[env-trinity] Action Alert - Stop the latest Westlands Water Grab Tell California Senators that you oppose HR 1769!

[Tom Stokely]

Action Alert - Stop the latest Westlands Water GrabTell California Senators that you oppose HR 1769!

Please Contact:


Senator Dianne Feinstein- (202) 224-3841, (310) 914-7300, (415)393-0707, (559) 485-7430 

Senator Kamala Harris- (202) 224-3553, (213) 894-5000, (415) 355-9041, (559) 497-5109


 
Tell both ofCalifornia’s senators that you oppose HR 1769, the San Luis DrainageResolution Act, which is expected to be added as a rider on the NationalDefense Authorization Act for 2018 in the next ten days, or else will move tothe Senate as a stand-alone bill in the next month. Tell Harris and Feinsteinthat they should not sign onto the Trump anti-environmental agenda bysupporting this bill. HR 1769 is a huge giveaway to the Westlands WaterDistrict (Westlands), which was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commissionfor securities fraud. 


The bill wouldfacilitate a controversial litigation settlement agreement between the U.S.Bureau of Reclamation and Westlands that would allow the federal government towalk away from its responsibility to drain agricultural lands in California’sCentral Valley of toxic salts and selenium without any safeguards to make surethe drain water is managed safely. H.R. 1769 is a massive giveaway of taxpayermoney, undermines California’s effort to responsibly manage its scarce waterresources, could imperil sensitive fish and wildlife, and threatens water qualityin a major California river. 


Under existing law,the federal government is responsible for managing salts that build up fromirrigation of some farmland in California’s Western San Joaquin Valley. Througha tragic series of events that culminated in the poisoning of migratory birdsat Kesterson Reservoir in the early 1980s, we learned that the salt-ladendrainage water also contains selenium and other toxins that can bioaccumulateand kill birds, fish and other wildlife. Instead of managing the drain waterresponsibly or buying up the land to end the problem, Reclamation is nowattempting to settle litigation with Westlands—the largest irrigation districtin the United States—in a manner that would absolve the federal government ofits duty to clean-up the drain water and bestow vast benefits on Westlands’heavily subsidized agribusinesses, without including adequate safeguards forthe environment. 


H.R. 1769 and thesettlement it would authorize are a bad deal for the American people and forthe environment. 


First, H.R. 1769transfers responsibility to manage the toxic drainage from Reclamation toWestlands, but fails to include any details about how Westlands will deal withthe drain water. The legislation 

and settlementdon’t include any cleanup plan and performance standards, any monitoring andreporting requirements, or any enforcement mechanisms. The State of Californiadoes not monitor or regulate selenium discharges to the aquifer underlyingWestlands. Handing the responsibility for this toxic drainage to Westlandswithout any safeguards is irresponsible and could endanger Pacific Flywaybirds, salmon and other wildlife. 


Second, H.R. 1769would give Westlands a permanent contract for a vast quantity of water from theSan Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary and the Trinity River, at an even cheaper waterprice, that is incompatible with the needs of endangered fish and willencourage more irrigation of these toxic lands rather than less. This long-termcontract and the lack of any increased retirement of the toxic lands would makeit even more difficult for California to responsibly manage its scarce waterresources. 


Third,H.R. 1769 would forgive Westlands for the approximately $350 million it alreadyowes taxpayers for the capital costs of federal water infrastructure builtlargely on their behalf, and gives them ownership of most of the pipes, pumps,and other federal property serving the district. The legislation compounds thatwith the conversion of the current Westlands two-year water contract into a permanentwater contract for almost twice as much water as Los Angeles uses in a year. 


Fourth, the courtsettlement only required Westlands to retire 100,000 acres of drainage-impairedland, but HR 1769 doesn’t even do that, allowing for the continued irrigationof hundreds of thousands of acres of drainage-impaired soils that will continueto produce toxin-laden drain water. All of Westlands’ irrigated acreage will berelieved of any acreage or farm-size limitations for the purchase of subsidizedwater, bestowing benefits on some of the largest farm operations in the state. 


Fifth, H.R. 1769 isan incomplete deal because it still leaves Reclamation with responsibility fortoxic drainage in three other water districts that border Westlands and arecovered by the same 1960 law. This refutes a central rationale for the bill:that it will get the government out of the drainage business. The bill onlymakes a toxic situation worse. 


H.R. 1769 includesa litany of gifts for Westlands, with no commensurate benefit for the public.Instead, the bill promises fiscal irresponsibility and peril for fish,waterfowl, and the California environment in general. It’s an outrageousgiveaway to corporate agribusiness that fails to solve the underlying drainageproblem. 


President Trump’sDeputy Interior Secretary David Bernstein was a lobbyist for Westlands beforehe took his current job and specifically lobbied on this drainage settlement.Please encourage Senators Feinstein and Harris to resist Trump’santi-environmental agenda and to oppose HR 1769. 


For moreinformation, please contact Noah Oppenheim (noah at ifrfish.org)at 207-233-0400 or Tom Stokely at530-524-0315 (tstokely at att.net). 


ThePacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) is the largest and mostactive trade association of commercial fishermen on the West Coast. PCFFA hasled the fishing industry in protecting the rights of fishermen and fishingcommunities since 1976. We constantly fight for the long-term survival ofcommercial fishing as a productive livelihood and way of life.

 Tom Stokely Salmon and Water Policy AnalystPacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations530-524-0315 tstokely at att.net 
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