Bacher

Sacramento – On the day after Governor Jerry Brown once again touted  
his Delta Tunnels Plan ("reliable conveyance") as a "solution" to  
California's water problems in his State of the State address,  
Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) announced the  
introduction of legislation to block the Governor’s controversial  
project unless it is approved by California voters on a statewide  
ballot.

“An enormous amount of time and energy has been wasted rebranding and  
repackaging the same old Peripheral Canal plan that voters rejected  
decades ago,” Eggman said. “It’s tragic that despite our ongoing  
drought, this flawed plan is being forced on us without any true  
debate even though it will not add one drop of water to California’s  
supply, but it will raise the water rates and potentially property  
taxes of millions of Californians.”

The California voters overwhelmingly defeated a measure to build the  
earlier version of the project, the Peripheral Canal, in November  
1982. Jerry Brown opposes a public vote on the tunnels, as Governor  
Arnold Schwarzenegger did before him.

Eggman said the new bill will require approval via ballot initiative  
for "any infrastructure project that conveys water directly from a  
diversion point in the Sacramento River to pumping facilities of the  
State Water Project or the federal Central Valley Project south of the  
Delta."

“In 2012, the Governor was committed to asking the voters to approve a  
substantial tax increase. I’m hopeful he will be just as committed to  
seeking voter approval before embarking on a project that will cost  
tens of billions of dollars and greatly impact the Delta region,”  
Eggman said.

Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis), a recognized leader on state water policy  
issues who has represented the Delta region in the State Legislature  
for 13 years, joined Eggman in announcing the introduction of the bill.

“California’s taxpayers and ratepayers should have the opportunity to  
weigh in on whether to commit billions of dollars to a project that  
economists say isn’t a good investment, scientists say is a disaster  
for the Delta’s ecosystem, and the water exporters’ own studies show  
will not produce a single drop of new water supply," said Wolk.

“The proposed tunnels are the most expensive, most controversial water  
project proposed in half a century with the potential to permanently  
destroy the Delta’s ecosystem and community. Californians have the  
right to look at the facts and decide whether the tunnels are good for  
California, or whether we should drop this plan once and for all,” she  
concluded.

The state and federal water agencies rebranded the Peripheral Canal/ 
Tunnels project as the “California Water Fix” last summer after the  
Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) failed to meet environmental  
standards required to obtain the necessary permits from the federal  
regulatory agencies. The agencies split the BDCP into two components —  
the tunnels plan, the California Water Fix, and the habitat  
“restoration” plan, California Eco Restore.

The tunnels project would cost at least $15 billion to $25 billion,  
according to the administration's estimates, although the real cost of  
the tunnels could be over $67 billion. The US Environmental Protection  
Agency (EPA) has given the widely-contested project a failing grade,  
calling the new environmental impact report “inadequate," according to  
a news release from Eggman's Office.

Assemblymember Catharine Baker, Assemblymember Susan Bonilla,  
Assemblymember Jim Cooper, Assemblymember Jim Frazier and  
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty are joining Eggman and Wolk as co-authors  
of the legislation.

While the Eggman bill focuses just on the Delta Tunnels, there is  
currently on the November 8 ballot a measure, the "No Blank Checks  
Initiative," that would force voter approval for public infrastructure  
bonds amounting to more than $2 billion and requiring new or increased  
taxes or fees. This initiative, if passed, would effectively force a  
vote on the tunnels and other similar projects. Dean Cortopassi, a  
Stockton region farmer and landowner, is spearheading the initiative. (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/03/1444112/-Initiative-threatening-Delta-Tunnels-Qualifies-For-Ballot 
)

Environmental groups praise bill

Representatives of environmental, fishing and anti-corporate groups  
praised the introduction of Eggman's legislation, since it will force  
a vote on a project that will hasten the extinction of Central Valley  
steelhead, Sacramento River winter Chinook salmon, Delta and longfin  
smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species and will destroy the San  
Francisco Bay/Delta Estuary, the largest estuary on the West Coast of  
the Americas.

The California Water Fix also imperils the steelhead and salmon run on  
the Klamath and Trinity rivers, fish populations that are an integral  
part of the culture and livelihood of the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa  
Valley Tribes.

“Restore the Delta supports fully Assemblymember Susan Talamantes  
Eggman's legislation blocking the tunnels without a vote of the  
people," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore  
the Delta (RTD). "The tunnels will destroy the sole source of drinking  
water for one million Delta residents, the physical environment and  
the state's most magnificent fisheries and breathtaking habitat for  
birds on the Pacific flyway - not to mention the agricultural and  
related economies for an additional three million Delta area  
residents. The Delta is not California's sacrifice zone."

Conner Everts, Executive Director of the Southern California Watershed  
Alliance, said, “Given this so called Delta fix has grown in costs,  
lost any illusion of environmental mitigation, and doesn't provide  
Southern California with any new water, the time has come to know what  
the true cost-benefit ratio is and allow a vote. This legislation  
reinstates the legislature’s prerogative, and gives the entire state a  
voice, especially those in Southern California who would have to pay  
for the project. The drought has shown that people in Southern  
California want a say in how their water utility payments are invested  
and that local water strategies are the best result for each dollar  
spent."

“Food & Water Watch applauds Assemblymember Eggman for introducing  
legislation that empowers everyday Californians to vote on the  
wasteful Delta tunnels project," said Adam Scow, California Director  
of Food & Water Watch. "It’s only fair that Californians get to vote  
on a project that demands so much of our water and money, especially  
when we need to invest billions toward fixing our aging local water  
and wastewater systems."

