Action Alert: Stop the Dangerous Steinberg Water Package!

This is one of the most important action alerts I have ever sent out. It gives all
the reasons why you need to call your Senators and Assemblymembers on Monday
morning. They will be voting on your future and the furture of the Delta.

I have attached the links to the members of the Senate and Assembly to make
it easier for you to look up your representatives and their phone numbers.
Please, please, please put this on your priority list for Monday morning and
let these folks know that we care about our future and the future of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta! This should not take but a few minutes of
time but it could very well affect the way you live and the future of all
Californians. The important thing to remember is that this legislation is
designed to make the rich richer and have you pay for it!!!!!!!!!

http://www.assembly.ca.gov/clerk/MEMBERINFORMATION/memberdir_1.asp

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/sen-addresses.html

Roger Mammon, Restore the Delta


October 30, 2009


Call Your Assembly Member and State Senator Today


After two incomplete hearings in which the
majority of the proposed 14 bills covering Delta legislation were not
publicly vetted (or later ammendments) , Restore the Delta has learned that
the State Assembly and Senate may be calling for votes on the Delta water
package and Delta water bonds on Monday, November 2, 2009.

We need you to call your Assembly and Senate
Representatives first thing Monday morning to express your opposition to the
proposed legislation. (You can look up their phone numbers this weekend and
call them on your way to work Monday).

Here are 10 reasons why your representative
should oppose the Steingerg Water Package, and all its potential ancillary
bills, as well as the bond proposals.

1) The purported environmental benefits in SB
x7 1 and SBx7 4 hinge on unfunded programs and unstaffed planning processes.
There is no identified funding for the Delta Conservancy or the Delta
Protection Council. Without identified funding, the restoration projects
and consistency processes intended for Delta health will fall
behind the construction of facilities in the
Delta paid for by beneficiaries. This repeats a cornerstone failure of
CalFed. This creates a real risk of the infrastructure and water supply
projects proceeding without environmental gains.


2)There is no assurance that a permit for any
future Delta facility will accommodate the instream flow needs of fish.
Public trust criteria are not proven tool for ensuring dedicated water for
the environment Experienced water lawyers disagree whether the creation of
public trust criteria compel the State Board to base apermit for a future
Delta project on the public trust.

3)The bond allows public funds to be spent on
required mitigation or necessary compliance with environmental regulation.
Existing law requires beneficiaries to pay for those activities. This is a
massive cost shift to taxpayers.

4) The Delta Stewardship Council holds no fee
authority to carry out its mandate. Delta communities, most impacted by this
legislation, would not have adequate representation.

5)The Delta Plan is not required to reduce
state dependence on the Delta. The objectives for the Delta Plan do not
include reducing state reliance on Delta exports. SB x7 1 only states that
it's an intent of the state to reduce dependency.

6) The bill lacks sufficient oversight of the
BDCP. The Council lacks the authority to ensure the project does not cause
greater harm to the fragile Delta ecosystem.

7) One-third ($3 billion) of the SB 7x 2 funds
above-ground storage, which is the least efficient way to increase water
supplies.

8) Less than 3% of the funds in the bond would
be dedicated to disadvantaged communities most in need of safe drinking
water.

9) The proposed water conservation package
lacks the enforceable goals needed to achieve 20% conservation by 2020.

10) A $9 billion bond will cost taxpayers
about $600 million a year for 30 years. The state's debt service on bonds
already authorized by the voters will grow to about 10% of the state's
budget and will contribute to more state funding cuts for public safety,
health, education, and environmental protection have been slashed to the
bone. And the Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that the state will
see $10 to $15 billion deficits each year until 2014. Even if a bond is
delayed until 2015, we will just be at the beginning of financial recover
and should not be piling up more debt.

There is one bill they should vote for however!

Delta Area Assembly Member Alsyon Huber, along
with co-sponsor Senator Lois Wolk, have introduced AB 13 7x. This bill
would require lawmakers to sign off on any canal, and it would require the
Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal adviser, the Legislative Analyst, to put
together an economic feasibility study of the potential project. We
commend Assembly Member Huber and Senator Wolk for pulling this piece of
legislation together.

Tell your representatives to support AB 13 7x.


Restore the Delta is a grassroots campaign committed
to making the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable,
and farmable to benefit all of California. Restore the Delta - a coalition
of Delta residents, business leaders, civic organizations, community groups,
faith-based communities, union locals, farmers, fishermen, and
environmentalists - seeks to strengthen the health of the estuary and the
well-being of Delta communities. Restore the Delta works to improve water
quality so that fisheries and farming can thrive together again in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Sincerely,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Restore the Delta
Email: barbara [at] restorethedelta.org
Web: http://www.restorethedelta.org