[env-trinity] East Bay Times Editorial: Governor’s Delta water proposal is merely ‘Trump lite’

[Tom Stokely]

http://eastbaytimes.ca.newsmemory.com/?publink=0348a3577
Governor’s Delta water proposal is merely ‘Trump lite’ 





Join the crowd of California water officials if you are confused by the mixed message Gavin Newsom offered Thursday on the future of the Sacramento- San Joaquin River Delta.

Give the governor credit for announcing that California will sue the Trump admin-istration over its plan to send more water to farmers at the expense of the Delta’s health. That’s huge. The White House plan is a recipe for extinction for endangered species living in the largest estuary west of the Mississippi. But the alternative put forward by the governor also ignores decades of peer-reviewed science.

No issue is more important to the state. Nor is any issue more complex. The Delta supplies fresh water for more than 27 million of California’s 40 million residents. It also provides the water to irrigate 3 million acres of farmland in the Central Valley. Maybe Mark Twain doesn’t deserve credit for the quote, “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” But whoever said it first was onto something.

We should all care about preserving endangered species, but for those who don’t, consider this: The chinook salmon are merely the canary in the coal mine when it comes to preserving the estuary’s health. Further degradation to the Delta will ultimately threaten the quality of the drinking water for Northern California residents.

On the same day the governor announced his lawsuit against the Trump administration, the state rolled out a 610-page draft environmental report outlining its proposal for future pumping operations in the Delta. Shockingly, the plan substantially mirrors the president’s approach.

“It’s Trump lite,” said Doug Obegi, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The governor’s plan would allow for a significant increase in pumping water southto farmers, decreasing the amount of water that flows through the Delta.

We understand Newsom’s desire to craft a compromise between environmentalists who want to protect the health of the Delta and farmers who want more water to expand their operations. But study after study by state and federal scientists over the course of the last decade have consistently said that increasing water flow in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and ensuring cold water for salmon in streams and rivers is essential for fish to survive. Sending more water south would undermine that goal.

Ignoring the science of the Delta is deplorable for a governor who routinely attacks the president for not accepting scientists’ conclusions on the threat of climate change.

The good news is that the governor’s report is just a draft. The public has until Jan. 6 to comment on the report. (Send emails to LTO at water.ca.gov or mail comments to You Chen Chou, California Department of Water Resources, P.O. Box 942836, Sacramento, CA 94236.) Newsom and the state Department of Water Resources need to hear that they should reexamine their environmental analysis. The report runs contrary to the state Water Resources Control Board and state Department of Fish and Wildlife findings that the best way to preserve the health of the Delta is to pour more water — not less — through it.

The governor should offer a consistent, clear message that he will do everything possible to guarantee a supply of quality fresh water for current and future Californians.
The governor’s plan would allow for a significant increase in pumping water south to farmers, decreasing the amount of water that flows through the Delta.
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