Jerry Brown pushes "reliable conveyance" in his State of the State

During his speech in Sacramento on January 22, Brown promoted building  
"reliable conveyance" - the twin tunnels - and building storage as key  
components of his water "vision" for California. However, the Governor  
was not as brash in his promotion of the tunnels as he was last week  
when he told reporters after his address at the Association of Water  
Agencies (ACWA) event in Sacramento that the construction of the  
project was "absolutely necessary."

“Our goal must be to preserve California’s natural beauty and ensure a  
vibrant economy – on our farms, in our cities and for all the people  
who live here,” Brown stated. “There is no magic bullet but a series  
of actions must be taken. We have to recharge our aquifers, manage the  
groundwater, recycle, capture stormwater, build storage and reliable  
conveyance, improve efficiency everywhere, invest in new technologies  
– including desalination – and all the while recognize that there are  
some limits.”

The Governor also proclaimed some “achieving balance between  
conflicting parties” rhetoric, all while he continues to serve the  
interests of the corporate agribusiness, Big Oil, Big Timber and other  
corporate interests through his anti-environmental water policies.  
These policies have brought Central Valley steelhead and salmon, Delta  
and longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, green sturgeon and other fish  
species to the brink of extinction under his administration.

“Achieving balance between all the conflicting interests is not easy  
but I pledge to you that I will listen and work patiently to achieve  
results that will stand the test of time," Brown claimed. “Water goes  
to the heart of what California is and what it has been over  
centuries. Pitting fish against farmer misses the point and grossly  
distorts reality. Every one of us and every creature that dwells here  
form a complex system which must be understood and respected.”

The Governor's Office also unveiled a new video promoting the tunnels,  
a video that Barrigan-Parrilla described as "mockworthy." The  
“California WaterFix Video” is hyperlinked to the words "reliable  
conveyance" in the on line transcript of Brown’s speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAFaQ9D_joI

Barrigan-Parrilla also said, "We are thrilled to hear Governor Brown’s  
commitment to protecting ecological systems," while blasting Brown for  
moving ahead with the Delta Tunnels plan, considered by many to be  
potentially the most environmentally destructive project in California  
history.

“Unfortunately, Governor Brown insists on moving forward with the  
Delta tunnels project despite serious environmental concerns raised by  
numerous organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency  
which found the plan ‘incomplete’ with required analysis ‘not yet  
done,’” Barrigan-Parrilla said.

Delta Tunnels are just one of Brown’s many anti-environmental policies

While Brown has posed as a “climate leader” and “green governor” at  
conferences and photo opportunities around the globe, including the  
Paris Climate Talks in December, he has overseen water policies that  
have have brought once robust Central Valley salmon and steelhead and  
Delta fish populations to extinction’s edge, in addition to promoting  
the Delta Tunnels Plan, a project that will only cause further  
ecological, economic and cultural damage.

As Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Tribe, said  
at a protest outside of a California Water Fix “workshop” in  
Sacramento on July 28, 2015: “Right now the existing water projects  
continue to damage our ecology. They have already harmed our fish and  
driven them to extinction. The tunnels will only complete the job. The  
tunnels that they want to build are large enough to divert the entire  
Sacramento River.”

“The tunnels are one key part of the plan that includes the Sites  
Reservoir, Shasta Dam Raise and Proposition 1, the water bond,” she  
said.

She said the water for the tunnels would be provided by Shasta Lake  
and Sites Reservoir – and that to fill Sites Reservoir, the Shasta Dam  
would be raised to hold more water from the Sacramento River. (http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/protesters-sing-wave-signs-and-blast-delta-tunnels-at-open-house/ 
)

The "green" Brown administration in 2011 presided over record water  
exports out the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — and the killing  
of millions of Sacramento splittail, an imperiled native minnow, and  
other species at the Delta pumps. (http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/30452-the-extinction-governor-rips-the-green-mask-off-his-tunnels-plan 
)

More recently, fish species ranging from endangered Delta Smelt to  
Striped Bass plummeted to record low population levels in 2015,  
according to the annual fall survey report released on December 18 by  
the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). (http://ecowatch.com/2016/01/22/california-fish-species-plummet/ 
)

Only 6 Delta Smelt, an endangered species that once numbered in the  
millions and was the most abundant fish in the Delta, were collected  
at the index stations in the estuary this fall. The 2015 index (7), a  
relative number of abundance, “is the lowest in history,” said Sara  
Finstad, an environmental scientist for the CDFW’s Bay Delta Region.

Meanwhile, Brown promotes the expansion of fracking and other extreme  
oil drilling techniques in California and backs potentially genocidal  
carbon trading policies and REDD (Reducing Emissions from  
Deforestation and forest Degradation), according to indigenous  
leaders. (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/9/1458504/-Indigenous-activists-challenge-Governor-Brown-for-backing-genocidal-carbon-trading-program 
)

In addition, Brown oversaw the “completion” of “marine protected  
areas,” created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act  
(MLPA) Initiative, that don’t protect the ocean from fracking,  
offshore oil drilling, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military  
testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than sustainable  
fishing and gathering.

And it was only after months of intense pressure from  
environmentalists, public health advocates and Porter Ranch residents  
that Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in the Aliso Canyon  
Gas Leak disaster that began on October 23.

In an apparent familial conflict of interest, Brown’s sister,  
Kathleen, plays a significant role at Sempra Energy, the corporation  
that owns SoCal (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/19/1462031/-Jerry-Brown-s-ties-to-the-oil-and-gas-industry-highlight-regulatory-capture-in-CA 
)

Conflicts of interest like this one abound in a state where the  
regulatory apparatus has been captured by the regulated, including Big  
Oil, corporate agribusiness, the timber industry and other corporate  
interests. 
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